Welcome to Tar River Poetry
We publish poems that are compelling and provocative, and prose about poetry that opens up new perspectives.
Tar River Poetry advances and celebrates all forms of poetry by writers working in English around the world. TRP offers a forum for emerging and established voices through our biannual print issues and digital presence. We welcome poems that represent a diversity of interests and perspectives, of readers and writers, and we encourage submissions from underrepresented communities. We are committed to fostering literary community by showcasing work that provokes discussion, reflection, and new ideas.
Our History
Tar River Poetry has published thousands of poems by emerging and well-known poets, including Claudia Emerson, William Stafford, Louis Simpson, Carolyn Kizer, Henry Taylor, A.R. Ammons, and Sharon Olds. It began as a forum for local writers, first called Tar River Poets, by Vernon Ward. When Peter Makuck took over the editorship in 1978, he renamed it Tar River Poetry and launched the publication as a national journal. From 2006 to 2024, Luke Whisnant served as Editor. The Editors today are Helena Feder and Charmaine Cadeau.
Masthead
E D I T O R S
Charmaine Cadeau & Helena Feder
A D V I S O R Y B O A R D
Chris Abani
Alice Allan
Stephanie Bolster
Jane Hirshfield
Brandon Krieg
Dorianne Laux
Amit Majmudar
Matthew Buckley Smith
A D V I S O R Y E D I T O R
Luke Whisnant
I N T E R N S
Onyx Bradley
Rebecca Donaldson
Paige Osché
F O U N D I N G E D I T O R Peter Makuck (1940 – 2023)