Get a Free Writer's Page at Writers, Poets, Playwrights
--
(Advertisements – Scroll down for the magazine.)
(Begin Magazine)
--
Switch between waxpoetryart.com publications:
Wax Poetry and Art
| Weekly Poems
| Haiku Imperium
SWAV Poetry
| Under 25 Poetry
| Young Poets World
Kirk Ramdath presents Visual Art
| Photographers from Earth
The Short Play's the Thing
| Flash Fiction Takeover
Read and Submit to the Poetry and Art News
Get a Free Writer's Page at Writers, Poets, Playwrights
--
Updated September 4th, 2026
SWAV Poetry is an international publication that publishes Spoken Word, Audio, and Video (SWAV) poetry from around the world.
SWAV Poetry is part of waxpoetryart.com –
Visit waxpoetryart.com to explore poetry
(including haiku
and spoken word),
visual art,
photography,
play,
and fiction
submission opportunities.
Experience the thrills of the Weekly Poems Contest.
Submission Guidelines
Code of Conduct and Privacy Policy
If this is your first visit to a waxpoetryart.com publication, please read
the Code of Conduct and Privacy Policy at the end of the page.
SWAV Poetry is published in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada by Florencia Bay Books. Edited and designed by Kirk Ramdath. Nanaimo is located on the traditional and unceded territory of the Snuneymuxw First Nation of the Coast Salish Peoples.
Agreement Statement
You must include the following statement with your submission:
"I agree with the guidelines for SWAV Poetry."
SWAV Poetry invites all poets to submit audio and video readings and performances of their work. Submit spoken word, audio, and video poetry from around the world.
Frequency of Submissions
Every calendar month, you may submit one spoken word, audio, or video poem up to 5 minutes in length.
Submit via a link to embeddable media such as YouTube.
Rolling Submissions (New!)
- Submissions are open all year.
- Submissions will receive acceptances or expire within one month.
There will not be a direct rejection notice; submissions will expire instead, after one month (30 days).
- Submissions sometimes might be offered publication later than one month.
In that case, the publication will query the availability of the work.
- Spoken word, audio, and video poetry will now be published individually on a rolling basis,
instead of all-together on fixed dates as previously.
Place Submission into Email, Not Attachment
The text of the entire submission must be included in the body of the email.
You may include an attached Word document that contains the submission as a backup,
however the text of the submission MUST be included in the body of the email.
Zero Tolerance for AI-Generated Work
Submissions that use generated AI are not permitted and will result in a permanent ban.
Language of Publication
The language of publication is English.
Limited use of a few words using local terms and languages is appropriate when it suits the work.
Provide a note for the translations and if necessary, for the punctuation.
Previously Published is Allowed
SWAV Poetry exists to meet the lack of spoken word, audio, and video literary publications.
Therefore, SWAV Poetry will accept submissions of spoken word, audio, and video poetry
that have been previously published or featured in publications and festivals.
Young Poets World – for Poets 18 and Under
Persons under 18 years of age are now required to submit poetry to
Young Poets World.
(Currently there are no SWAV Poetry opportunities for Under 18s, but that may happen soon.)
Media Format & Running Time
Spoken word, audio, and video poetry should be uploaded to a site such as YouTube, and the link can be included with your
SWAV Poetry submission. The Running time should not exceed 5 minutes.
Titled Work Only
Submit titled poems only.
Write A Note About the Work (Optional)
Write a note about the submitted work that gives some background about the piece, or insight
into your motivation or process of writing the piece.
Anything that you think is interesting and want to share with readers.
This section can be up to around 100 words long, and will be published with your work if accepted.
As well, this section may be published separately in Poetry and Art News
to help promote this SWAV Poetry submission.
Prohibition on Harmful Content
As per the Code of Conduct, work that is considered harmful toward any group of people will not be considered.
Biography
Include a short biography, approximately 100 words, maximum.
Please use your intended artist name in your biography.
You may include one external link to a social media page or website.
Long biographies will be truncated at the editor's discretion.
Legal Name and Mailing, Postal, or Residential Address
Include your legal name, if different from your artist name, and complete mailing address
including street number, street name, city, province / state, country, postal code, and optional phone / WhatsApp number.
Notice of Receipt of Your Submission
All submissions will receive an automated reply confirming that the email containing your submission has been received.
Unfortunately, some email servers may send the automated reply to your junk mail folder, or otherwise prevent it from reaching your inbox.
In most cases, your email was received.
Submission Queries: Please Wait One Month
To allow time to process the submission, please wait one month before querying your submission.
When querying your submission, please forward the email containing the original submission.
Simultaneous Submissions
Simultaneous submissions to other publishers are allowed.
Please withdraw your submission immediately if it is accepted elsewhere.
Your submission expires after one month, so after that, there is no need to notify us.
Notice of Acceptance
This publication will strive to give notice of acceptance within one month of receiving the submission.
When accepted, the submission may be published immediately,
or an estimated publication date will be provided such as within one month, within two months, etc.
This will be based on the number of pending publications.
After one month following the submission date, any non-accepted submission will expire.
Some submissions may receive publication offers after one month passes.
When this happens, the publication will query to confirm
whether the submission is available.
Accepted submissions will be published online in the SWAV Poetry Library.
