Editor's Note for Opol's November Issue

And some exciting community updates! 🌼

Design by Venessa Tai Yeh. Illustration from public domain images courtesy of British Library.

I found myself weeping over many of the poems I’ve received this month. Whether from grief or pure beauty. It tickles me to think that I am not alone in this (surely I’m not), and many other editors are out there even right now, red-eyed with tissue and snot in hand, staring at the screen.

Thank you so much for being here. This month’s issue will break your heart until it opens again and again. In times that feel increasingly designed to keep us divided, these poems insist on connection. They ask us to sit with the present moment deeply, to feel, and to understand.

If you’ve been following along, the metaphor of forest is a main one for Opol. In our November Issue, you will find forest glades, peaceful and illuminating; unexplored paths of mystery; dark, raging rivers of grief; a cottage full of warmth and love; and the arms of the earth, holding you up. A walk through the forest here at Opol is a walk through the forest of being human.

I’ve received far more beautiful submissions than I could publish once again, and I swear on my mom I’m not just saying this (I love my mom very very much). Saying no to good work is the hardest part of curation!

Thank you to all the contributors for choosing Opol as a home for your poetry—your mind, your heart, your soul:

🌳 Returning Contributors:
Andy Smith / Farah Elbahnasawi / Joshua Walker / Laura Catanzano /
Lizzie Hernandez / Lee Ameka / Menna Saber Abo Salem / Micah Josiah / Taqwa ahmed al-wawi / Toni Young

🌱 New Contributors:
Elisa Affanato / Erin Owens / Jodi Proctor (Depth Charge: Weekly Poetry) / Marah Al-Khateeb / Rahma Alhanafi / Rand Shannak ( mithalé ) / Roba Al-Sharif / Stephen G.

Again, we have the honor of holding space for voices that those in power have tried to silence. I would like to thank Sadia Ansari and Aretha Wang for sponsoring our Palestinian poets in Gaza so that they may receive fair payment for their work.

One of the poets in Gaza shared something beautiful with me: she used the money from her poems to treat herself to a hot cup of coffee. And we shared a cup of tea and coffee together from opposite ends of the world. I think that is the greatest measure of Opol’s success.

If sponsorship is something that is of interest to you, please send me an email at hello@opol.space and I can explain how it works!

Community Updates

As we enter Month 3 of Opol’s blooming, I wanted to share a transparent look at how our little creative ecosystem is growing.

Thus far, we’ve welcomed 30 patrons and published 89 poems from 35 poets, and each poet has been paid fairly for their work or they have chosen to share their work freely. 🧡 Both avenues are beautiful in their own right.

I’ve invested $1,000 of my own money to get us here because I believe this space needs to exist. My immediate goal is to reach 50 patrons, allowing us to sustainably pay $10 per poem while covering platform costs. From there, we will slowly increase per poem payouts as our community grows.

My long-term dream is to curate 32 paid poems each month and pay out $250 per poem. This kind of payment says poetry is not a luxury, but essential work deserving of real compensation. This may take years, but I believe we can create something sustainable from the ground up together.

Apart from money matters, the heart of Opol, the reason why Opol exists, is to create a space for poets and readers to experience poetry with surrender—free from metrics and social pressure. I’ve received beautiful emails from strangers saying this is exactly what they’ve been looking for, and some already feel freed by planting their poems in the Forest. This, too, is the ultimate measure of success for Opol.

If you feel moved by what we’re creating here, I invite you to become a patron of poetry at Opol.¹ For the price of a milk tea each month ($8), you help sustain and grow this quiet space for poetry. To see how exactly your contribution is used, please take a look at Our How.

🍵 The first 50 patrons will receive poetry + tea pairings (like wine + cheese) by snail mail and Opol will be $8 for you forever! 🌱

If you’ve been sharing our work or subscribing, thank you so much. Whatever form your support takes, it is invaluable. Because of you, a space for slowness, connection, and sustainability exists.

Warmly,
Venessa
Founder | Opol

P.S. Submissions are always open and always free! The submissions deadline for each month’s issue will be the 15th of the previous month. For example, the deadline for December’s issue will be November 15th. I originally had it on the 25th but realized that was too rushed. This gives both editor and poet time to respond thoughtfully without anxiety.

1. I would like to clarify that Opol is a separate platform than Substack and has its own subscription system. I’ve disabled paid subscriptions for Opol’s Substack to try and avoid confusion in the future. Opol’s Substack is meant to be a free newsletter and behind-the-scenes blog for the Opol platform!