About

For the reader/listener:

The Night Heron Barks is an online poetry journal built on the belief that every poet has their sound. We run large seasonal issues in the fall and the spring. Each one is built like a book. The work we publish is diverse; the only criteria excellence. The experience is immersive. We build our stage with art and sound.

Separate from our seasonal work, we also house book reviews, essays on poetry, and a blog for urgent announcements and poems that are driven by current events and benefit from immediate publishing.

For the poet:

We have short open windows to submit poems throughout the year. It is free, and we try to respond quickly. A majority of the poems we publish derive from unsolicited work. We like artistry and craft. We like risk. The Black-Crowned Night Heron prefers an open nest, often a dozen or more in a single tree. Don’t try and box us. Be yourself and bring your best. The finer points are found on the Submit page.