Accessible to All
This publication is available to the public for free online,
accessible to everyone who has Internet access.
This means that you will be able to share your work with as many people as possible –
family, friends, fans, colleagues, and truly, the entire world.
SWAV Poetry World Cup Qualification
Every poem featured in SWAV Poetry qualifies for entry into the SWAV Poetry World Cup.
All SWAV Poetry publications during the calendar year will compete for the
SWAV Poetry World Cup that will happen the next year after publication, on January 15th.
All publications qualify, and the top qualifiers (based on readers) will be noted on the
SWAV Poetry World Cup web page at the beginning of the contest.
Copyright
Copyright of the published work remains with the original author.
Publication Status: Featured
The submitted spoken word, audio, and video poetry is already published and open to the public when it is uploaded to a site such
as YouTube.
Therefore, it is possible to think of SWAV Poetry as "featuring" your poem, or "publishing a feature" on your poem.
Royalties for Print and Electronic Sales
If the work is ever collected into a book or made available for sale in any print (or physical) format, the artist will receive a minimum 20% royalty.
If the work is included in a printed collection with other artists (as is most likely), the 20% royalty is shared equally among all artists,
based on the number of submissions contributed.
If the work is ever made available for sale in a digital format, a 50% royalty will be given.
Royalties for print and electronic sales will be paid out annually in January if a minimum of $10 CAD is accrued.
Artist Page and Artist Collection
All published artists receive a SWAV Poetry Artist Page.
The Artist Page will house the artist's biography and the list of their publications across all SWAV Poetry publications.
Once the artist accumulates 12 publications on their Artist Page, and every 12 publications thereafter,
an Artist Collection will be published in the Library.
(Currently there is not a payment offered for SWAV Poetry Artist Collections, but this could change in the future.)
National and Other Collections
In addition to being added to their own artist page, new publications are also added to the
Countries page for their nation,
to build a national collection. Other theme-based collections may be published online in the
SWAV Poetry Library at any publication date.
No Initial Payment
There is no initial payment upon publication.
Editor's Right to Edit
The editor reserves the right to make whatever changes are deemed necessary to ensure that publication occurs.
Email Subject Header
Use the following statement as your email subject header:
– "SWAV Poetry submission."
Place Submission into Email, Not Attachment
The text of the entire submission must be included in the body of the email.
You may include an attached Word document that contains the submission as a backup,
however the text of the submission MUST be included in the body of the email.
Submission Checklist
Submissions should include the following components.
1) Agreement Statement.
"I agree with the guidelines for SWAV Poetry."
2) One Spoken Word, Audio, or Video Poem.
Upload the audio or video to a website such as YouTube (that allows the file to be embedded), and submit the link.
Maximum running time, 5 minutes.
Write A Note About the Work (Optional)
Write a note about the submitted work, up to 100 words.
3) Biography.
Up to 100 words, can include one link.
4) Postal Mailing Address / Address of Residence.
– Artist Name:
– Legal Name:
– Street Number and Name:
– City:
– Province/State:
– Country:
– Postal Code:
– (Optional) Phone / WhatsApp:
Send your submission by email to info@florenciabaybooks.com.
About the Editor
Kirk Ramdath is the publisher, editor, and designer of SWAV Poetry
and the waxpoetryart.com publications.
He has read and performed at poetry events in Vancouver, Toronto, Halifax, and many other cities in Canada.
Kirk had the honour of performing a poem at the Opening Ceremony of the world-famous Peace Bridge in Calgary in 2012.
Watch the video of Kirk's Peace Bridge Poem.
He has been a publisher since 2005.
He also organized many dozen poetry events, around the 2010s.
Particularly, open-mic poetry events with a featured artist.
Kirk's first book, Love in a Handful of Dust,
was published by Florencia Bay Books in 2025
and was originally published in print by Frontenac House in 2011.
In 2002, Kirk obtained a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature, with Distinction,
and a Minor in Philosophy from the University of Calgary, in Canada.
Kirk was born in Trinidad and Tobago, moved to Canada at age 10 with his family,
and now writes and publishes from Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada.
Code of Conduct
All persons representing SWAV Poetry will adhere to the highest ethical standard of conduct and respect
for all persons and will operate with integrity and in good faith in all matters.
SWAV Poetry will not discriminate against any person because of race, religion, sexual orientation,
gender, financial or educational status, physical ability, or any other reason.
SWAV Poetry will not accept any submission considered harmful in any way, especially toward a marginalized community.
Contact publisher and editor Kirk Ramdath directly with any concerns by email at info@florenciabaybooks.com.
SWAV Poetry reserves the right to refuse or annul any agreement with any party whose association is harmful, or is deemed to become harmful,
to the readers, employees, volunteers, artists, and any related persons, and / or brands associated with SWAV Poetry.
Privacy Policy
Personal data, artistic work, and all information provided to SWAV Poetry as part of emailed submissions or any other communication
will never be used or shared in any manner except those explicitly stated and mutually agreed upon.
Your data is protected by two-factor authentication using Microsoft Authenticator.
SWAV Poetry is part of waxpoetryart.com.
- This website and all contents ©Florencia Bay Books and specified artists.
(End Magazine)
--
(Advertisement)