innovative. daring. beautiful.
Rockwood Press makes right-sized poetry chapbooks for people who need poems.
We believe chapbooks are an art form as much as a literary form, perfectly suited for revolution, protest, political change, and social critique. They can be both haunting and hauntingly beautiful.
We believe in emerging and established poets and aim to make room for all kinds of mighty voices in teeny books that might not otherwise find their way into the world.
We believe that a work doesn’t have to be full-length to have a full life. That’s why almost all of our releases are open editions.
DIVINE SONG
for St. Hildegard von Bingen
The blessed, (the divine)
as seen in the eyes
of cautious Black Bear
crossing the fields
of dry stalks
as autumn hints
at the deep sleep
(soon) brought by winter
& the silence of divine song
can be heard after Crow
ceases his calling,
resting (wings folded)
on a branch
of a great white oak.
As both a poet and a Friend (Quaker), I have learned to discern and respond to leadings as they emerge. I have often heard these referred to as the callings of the Muse. In my attempts to translate these moments into something tangible or concrete, I seek to find the most potent words and phrases, distilling them down to their truest meaning and sound. In this collection, I have intentionally avoided the use of traditional religious language to better express and share my experience of the mystery of the Christ that dwells within all of nature as stated in Saying #77 of the Gospel of Thomas, “Lift the stone, I am there, split the log, I am there, also!” In these times, where better to find refuge and be present with the Christ than within the perfection of creation.
Derek Polzer has lived through turbulent times, both personal and social, and is sometimes called an “old voice.” He’s sailed the length of the Hudson River, climbed mountains in New York and New England, and paddled and fished gentle waterways in his home state of New Jersey. Polzer has built banjos, pieces of furniture, and has sculpted in both wood and metal. Polzer and his wife have two sons. He’s been a Quaker for nearly five decades, a place where his poetry has been nurtured.
Details
Title: She Sings the Earth
Author: Derek Polzer
Publisher: Rockwood Press
Released: 2026 - October
Format: chapbook, acid-free paper, silk cover
Pages: 54
Price: $10
ISBN: 978-1-59498-257-6
she sings the earth
she sings the earth
Recent titles
She Sings the Earth by Derek Polzer
We Are All Naked in This Land by David J. Kann
We Are the Borders by Abdullah Bin Imran
Forsythia Overnight by Dave Malone
Annunciations by Buffy Shutt
Apocalypse Rainbow by Louisa Schnaithmann
nor are you free to abandon it by sarah klein
Letters to the Dead by Toni Ortner
Black by the Bedside by Khadija Ceesay
Tiger Bite by Ursula McCabe
Cumulus by Shivani Gupta
minutes between city and forest by Ceridwen Hall
AMERICANAPOCALYPSE by tommy wyatt blake
View all our available chapbooks
submissions
We select manuscripts through an open submissions process that occurs year-round.
Manuscripts should be tightly linked collections of ten to thirty poems or up to forty pages, submitted in .rtf, .doc, or .docx formats only. All submissions should be made via email. We do not accept unsolicited paper submissions.
Eligibility: Poets writing in English are eligible. Previous book publication is not a consideration. Simultaneous submissions are permissible, but entrants are asked to notify Rockwood Press immediately if a manuscript becomes committed elsewhere.
There is no open submission fee.
We do our best to reply to submissions within one month, but the time can vary depending on submission volume. If your work has not been accepted or declined, it’s still under consideration. Every submission is considered thoroughly before a response is made.
All submissions are eligible for publication by Rockwood Press with a standard royalty contract.
submissions at Rockwood Press dot com
If we seem familiar
That’s because, Rockwood Press, a not-for-profit literary imprint, is a project of Fernwood Press and its parent company, Barclay Press. For years, we’ve made our books and full-length poetry collections available through POD services, but we wanted to produce more books in-house where we have control over color, texture, paper quality, and the overall shape each project takes.
We’ve also seen a ten-fold increase in poetry submissions over the last year and sensed from our conversations with writers that it’s getting harder and harder to find homes for good work.
The project of Rockwood Press is to bring more great poetry into the world in smaller, focused collections that can be produced locally, quickly, and beautifully.
