by: Aaron Jackson

With each passing year, the number of literary journals on the internet has become as numerous as the range of poetic voices contained therein. Some journals choose to print a range of representative styles. Others, like Three Candles know exactly what they want and choose to target a specific kind of verse. Threecandles.org is the work of sole editor Steve Mueske. Created in 1999, the journal publishes a constant flow of new poetry, fiction, and non-fiction, including book reviews. The journal’s most notable feature is its unconventional publishing format. Three Candles does not publish regular issues, but rather, “the editor posts poems when poetry compels him to do so.” That’s not to say that the publication is lacking in any kind of format. Every past contributor is catalogued by alphabetical order in an easy to use archive, and using approach helps draw readers with the constant promise of new material being added at any given time.

A journal is simply the reflection of its editor’s collective preferences, and Three Candles holds true to this notion. The editor has very refined and specific tastes, and he is not afraid to encourage a certain kind of submission. “I look for well crafted, new poems that speak to the human experience. I generally prefer lyric poems in any form or length that exhibit a strong sense of voice, but I also read and publish formal and experimental poems. The only real criterion is excellence.” To that end, the grade of poetry which the journal publishes resembles that of Richard Hugo or Robert Hass, as well as many other contemporary poets.

The journal’s contemporary content is a post modern mix of meta-literary voice, coupled with strong imagery, and finished by philosophy. Sam Rasnake’s poem "Variations on Lines From Oppen" sets the tone for the newest batch of poetry. “”True seeing is an act of love, is my own act of starting this poem,” he writes. By invoking a quoted line, Rasnake uses the art of poetry itself as a spring board for his own writing. By marrying this kind of philosophical posturing with a depth of image the poet creates verse that questions the art form itself. On the topic of Ars Poetica, or, the art of poetry, Lynne Thompson brings us her own met-literary work "Urban Ars Poetica."

“This is a poem about tough customers:
An admitted fetishist who sells shoes for a living,
A chain smoking busty ballerina, and a dachshund
Who keeps his owner on a short, short leash.

In this poem about tough customers, we meet
At a Hollywood Flophouse-or is it a fish market?”

From the opening line, the poet tells us this is a poem, not a story. We are removed from the reality of the situation, and thus the words become a form of absolute poetry, servicing not just the narrative thread of the piece, but describing its inception as well. Lynne Thompson continues along the same vein with another experimental poem called “Fifteen Surefire Ways to Live Like a Poet,” a surreal, metaphorical list poem. “Set the table with Excalibur-edge to your guests,” she writes. Using image-rich abstractions, she brings you into the process of writing, the very art form of itself.

As far the submission guidelines go, Three Candles' criteria is consistent with the majority of internet publications. The editor will consider 3-5 pieces of poetry per submission, pasted into the body of an email. Because of the formatting errors that may arise when cutting and pasting work, the publication accepts attachments in the rich text format (.rtf) only when necessary to maintain the integrity of your format. The journal will not consider any previously published submissions, or simultaneous submissions, and asks that each submission email contain a ready-made disclaimer pasted into its body. The disclaimer can be found under the submission guidelines section of the site. There is only one exception to these rules: The featured poet section. The goal of the featured poet section is to showcase the evolution of a poet’s work over the course of the poet’s career. The editor asks for submissions of 15-20 pieces of poetry for this section, prefaced by a query letter detailing your idea. A project of this magnitude requires the use of previously published work. In addition to your writing, the editor also asks for a brief one-paragraph biography, and an explanation of what writing poetry means to you. The publication asks first serial rights from its accepted submissions.

Overall Three Candles is an unconventionally formatted journal that specializes in publishing high caliber, post-modern work. It is a labor of love in which its sole editor exerts a watchful eye and applies carefully honed tastes to his submission process.