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Welcome!

Contribute

Share your work!

​What We Focus On

  • REED welcomes creative work connected to:

  • Climate change and caring for our planet

  • Innovation and creative problem-solving

  • The arts — writing, poetry, visual art, music, and multimedia

  • Wildlife, conservation, and the natural world

  • Resilience, imagination, and community

  • Every voice matters. Stories spark courage, connection, and positive change.

What You Can Share

We welcome many kinds of creative work:

  • Stories and articles

  • Poetry (any style)

  • Art and photography

  • Video and music

  • Interviews and profiles

  • Creative projects about nature, resilience, and the future

​​

Submission Guidelines

  • Stories, Memoirs & Articles

  • Up to 1,000 words - (Includes comics, reviews, and 6-word memoirs)

  • Poetry - Up to 2 poems (400 words total)

  • Short poems—including 100-word poems—are welcome

  • Fiction - Up to 900 words

  • Art & Multimedia

  • Images or links to video/music

  • Include a 100–300 word artist statement

  • Interviews & Profiles

  • Written or audio, up to 1,000 words

Who Can Submit?

Anyone with a story to tell, including:

  • Students and young creators (with permission from a parent or guardian)

  • Teachers, parents, and guardians submitting student work

  • Senior citizens sharing wisdom and lived experience

  • Community members with good news to share

  • Educators sharing lesson plans and creative teaching ideas

We especially welcome voices that are often unheard.

Original Work Only

Accepted

  • Original work

  • Collaborative projects

  • Student work

Not accepted

  • Plagiarism

  • AI-generated work

  • Uncredited media

  • Harmful or offensive language

Be Honest. Be Creative. Be Brave.

Your work doesn’t need to be perfect—just genuine.

Share your perspective, your creativity, and your story. Together we can imagine a more hopeful future for our communities and our planet.

How to Submit

Send your submission by email and include:

  • Name and age

  • Short bio

  • Pronouns (optional)

  • Instagram link (optional)

Response time: 2–4 weeks

Rights & Permissions

When you submit your work to REED, you retain full copyright ownership.

If your work is selected for publication, you grant REED a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to publish, display, and promote the work in connection with the magazine and the Interactive Poetry Garden.

Because this license is non-exclusive, you remain free to publish your work elsewhere. We simply ask that you acknowledge its first appearance in REED when possible.

A Message from Poet Laureate Melida Rodas

“As a teacher and Poet Laureate, I believe poetry belongs in the spaces where life unfolds—along walking paths, beneath open skies, and in the quiet corners of our parks. Through this initiative, the voices of our youth and our community will become part of the landscape of The Reservoir and NJ Parks. By merging technology, the arts, and the environment, the Interactive Poetry Garden will create a living archive that grows with each new visitor and poet. My hope is that every walk through the park becomes an encounter with art, culture, and shared imagination.”

— Melida Rodas 🌿

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Thanks for submitting!

REED - Interactive Poetry Garden &

online Zine + Anthology

An Extension of

The Jersey City Poetry Festival (.org) 

  • Instagram

Melida Rodas

  • Poet Laureate of Jersey City

  • Environmental  Artist

  • Educator

 

Founder of

The Jersey City Poetry Festival (.org) 

LOGO 2026 - JCPOFEST.png

Jersey City, NJ, USA

The Green Space Team:

Dawn Giambalvo

  • City of Jersey City Department of Parks and Recreation

  • Reservoir Youth Advisory Board from McNair High School

  • Students from local elementary schools.

  • County Cultural Partner: 

Hudson County Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs

  • Municipal Cultural Partner: 

Jersey City Office of Cultural Affairs

  • Historical Partner & Support:

Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy

 

© 2026 by REED - Interactive Poetry Garden & Zine.

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