The Contributist Reader, Launching Sept. 1

Also: we’re running a poetry contest!

NOTE: We’ve decided to continue the cinquain contest past the first issue! Please continue sending us your cinquains following the instructions below.

Welcome to the Contributist Reader.

The Contributist Reader is an experimental journal dedicated to the exploration and development of a new social theory — contributism. Though we have already soft-launched with the first twelve entries — our Contributism – An Introduction series — our official launch date is September 1st, 2024.

Starting then, we will begin posting entries bi-weekly. You can find them on the website, and subscribed members will receive them in their email inboxes.

Want to learn more about contributism, and the Reader? Check out our about page.

Are you as excited as we are? Then let us know by posting in the comments, joining in our discussion, or by submitting an entry draft or idea for potential publication.

Want to be included in the first entry? We’re running a poetry contest! The theme is American cinquans, a simple type of short-form poetry, like a haiku or a limerick. The form was developed by American poet Adelaide Crapsey, and takes the form of a five line poem, with a syllabic count of of 2 – 4 – 6 – 8 – 2. Here’s an example from Crapsey:

November Night

Listen.
With faint dry sound,
Like steps of passing ghosts,
The leaves, frost-crisp’d, break from the trees
And fall.

And here’s an example from Pablo Parabola:

Gladness

Can work
Come with gladness?
Can backs bend, then unbend,
Eyes smiling, proud and free of rage
And pain?

Your contribution can be about anything, but it should engage in some way with the contributist spirit, however you interpret that.

Send your submission to [email protected], as well as your name and hometown if you’d like to be credited.