About Free Lunch
Free Lunch is published by Free Lunch Arts Alliance, an Illinois non-profit corporation. It has appeared twice a year since 1989. Free Lunch publishes works across the spectrum of contemporary poetry, from experimental to formal, lyric to prose poems. (To verify our non-profit status, see GuideStar at http://www.guidestar.com.
The editor is especially interested in the work of unpublished poets. In addition to unpublished and lesser-known poets, the magazine has published the work of such noted poets as Neal Bowers, Jared Carter, Billy Collins, Stephen Dunn, Dave Etter, Donald Hall, Lyn Lifshin, Eve Merriam, Robert Peters, David Ray, F. D. Reeve, Cathy Song, and Barry Sparks.
The magazine publishes a "Mentor Series," in which a well-known poet introduces a new or relatively unknown poet's work. The editor selects the mentor in the series, so there is no means for a poet to apply for this. Such poets as Wanda Coleman, Billy Collins, James Dickey, Stephen Dunn, Carolyn Forche, Dana Gioia, Donald Hall, Edward Hirsch, Kenneth Koch, Maxine Kumin, James Reiss, Charles Simic, David Wagoner, and Miller Williams have served as mentors.
The magazine also provides information on poetry markets and poetry-related news. When space permits, it provides free ads for poets it publishes, running such ads concurrently with a poet's appearance in the magazine.
Free Lunch seeks to give all serious poets living in the U.S. a free subscription. These free subscriptions are given on the basis of poetry submitted to the magazine, whether or not the submissions are accepted for publication.
The editor attempts to comment on all submissions. He also frequently asks for revisions and will work with poets toward realizing their intentions.
One poem from every issue of the magazine receives the Rosine Offen Memorial Award of $200. The judges are the Board of Directors of Free Lunch Arts Alliance. There is no entry form or entry fee for the award.
From time to time, Free Lunch publishes a "Reprise" series, in which the work of an American poet from the past who has been overlooked or dismissed by the poetry establishment is examined and featured.
Occasionally the editor publishes special issue, organized around a particular concept or segment of the poetry-writing public. For example, past issue shave focused on protest poetry, prisoner poetry, and poems that do not contain the first-person personal pronoun in an of its manifestations. In one issue, the editor published poems without the identification of the poets. In another, a "secret poet" issue, the editor did not know the names of the poets whose works were presented.