Last Stanza Poetry

03/20/2026

This is the last stanza. Thank you to all the wonderful, talented poets who have submitted to this journal over the years. LSPJ was originally intended as a pandemic project, but it grew and grew. I've met countless special writers, made friends, and learned to love poetry in a way I hadn't before. I would have loved to continue the journal, but it stopped making sense when so few copies of recent issues were being purchased and read. It feels like a disservice to poets to take such excellent writing when those stanzas may only be seen by a few. Your words deserve wide exposure, and I've become unable to offer that, and must admit the journal is no longer what it once was in the world of literature. Thank you also to the artists, supporters, readers, and reposters. All 23 issues will remain available through Amazon and other online outlets. This has been amazing! Be well. Write on. -- Jenny Kalahar

01/22/2026

RIP. A frequent contributor to Last Stanza Poetry Journal, James Nolan enriched readers worldwide for several decades with his writing. Obituary information for James Eugene Nolan

View James Eugene Nolan's obituary, contribute to their memorial, see their funeral service details, and more.

01/19/2026

A peek inside issue 23, the color hardbound edition. The quotes are from poems in this issue.

01/14/2026

Announcing the publication of Last Stanza Poetry Journal #23: The Neighborhood. It is illustrated throughout with nostalgic illustrations (the hardcover edition is in full color). Poets in this issue: Sam Aureli, Susan Brandes, Michael Brockley, Dan Carpenter, Kersten Christianson, Jennifer Clark, Loralee Clark, Irene W. Collins, Jordan Corley, Salvatore Difalco, Arvilla Fee, Diane Funston, John Hinton, Katherine January, Lorraine Jeffery, Porsche Jones, Leena Joshi, Patricia Joslin, JL Kato, Barbara Krasner, David Anson Lee, Fran Markover, Peter Meidlinger, Cheryl Soden Moreland, Sharon Lask Munson, Alessandra Nysether-Santos, Marge Piercy, Cynthia Jo Pratt, Elena Lelia Radulescu, Bridget Ramsey, Prartho Sereno, Sherry Shahan, Bonnie Stanard, Margaret D. Stetz, Editor's Choice Award winner Theresa Timmons, Glen Peters Vecchione, and Rp Verlaine. An interview with Theresa Timmons is included in all three editions. Thank you to everyone who contributes, reads, and shares this and other issues of LSPJ! Have a creative 2026!

Poets in this collection: Sam Aureli, Susan Brandes, Michael Brockley, Dan Carpenter, Kersten Christianson, Jennifer Clark, Loralee Clark, Irene W. Collins, Jordan Corley, Salvatore Difalco, Arvilla Fee, Diane Funston, John Hinton, Katherine January, Lorraine Jeffery, Porsche Jones, Leena Joshi...

11/26/2025

Grab these excellent journals and sink into poetry you'll love by talented poets from around the globe.

10/26/2025

Hello, poets.

The theme for Issue 23 of Last Stanza Poetry Journal is The Neighborhood. The cover is by Nat Karson.

The deadline for submissions is December 31st, 2025. A single $100 award will be given for an outstanding poem. An interview with the Editor’s Choice Award winner will be published in the same issue (optional). There is never a reading fee.

Poems may be in any style, but preferably non-rhyming. Submit up to three poems, each no longer than 64 lines, to [email protected] as a single Word document or within the body of an email. There is no budget for author copies, as proceeds are used to purchase copies for libraries. Published poems will be considered for a Pushcart Prize nomination. Authors retain all rights to their poems. Reprints are no longer accepted.

Last Stanza Poetry Journal is published worldwide in ebook, softcover, and color-illustrated hardcover editions. It is available primarily from Amazon, but some issues are also available via these and other sites: Barnes & Noble, Walmart, Book Depository, Blackwell, and Powell’s.

#22 and all back issues are available through Amazon.

10/20/2025

Announcing the nominees for the Pushcart Prize in Poetry from Last Stanza Poetry Journal. Congratulations to these poets and thank you to all who have made this decision terribly difficult!

10/08/2025

Announcing the publication of Last Stanza Poetry Journal 22: Arts & Crafts. The cover model for Issue 22 is Gertrude Jekyll, the most influential Arts & Crafts garden designer of the early 20th century. She inspired poets to write about gardens, design, arts, and crafts, including origami, weaving, painting, photography, calligraphy, sewing, and music. Poets in this collection: Nimisha Ajaikumar, Linda Anderson, Angela Arnold, Lynn Axelrod, Donna Best, Annette L. Brown, Heather Cameron, Alison Carrano, John Philip Christie, Loralee Clark, Rita Coleman, Joanne Durham, Christian Emecheta, Meg Freer, Jacob Friesenhahn, Aysha Gambo, Ann Howells, Carole Johnston, Jenny Kalahar, Felicia Mitchell, Cynthia R. Pratt, Matthew Proser, Donna Pucciani, Maureen Schirack, Prartho Sereno, Eric Paul Shaffer, Sherry Shahan, Elizabeth Shanaz, Poppy Sindral, Margaret D. Stetz, Rowan Tate, Barbara Usher, Rp Verlaine, Joshua Walker, Kevin West, Joely Williams, Tabatha Yeatts. Included is an interview with Editor’s Choice Award winner Barbara Usher.

10/07/2025

Issue 22 is coming soon.

09/30/2025

My reminder to submit nominations to the Pushcart Prize came today. Any poems published in Last Stanza through the past year and submitted until midnight tonight will be considered.

08/30/2025

The theme for Last Stanza Poetry Journal Issue #22 is Arts & Crafts. The cover is a portrait of Gertrude Jekyll, the most influential Arts & Crafts garden designer of the early 20th century. Let her inspire you to write of gardens, design, or any arts or crafts.

The deadline for submissions is September 30th, 2025. A single $100 award will be given for an outstanding poem. There is never a reading fee. An interview with the Editor’s Choice Award winner will be published in the same issue (optional).

Poems may be any style, but preferably non-rhyming. Submit up to three poems, each no longer than 64 lines, to [email protected] as a single Word document or within the body of an email. There is no budget for author copies, as proceeds are used to purchase copies for libraries. Published poems will be considered for a Pushcart Prize nomination. Authors retain all rights to their poems. Reprints are no longer accepted.

Last Stanza Poetry Journal is published worldwide in ebook, softcover, and color-illustrated hardcover editions. It is available primarily from Amazon, but some issues are also available via these and other sites: Barnes & Noble, Walmart, Book Depository, Blackwell, and Powell’s.