Artwork © Jerzy Beaumont
⌖ BAREKNUCKLE POET JOURNAL OF LETTERS: EDITORIAL MARCH 24, 2020
Fighters, we’re going to be blunt with you for a spell. Everything is pretty fucked. The world is melting down, and we’re all feeling the heat.
When I took on Bareknuckle in November, I knew I’d never make a cent off it. Didn’t matter; all I wanted was to make a difference. Save a proud literary institution, elevate writers of grit and gumption with this platform.
This COVID-19 pandemic is a time of great crisis, but also an opportunity to show our resilience, strength, and community spirit.
FIGHT: A BAREKNUCKLE PLEDGE
I’m writing today to announce a radical shift to Bareknuckle Poet’s approach in defiance of COVID-19. FIGHT: A BAREKNUCKLE PLEDGE is a streamlining of our submission-to-publication pathway, and a promise to continue paying $30.00 AUD per piece hosted, putting money directly in the pockets of artists.Thirty bucks… it ain’t much. But what we have, we share. We invest. In craft. In community. It may not be much, but when a year’s worth of booked gigs dry up, and even retail side-jobs shuts down… that will help fill a fridge. Ease some strain.
We will be looking for ways to bolster our coffers, apply for grants to pay more artists for longer. This pandemic is looking to linger, and we can’t sprint a marathon. However, until then, please know that we’re doing everything we can. Still waters run deep, as the saying goes.
