Emma Press Gothic Poems Anthology

We are looking for poems inspired by the gothic. We are looking for uncanny poems that make us think about the gothic in a new way. We want to see dark poems that spook us to our core, as well as lighter poems that engage with gothic themes or motifs. What is the gothic? Think of mysterious settings: desolate landscapes and decaying mansions with too many doors; think of secret histories, and monsters who may or may not be lurking just out of sight. It’s ghosts and vampires and unhappy people doing strange things. Gothic stories are full of dangerous desires and places where pain and pleasure mix. It’s a big genre and it encompasses so much – think of Jane Eyre and Dracula, but also think of Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea and Nick Joaquin’s Tropical Gothic. You could take on the voice of your favourite gothic character in your poem, or work to create a chilling atmosphere or eerie mood throughout your poem. We want to see unusual approaches to the gothic, which means poems that take risks and shine a new light on gothic themes and our understanding of them. You might want to engage in an informed way with historical settings and gothic literary forebears, or you might find serious or playful ways to bring gothic ideas into the 21st century and beyond. We’d like to see it all. But don’t just replicate the past and its problems – if you want to engage with the history of the genre, we’re sure you can find new ways of talking back to it, or through it. We want this anthology to be full of exciting, contemporary interpretations of the gothic. We want poems that are innovative and stay with us long after we have read them.

Country of Publication

United Kingdom