seeking
by Lin Wang
sometimes there is an itch for poetry:
slight breeze between silver bells
hopeful tangles left undone
soft arcs on creased pages
but mostly
green skies, horizons bare
of calligraphy, horsehair clouds
pooling in unknown characters
today, i write
of ghost breath and intuition
the peeled skin of family
a leaf forgetting its roots
Lin Wang’s work has been nationally and internationally recognized by organizations like YoungArts, Scholastic, and the New Zealand Poetry Society. She recently took 1st in Gannon University’s poetry contest. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in literary magazines such as inscape, Cadence, and Ice divider: New Zealand’s Poetry Anthology of 2011. She edits the online literary magazine, The Sandstar Review. A graduate of the Alabama School of Fine Arts, Lin attends the University of Alabama. She dreams best in June and writes best in October.
What are you seeking through poetry? I seek connection and a sense of beauty through poetry; I seek to capture the small feelings that grip you when you sit quietly, thinking and remembering—writing down words that evoke something timeless and tranquil. I seek a way to describe the way the world works, the way humans are: terrible and beautiful, sadness consumed by lofty aspirations. To me, poetry is an art of connection, an art that doesn’t pretend to have answers. It searches. It asks. It finds answers. Poetry is always seeking something, and I seek to give that impulse voice.
Check out the write-up of the journal in The Writer.
Matter Press recently released titles from Meg Boscov, Abby Frucht, Robert McBrearty, Tori Bond, Kathy Fish, and Christopher Allen. Click here.
Matter Press is now offering private flash fiction workshops and critiques of flash fiction collections here.
Submissions
Poetry, creative nonfiction, and fiction/prose poetry submissions are now closed. The reading period for standard submissions opens again September 15, 2025. Submit here.
Upcoming
05/04 • Leath Tonino
05/11 • Chris Pellizzari
05/18 • Chris Clemens
05/25 • Clayton Eccard
06/01 • TBD
06/08 • TBD
06/15 • TBD
06/22 • TBD
06/29 • TBD
07/06 • TBD
07/13 • TBD
07/20 • TBD
07/27 • TBD
08/03 • TBD
08/10 • TBD
08/17 • TBD
08/24 • TBD
08/31 • TBD
09/07 • TBD
09/14 • TBD
09/21 • TBD