Some journals are built to publish poems. Others are built to make connection happen.
Spark to Flame is the latter—part lit mag, part poetic matchmaking experiment, and entirely committed to the belief that poetry doesn’t need to be solitary.
Founded by Katherine Schmidt, Spark to Flame is a journal of collaborative poetry. Every issue is born out of co-authorship—whether it’s two poets submitting a finished piece together, or one poet responding to another’s anonymous “spark” to create a flame. It’s bold, fresh, and deeply communal.
This nomination said it best:
“Poetry doesn’t have to rely on one person to bring it to life.”
“Katherine’s feedback gave me confidence to push myself and experiment.”
That’s the ethos here: say yes. Take the risk. Build the thing together.
At Spark to Flame, collaboration is baked into the process. Their submission model encourages writers to send in a fragment (a few lines, a spark), which—if accepted—is anonymously handed off to another poet. That second poet shapes it into a full piece: the flame.
Writers can also submit finished, co-authored poems directly. There’s no rigid aesthetic. The journal welcomes all forms and styles: traditional, experimental, confessional, strange. It’s not about fitting a mould—it’s about leaning in and asking, “What could we build together?”
Poetry, for too long, has been imagined as a solo pursuit—one voice in a quiet room, one ego on a stage.
Spark to Flame breaks that myth. It proves that poetry can be a dialogue, a trust fall, a spark shared and made stronger. It reminds us that creativity doesn’t have to be precious—it can be playful, messy, communal.
That’s revolutionary in its own quiet way.
Katherine Schmidt isn’t just the founder—she’s the guiding voice and steady hand behind Spark to Flame. The nomination highlighted her thoughtful feedback and editorial support as reasons why writers return not just to publish, but to grow.
She doesn’t just curate. She encourages. And in a field where writers are often left hanging, that kind of care stands out.
Issue Five (published Summer 2025) showcases the full scope of Spark to Flame’s vision—co-authored poems that are lyrical, weird, sharp, soft, and altogether unique. It’s an issue that says: no two collaborations are alike—and thank goodness for that.
To Katherine, to the contributors, to every poet who has ever risked writing with someone else—this spotlight is yours.
You’ve built something rare. Something brave.
And something that reminds us: we don’t have to write alone.
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