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.
So what does this mean for you? Well, keep an eye on the submission guidelines; they will be changing in light of this shift. Next step – follow them! We regularly get submissions that completely disregard those guidelines! We bin ’em with impish glee, and will continue to do so.
Don’t plagiarize the work of others. Don’t submit previously published work. Do give us your best. Check Submittable, your spam folder – sometimes our emails go awry. (Speaking of spam: one submission at a time, please. Have patience.)
Are you an international submitter? Payment can be tricky. We use Paypal; meet us halfway and work with that.
If you know of anyone capable of giving back – great! Let them know we’re accepting donors; direct sponsorship, cash-for-poets. Our email is editor@bareknucklepoet.com; get in touch.
‘Think forward, answer back.’ remains our motto, but these are unprecedented times. Fighters, let’s answer strong.
Look after each other, and give us yer best goddamn poetry.
Jerzy Beaumont
Editor-in-chief
Bareknuckle Poet
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All works published by Bareknuckle Poet ISSN 2204 – 0420 are licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution – NonCommercial – NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
© Bareknuckle Poet ~ Journal of Letters & Individual Authors 2020. Edited by Jerzy Beaumont, Arielle Cottingham & Guests.
BAREKNUCKLE POET JOURNAL OF LETTERS ISSN 2204 – 0420 Published by Bareknuckle Books ABN 13 287 594 649
Est. ~ BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA 2014
Think forward ~ Answer back
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