Ten Years of Tinderbox Poetry Journal.
Join us in celebrating a decade of uplifting vibrant voices!
This solstice marks ten years of Tinderbox Poetry Journal.
To commemorate the collective effort of contributors, editors, readers and staff throughout the years, we’re launching an interview series called “Ripple Map.” In this series we connect with past contributors about where they are and what they’ve written since publication in Tinderbox. The idea is to trace the ripples, the effect, this little digital journal with a ten-year history and significant contributor archive has had on readers and writers all over the world.
Here’s a preview of our upcoming issue, which includes this interview with one of our poetry editors: Threa Almontaser.
1. Take us back to your Tinderbox acceptance email, what was that like? At that point, how long had you been submitting work?
I was stoked to get my Tinderbox acceptance! It was at a time where I had just begun submitting my little fetus poems into the world. In the beginning, I had to self-navigate the journal and magazine submissions world with very few tools. The younger me felt validated receiving a “We loved it!” from a reputable journal that had published so many great poets before me who have gone on to write fantastic books. That acceptance pushed me forward.
2. Trace the path from that poem then, to your writing now. What’s different, what’s consistent?
Such a great question. I think the work I produced during that point in my career was way rawer. I’ve learned to add a thin layer of plastic wrap around my poems during the editing phases that I used to tear straight through back in the day. Though I’ve become more selective, I hope the intimacy still shines through.
3. What would you say to encourage emerging writers?
Disentangle yourself from that vision of success or victory being in the hands of the institution. And allow your poems to change. Give yourself as a writer that kind of grace to know you’re always capable of change in yourself and in your work. Especially when it comes to imagining more possibilities for yourself and where the poems can go—aim high and aim widely!