Garry Gay invented rengay, the six-verse form of thematic linked poetry, in August of 1992. To mark rengay’s 30th anniversary in 2022, Michael Dylan Welch seeks your best rengay for an anthology to be provided here on this website, with selections to be published by Press Here in a printed book. To submit your rengay, please follow these submission guidelines exactly:

1. You may submit any number of rengay, but no more than three two-person rengay written with any one partner or three three-person rengay written with the same partners. Rengay in the two-person and three-person format are most welcome, but solo and six-person rengay will also be considered.

2. Each rengay MUST identify the theme(s) under the title (the themes will help for editing purposes).

3. Each rengay must include contributor names and locations (city, state/province, or city/country if outside of North America), and indicate the authorship sequence (who wrote which verse).

4. Previously published rengay are strongly preferred. Include all prior publication credits or indicate if unpublished. For journal publication credits, follow this format: “Frondpog 46:2, Summer 2014.” (include journal name, volume/issue and season/month, and year; omit page number references). For book publication credits, follow this format: “Tasting the Cosmos. Minot, North Dakota: Knopf, 2014.” (include book title, location of publisher, publisher, and year; if other information is important, include that also). Please use the punctuation shown in the preceding formats. If the rengay won or placed in a contest, please also include contest name, year, and placement.

5. If you wish to nominate favourite published rengay by other writers, you are welcome to submit them (we will secure permission later if accepted for publication). Please also include a short paragraph explaining why you like the rengay and what its successes are (optional, but preferred).

6. Submission period: October 1, 2020 to November 20, 2022. After November 20, please query. No submission fee. Book ordering details will be provided later (discounted for contributors). [NOTE: Please inquire about making late submissions.]

7. Submit entries to Michael Dylan Welch at WelchM@aol.com. Rengay may be typed or pasted into the email message or (preferably) attached in a Microsoft Word or RTF file. If submitting multiple rengay at one time, each rengay should appear in a separate file attachment (each with the complete information requested here). You may submit multiple files at different times.

8. For previously published rengay, you do not need to get your partner’s permission to submit unless you want to (we can arrange permission later if the rengay is accepted for publication). For unpublished rengay, you must have your partner’s permission before you submit.

The anthology’s main sections will feature rengay by two and three contributors, with likely sections of solo and six-person rengay, and experimental rengay. This anthology will also be open to representing rengay from as many countries as possible, and welcomes rengay in languages other than English (the original languages must be submitted with the English translation). I look forward to considering your rengay collaborations and celebrating rengay’s 30th anniversary! —Michael Dylan Welch

Learn more about rengay.