En•Trance Journal was founded in 2025 and has released their first two issues, publishing twice a year on the solstices. They are currently opened for submissions of poetry and artwork with the theme “altered states” until May 1. For more information, see my interview with editors Dion O’Reilly & Addie Mahmassani with a link to submission guidelines below.

HOPKINSON: Tell me a little bit about En•Trance Journal. 

O’REILLY/MAHMASSANI: The editors at En•Trance believe poetry transforms us, both in the reading and in the writing. We are interested in poetry about altered states: by altered states, we do not specifically mean drug-induced experiences—though we’d love to see some poems on that topic—but rather the numinous experience of entering different states of consciousness. 

For example, Dorianne Laux sent us a poem about NDEs (Near Death Experiences). In our podcast section, which we call Trance•Cast, former Santa Cruz County Poet Laureate Ellen Bass reads and discusses a poem we published about her disorientation when she nearly crashed her car with a baby in the backseat. Kim Addonizio submitted a poem about insomnia, her wild imaginings at 4:00 in the morning. 

HOPKINSON: How/why was En•Trance Journal originally started? 

O’REILLY/MAHMASSANI: We love these lines from D.H Lawrence: What is the knocking?/What is the knocking at the door in the night?/It is somebody wants to do us harm.//No, no, it is the three strange angels./Admit them, admit them. 

Many poets express similar ideas: Rilke, Yeats, Blake; and many psychologists have given us beautiful theories on art and creativity as near-magic portals to otherwise inaccessible realms. Foremost among them, Carl Jung wrote extensively about numinosity: “curiosities which the logical mind cannot explain.” But Dion could not find many journals where she could read or submit such numinous work. Once she was able to articulate what she wanted to do, her likeminded co-editors, Addie Mahmassani, Jeremy Graves, Roxi Power, and Paul Nelson appeared in her life, and we agreed on the project.  

HOPKINSON: Who is your target reader audience? 

O’REILLY/MAHMASSANI: The word “psychedelic” comes from Greek roots: psyche, meaning “soul” or “mind” and delein, meaning “to manifest.” To us this implies revealing previously buried or half-forgotten elements of the mind. Often, this is what we mean by discovery in a poem. We hope to reach people who are resolute about delving that way in what they read and write. 

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

O’REILLY/MAHMASSANI: We go into detail about that on the site because we don’t want people to think we are just some kind of stoner rag. That being said, we are interested in psychedelic trips, but recognize there might not be a default mental state, and many experiences alter us: meditation, falling in love, falling out of love, the effects of nature, how we eat, and how much social media we consume. 

All the usual poetic tools count in our decisions: music, diction, syntax, insight, risk, creativity, but the main decider is this: can we feel the light touch of another world? Can we feel the lyric moment?

We do love speculative writing, absurdism, surrealism, and lyric leaps, but all three of the main editors lean toward a strong discursive or linguistic throughline that creates cohesion. While we believe deeply in the freedom from conventional sense-making that poetry allows–in fact that’s our whole pursuit at En•Trance—we also believe in making poetry accessible to a broad audience, one that has not necessarily had access to costly academic training, one that is not necessarily steeped in some of poetry’s more theoretical, linguistic debates. As artists in this era of crisis in the U.S., we are thinking about the toll elitism has taken on this country and how poetry can or cannot help; we are sensitive, perhaps more than other journals, to the way poetry can alienate readers we actually want to embrace.

We prefer shorter work, 40 lines or less, but we are not wedded to that.

We want to be surprised and delighted!

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

O’REILLY/MAHMASSANI: We have never received a strong poem about an actual psychedelic experience and the insights gained therein. That might be because the revelations from ingesting these drugs (or medicines or teachers as they are sometimes called) seem trite: love is the energizing force of the universe, we are all connected, we are all pure energy, the world is scintillatingly beautiful. Those kinds of insights are hard to impart. Dion, in particular, would love to see a powerful poem about an ayahuasca journey because it is something she has never experienced, and she’s curious. Of course, some trips are scary, and we would love to hear about that too. But any topic is fine as long as the work sparks a strong lyric moment where time slows and we feel changed.

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

O’REILLY/MAHMASSANI: So many! We think it’s important to read and support journals. I (Dion) always subscribe to American Poetry Review because I can’t discern what the editor is looking for. She accepts all styles and kinds of poets, but whatever the work, it is engaging and highly crafted. Other journals we favor: New Ohio Review, Sugar House Review, SWWIM, Indolent Books, Rattle, Vox Populi, Slipstream, Atlanta Review.

We’ve also been excited to realize we seem to be part of a groundswell of general interest in what might exist beyond the material world. For example, we love Elastic Magazine, a beautiful new publication dedicated to psychedelic art and literature; and we are avid fans of The Telepathy Tapes, a thrilling, sometimes controversial, podcast about the origins of consciousness. 

HOPKINSON: What is your favorite part of being on staff with the En•Trance Journal?

O’REILLY/MAHMASSANI: We love our co-editor, Jeremy Graves, and our editors-at-large Paul Nelson and Roxi Power. The whole project came together so organically and seamlessly, like it was meant to happen. Connecting with poets by featuring their work and chatting with them in the podcast is rewarding. We love finding poems that excite us and then sharing them with the world! 

We also enjoy picking and promoting the artwork we have in each issue. The current issue features Bellingham artist Rebecca Meloy’s work, which captures the magical landscapes of the Pacific Northwest. 

HOPKINSON: Where can we send submissions? 

O’REILLY/MAHMASSANI: It would be best to go to the website and look at the guidelines. We haven’t gotten onto Submittable, so there are a few specific steps that are outlined on our submissions link at entrancejournal.net

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

O’REILLY/MAHMASSANI: journalentrance@gmail.com

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

O’REILLY/MAHMASSANI: Our winter 2025 issue just came out, and we think it’s pretty great. Dion is in conversation with some amazing poets for the summer 2026 issue, a couple of National Book Award finalists, a Pulitzer Prize winner, and a very tender poet whom everyone knows and loves, plus a stack of promising poems from people we’ve never heard of. It will be great!

Click here to read submission guidelines.

• SUBMISSION DEADLINE: May 1, 2026
  • Will reopen June 21, 2026
• THEME(S): Altered states!
• FORMAT: Online and audio podcast
• SUBMISSION FEE: None 
• PAYMENT: None
• ISSUE FREQUENCY: Twice a year on the solstices
• AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: 1-3 months
• SUBMISSION METHOD: Email
• SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: Yes
• FORMS: Poetry, Artwork
• LISTINGS: Duotrope
• SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook, Instagram

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