What we are/

Poetry City is an annually published journal of poetry and prose on poetry open to all submissions. We have been publishing continually since 2011. Each issue is available on a limited basis in print, and free in cyber editions.

One of our missions is to teach and nurture students in AFA in Creative Writing programs in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul) metro area. Our goal is teach student-editors how to be good readers, editors, and purveyors of poetry, and to help them as they navigate their careers and become poets, editors, publishers, teachers, et cetera. We have three resident editors who work with a staff of assistant editors affiliated with AFA in Creative Programs at Anoka Ramsey Community College, Normandale Community College, and North Hennepin Community College. Assistant editors who graduate or transfer out of their AFA programs may apply to become permanent staff editors. Our role as teachers and nurturers of AFA-affiliated student-writers is, by choice, an unofficial one.

---

How we got here/

IN A NUTSHELL
Prior to becoming what we are now--a journal open to all submissions with a mission to cultivate and showcase contemporary poetry and poets—the first four issues of Poetry City were comprised of poems read at or by poets who read at two Twin Cities reading series: The Great Twin Cities Poetry Read and the Maeve's Sessions reading series. Prose on poetry included in the first four issues was solicited from a number of poets not necessarily affiliated with the two reading series.

The Great Twin Cities Poetry Read (GTCPR) was founded in 2010 as an annual reading featuring 30 or so poets who all read a single poem each. The Maeve's Sessions reading series was founded as a bi-monthly reading series held at Maeve's Cafe, one of many venues along Northeast Minneapolis's in/famous Poetry Row, which has been home, past and present, to the Imaginary Friend reading series, Pocket Lab reading series, Bosso Poetry Company poetry reading series, some reading series we've probably missed, and who knows how many that we can't anticipate.