Things fall apart. Or they teeter perpetually at the cusp of ruin, forging on regardless.

You know what I mean. Precarious employment. Fragile peace. Endangered species. Shaky democratic institutions. The erosion of trust in expertise. Economic disruption. Or, at a more intimate scale, fluctuations of health. Conversations that require tenderness. The daily tightrope walk of being human. A game of Jenga with trembling hands. Strained metaphors. The line of poetry that breaks when you least expect it. Or that never breaks.

I want poems that put the care into precarious. Or that embody what's precious. Poems that aren't sure of themselves. That come close and speak with a tremulous voice. Poems that are pocket mirrors that reflect back our predicament. Poem-sized sanctuaries. Assemblages of interdependent lines.

This podcast sheds some insight on how Cordite Poetry Review (and Cordite Books) works.

Submission to Cordite 118: PRECARIOUS closes 11.59pm Melbourne time 2 November 2025.

Please note:

1. The guest editor(s) has sovereign selection choice for all poems submitted.
2. Masthead editors will also contribute to the issue.
3. We will only read submissions sent during our official submission periods.
4. Please place up to three (3) poems in one (1) Word, RTF or PDF document (unless specifically noted otherwise for special issues), with no identifying details in the document itself.
5. We are not able to offer feedback on individual poems.
6. Submissions will only be accepted via Submittable …