Who are we?

 

We are poets just like you. Some of us are academics, some are street poets and performance artists, some of us are just people with big feelings and bigger mouths. We are the freaks and geeks of the literary community and the life blood of every grassroots arts organization. For more information on our individual readers and editors, please see their bios below.

 

Why Wailing and Gnashing?

 

Wailing and Gnashing was born from Utah’s underground art scene, and we wanted a name that reflected both our origin story as an artistic community, and our collective artistic philosophy. The phrase “Wailing and gnashing of teeth” was often used in biblical parables to describe the cast outs and others deemed unworthy of the kingdom of God, which felt especially appropriate for a magazine run by outsider artists in a largely conservative religious community. 

 

Because of where we come from, we at Wailing and Gnashing know that poetry can take a lot of different shapes. Some poetry is raw, unfiltered, charged, some of it is refined, chewed, and chiseled down to its most essential pieces, but all of it is worthy of celebration. We look to curate poems from a wider variety of artists, styles and forms. Wailing and Gnashing is a space where poems from your local crust punk can sit on a page next to an MFA candidate with a few pushcart prize nominations under their belt, and still feel at home.