Diode Poetry Journal has been a steady force in contemporary poetry for nearly twenty years, publishing work that’s sharp, curious, and deeply engaged with the world. Editor Patty Paine has shaped the journal with a commitment to diversity, anti-racism, and a wide aesthetic range, creating a space where emerging and established poets can sit side by side. In this interview, Paine talks about Diode’s origins, editorial vision, and the journal’s upcoming redesign and anniversary projects. Submissions are always open, free, and accepted via email.

HOPKINSON: Tell me a little bit about Diode Poetry Journal.

PAINE: Diode is an online poetry journal that publishes contemporary poetry by both emerging and established poets. From the beginning, we’ve been committed to publishing beautifully crafted poems that embrace complexity and are deeply engaged with the world. We’ve tried to build a journal that actively makes space for a broad range of voices. Our editorial philosophy is rooted in a commitment to diversity, anti-racism, equity, and social justice.

HOPKINSON: How/why was Diode Poetry Journal originally started?

PAINE: I started Diode in 2007, two years after I moved to Qatar. I’d worked on Blackbird during my MFA at VCU, and that experience sparked my interest in literary editing. Moving overseas also made me realize how important literary communities are. Starting a journal felt like a way to stay connected to the conversations happening in contemporary poetry while helping create a space where those conversations could continue across borders.

HOPKINSON: Who is your target reader audience?

PAINE: Anyone who’s curious about what language can do. I like to think our audience is made up of readers looking for poems that don’t just confirm what they already know but invite them to see differently.

HOPKINSON: What type of work are you looking for in submissions?

PAINE: The poems that stay with me are those that feel inevitable once they exist, even if they could never have been imagined beforehand. They are linguistically precise, they earn their emotion, and are animated by genuine curiosity rather than certainty. I’m drawn to work that changes the terms of its own inquiry as it unfolds, arriving somewhere unexpected. Work that seems to discover its own necessity.

HOPKINSON: What do you wish you’d see submitted, but rarely comes in?

PAINE: I’d love to see more visual work. There’s so much exciting work happening between poetry, visual art, and design, and I’d love to see more of that energy find its way into our submissions.

HOPKINSON: What are some of your favorite lit mags/journals?

PAINE: I’m drawn to publications with a clear editorial vision and are willing to take bold aesthetic and ethical stances like, Protean, C Magazine, Apogee Journal, Mizna, Like a Field, The Markaz Review, Decolonial Hacker, Annulet, Lampblack, and Room.

HOPKINSON: What is your favorite part of being on staff with the Diode Poetry Journal?

PAINE: It’s still the thrill of discovering new poets. After all these years, I never get tired of opening a submission and finding a voice I haven’t heard before. That’s one of the great joys of editing. I also love knowing that Diode can help bring those voices into a larger conversation. We’ve always tried to publish work that reflects the breadth of contemporary poetry and to make space for writers whose perspectives have too often been excluded.

HOPKINSON: Where can we send submissions?

PAINE: diodepoetryjournal@gmail.com

HOPKINSON: If someone has a question, how can they contact you?

PAINE: diodepoetryjournal@gmail.com

HOPKINSON: Is there anything exciting coming up you’d like to mention?

PAINE: It’s been a surprisingly eventful and challenging year behind the scenes because our website crashed. We restored the site, but we decided to rebuild the entire journal from the ground up with a completely new design. The crash became an opportunity to rethink and refresh the journal as we head into our twentieth year. In late August we’re going to launch the new site and release a combined 19 and 19.2 issue. We’re also beginning work on a twentieth-anniversary print anthology. Looking back over two decades of publishing is a little surreal, but also exciting. It feels like a chance to celebrate the incredible poets who’ve trusted us with their work while imagining what the next twenty years of Diode might look like.

Click here to read submission guidelines.

• SUBMISSION DEADLINE: August 27, 2026
• FORMAT: Online
• SUBMISSION FEE: None
• PAYMENT: None
• ISSUE FREQUENCY: Three times a year
• AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: 30 days or less
• SUBMISSION METHOD: Email
• SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: Yes
• LISTINGS: Chill Subs, Duotrope
• SOCIAL MEDIA: Instagram

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