Poems by men, for men, on the journey of illumination
This PNW anthology is a collection of poems from men who have been initiated, live, or volunteer in the PNW chapters of Illuman. We are seeking poems that reflect on the Journey of Illumination and descent, connection with nature, ritual space, grief, belonging, and the masculine archetypes of King, Warrior, Magician, Lover.
These poems do not need to be literal re-tellings of your initiation experience. Instead, you’re invited to play with these themes loosely, calling upon metaphor or analogy. Poetry, like ritual, has freedom to work in the realm of the symbolic. What did you write in the weeks, months, and years following your rites? What wants to be said about your process of integration? What does the 5,000 year old man inside need to say?
Open to all experience levels, this collection is not intended to promote competition or elitism. Rather, our aim is to encourage all members of this community to find their voice, speak from the heart, and participate in the collective effort of bringing beauty into the world. Every man who submits will have at least one piece published.
Once the submission, editorial, and formatting processes have been completed, the editors will host a live event for the PNW community featuring readings from the anthology.
Our hope is this anthology can go on to be a spark within the Illuman community and beyond, an offering of joyful service to awaken men to their belovedness so they might love the world.
The Editorial Process
The submission window will be open from June 15 – July 31 and each member of the community is invited to share up to two poems. Once submissions have closed, each piece will be reviewed, selected, co-edited with the author, formatted, and included in the anthology.
Submission Guidelines
- Submission window closes July 31, 2025
- Open to all men with connections to the PNW chapters of Illuman
- Send 2 submissions — sending 2 pieces allows the editors to choose which piece best fits the anthology
- Poems of all styles welcome
- No poems longer than two single spaced pages
- Format:
- Times New Roman font, size 12
- Poems should be left-justified
- Include a title, author name, and email on each piece
- Both poems in a single document
- Please send the document as a Word Doc (.docx) attachment