Cadralor: Rules of the Form

A poem must adhere to the rules of the form in order to be considered a cadralor, and to be considered for publication in Gleam.

ALL CADRALORE MUST:

1. Contain 5, numbered stanzas of up to 10 lines each;
2. Maintain consistency in number of lines in all stanzas;
3. Maintain approximate consistency in line lengths across all stanzas;
4. Be non-narrative poems; the stanzas should be contextually unrelated. By this we mean that there should be no clear connection of any kind between stanzas. This is very important to this non-narrative poetic form. The reader should be surprised, even shocked, as they move from stanza to stanza. Poems containing narrative threads, such as a recurring image, are not cadralore. This contextual distance between stanzas is one of the most important rules of the form;
5. Be imagist poems. The cadralor is a collection of word images, much like a set of five short clips from different films or five unrelated photographs—as any good imagist poem, they should show, rather than tell. Cadralore avoid explanation;
6. Be vivid poems that avoid cliché;
7. Be comprised of 5 stanzas, each of which can stand alone as a publication-quality poem, whether they are 2-line stanzas or 10-line stanzas;
8. Have a fifth stanza that acts as the crucible, illuminating the gleaming thread that runs through the entire poem, much like an underground river that surfaces at the end of the poem. The fifth stanza acts to pull the poem into coherence as a kind of love poem; by this we mean that the fifth stanza answers the compelling question: “for what do you yearn?”
9. Obviously, the fifth stanza rule does not mean the poem must be a traditional love poem. Yearning takes many forms. It is characteristic of a successful cadralor that it end on a note of hope, rather than hopelessness. Ultimately, the cadralor bends to the positive even while recognizing that sometimes, yearning is pain. The role of the fifth stanza is crucial. It is what determines if a cadralor “sticks the landing.” If it does not, it is unlikely to be accepted;
10. Be a feast for the senses. Good cadralore take us places, whisper to us of other worlds, invite us to experience them, help us feel what it means to be human.

Submission Guidelines:

1. There are no reading fees associated with gleam. Gleam is an online-only publication and does not offer remuneration for published work.
2. Gleam does not accept poems containing hate speech.
3. Gleam is solely dedicated to cadralore; please do not submit poems that are not cadralore.
4. Gleam does not read submissions outside of our open calls for submission, which are posted on the gleam website and our facebook page.
5. Gleam does not accept previously published poems.
6. You may submit up to three poems, double-spaced, during our open reading periods. Submit via email, with “gleam submission” in the subject line. Attach your poems as a word document. We do not read poems that are typed or pasted into the body of emails, so please do not send them that way. Please include a short, (up to 100 words) third-person bio in the body of your email. Address your submissions and any questions to gleampoets@gmail.com.