Finally it’s time for me to announce my big poetry news: Two of my poems, “Naked Truth” and “River Runs Red,” are featured in the April 2012 issue of Underground Voices!

Underground Voices is an online literary magazine that publishes poetry, prose, and artwork from up-and-coming writers and artists once a month. It also publishes one print anthology per calendar year and has featured a number of pieces that have been recognized by the Pushcart Prize, the StorySouth Million Writer’s Award for Short Stories, and Dzanc Books’ Best of the Web.

According to its website, Underground Voices’ mission is to publish quality works that are “dark, raw, and hard-hitting.” Previously published works have touched on a wide range of social issues, psychological disorders, and other sensitive current-day issues that aren’t widely covered in more conventional literary magazines. Although my work doesn’t normally take this direction, “Naked Truth” and “River Runs Red” do – and I thought they’d be a good fit for Underground Voices.

I almost can’t describe the flurry of emotions I’ve experienced leading up to today. It’s a mixture of pride, excitement, even nervousness! More than anything else, though, I feel immense satisfaction and triumph. I’ve been submitting poems to print and online publications for about 5 years – and I’ve learned to not let the sting of disappointment from rejection letters discourage me. Now, to finally have my work accepted for the first time since college is like striking gold. And in a time where so many developing writers are going down the route of self-publishing, this recognition restores my faith in the “old school” way of getting one’s work out to the world.

I would love to talk about the poems themselves… but that will take a while!  So, for now… Click here to read “Naked Truth” and “River Runs Red” now at Underground Voices! And if the magazine’s theme appeals to you, I recommend reading other works in this month’s issue.

~ Sara