Rhizome Press

Quality Poetry since 2002
Now Featuring Extreme Formalism

Rhizome Press is a small poetry press currently focused on publishing anthologies of extreme formal poetry written in English. The press's preference includes close attention to vivid imagery, compressed language that is precise yet layered, strict rhyme and meter, musicality, and accessible meaning. Surprise, humor, modern topics, and radical content are encouraged, as are fresh takes on traditional themes.

Extreme formalism is characterized by regularity that restricts exception. Extreme poetry sticks to impeccably consistent structure: pure rhyme (allowing for regional pronunciation) that adheres to a clearly defined repetition scheme, with rhymes close enough together that they register; meter that is consistent, with exceptions only for stresses, and then rarely and only when the context calls for it, but with no added or subtracted syllables (though allowing for elision, and colloquial and regional pronunciation); and when a line is broken, the parts taken together equal a line with the requisite beats and rhyme.

Nonce forms using varied meters are still consistently structured. For example, if the first stanza is five lines, two iambic pentameter followed by two iambic tetrameter followed by a final iambic pentameter, rhymed a,a,b,b,a, then the next stanza follows the same meter and rhyme pattern, though the rhyme might be b,b,c,c,b or c,c,d,d,c, and so on. Rising and falling rhymes must be used consistently within stanzas. For example, in a poem of five-line stanzas, if lines three and five end with falling rhymes and the other rhymes are rising, all the poem’s stanzas must follow the same pattern. The stanza pattern is consistent throughout. Unlike semi-formal poetry, extreme poetry’s structure is tight and precise.


Be sure to check out Rhizome Press's
Extreme Sonnets, Extreme Formal Poems, and Extreme Sonnets II



Links to Anthology Poets




Coming Up Next: Extreme Sonnets & Villanelles

The submission period will likely begin late 2025.

Please wait for the official announcement.
Early submissions will be discarded without being read.


*** FYI, in advance ***

Sonnets should be the traditional fourteen lines (stanzas are fine) in iambic pentameter, with a traditional rhyme scheme (not stacked running couplets) of pure rhymes (not slant or eye rhymes). No falling end rhymes are allowed, except possibly in a closing couplet. With the exception of spondees, rarely are substitutions for iambs justified.

Villanelles should be in the traditional form, but with a consistent meter pattern (for example, iambic or trochaic), which though not part of the villanelle's definition, is often used and does make the form extreme. The repeating lines should be consistently identical in wording, though with added meaning, with only maybe a line with a word or two changed for a specific intended purpose. (For example, in "If I Could Tell You," Auden switches the recurring line "Time will say nothing but I told you so" to "Will Time say nothing but I told you so?" in the penultimate line.

Yes, the editor is looking for extreme.

Poets may submit up to ten extreme poems, sonnets and/or villanelles or a combo. The editor welcomes the max ten poems and might invite the poet to submit additional poems for consideration during the open submission period. Poems may be previously published and may be published elsewhere at any time if accepted for the anthology.

Each poem must be titled, not numbered. Do not use all caps for poem titles. Each poem must be on a separate page. Pages must not be numbered. Please include a bio page (err on the side of too much info, which can be edited). All the poems plus the bio page should be submitted as a single file.

Please do not submit sequences, though you may submit two companion sonnets or villanelles if the pair has a title and each poem has its own subtitle. If the editor chooses only one of the two poems, its subtitle can become its title. Each of the two paired poems counts toward the max of ten poems. (Check with the editor first for an okay to submit more than two companion poems; long sequences will not be considered.) Please do not include poems with footnotes, long epigraphs, or personal epigraphs (such as 'to my wife'); if your epigraph is a quote, be sure to include name and text source (for example, poet's name and title of poem, or article's title, publication, and date).

Please format your file in Times New Roman 11 or 12 point with inserted page and section breaks removed. If you copied/pasted your poems from an online source or from a formatted book, please remove any hidden or visible code or special formatting. (A standard Word document would be great.) Attach your poems in a single document in .doc, .docx, or .odt format only; for security reasons, the editor will no longer accept PDFs or submissions via Google Docs or any cloud or other online service. Send your document in a single email with "[your full name], Extreme anthology" as the subject heading. Emails or submissions containing attachments, links, images, or any potential hack demons will be discarded without being read.

Please send submissions only during the submission period
Contact: editor.rhizome.press@gmail.com
(slow to respond during non-submission periods; emails with links will be discarded)
Beth Houston is Rhizome Press editor