America at 250: Dreaming the Dream

​

At the close of this call for literary contributions, the United States of America will celebrate its 250th anniversary. When the founders ratified the Declaration of Independence, they united thirteen independent and vastly different colonies in hopes of achieving one shared dream. And the inhabitants of those colonies, nascent Americans, would develop their own, individual ambitions and toil in pursuit of them—and we’ve never stopped, despite generations of challenges. After all, an aspirational dream, even one as bold as the American Dream, is an ideal to strive for, and by definition one whose potential will always run ahead of its fulfillments and achievements. Undeniably there are failures in that project, but the dream endures.

​

In the spirit of the Semiquincentennial, we at Penumbra invite contributions that critically examine what it means to be American. Your poems, short stories, artwork, etc., might invite speculation on the American Dream and how that notion has changed or retained stability; delve into the notion of America as a land of opportunity; speculate about the history and future of America; explore American landscapes and seascapes or America as a patchwork of different states and different peoples; you might take inspiration from American landmarks, like the Statue of Liberty, the Gateway Arch, the Hollywood sign, etc., or perhaps revisit or reimagine phrases associated with America, such as “out of the many, one” (e pluribus unum); “Give me liberty, or give me death”; “Ask not what your country could do for you—ask what you can do for your country”; even Walt Whitman’s famous proclamation, “I am large, I contain multitudes” —what do these pronouncements mean, to us, to you, today? These, and other such imaginative forays into America and the dream it represents, are heartily solicited by a Penumbra staff eager to consider them on the occasion of our nation’s birthday.

​

Reflect upon our summer theme and then create and submit your poem, story, or image to Penumbra for consideration. Each contributor may submit up to three poems, short stories, pieces of creative non-fiction, art or photography, or hybrid pieces in any combination (e.g. three poems, one poem and two short stories, one short story, one hybrid piece, one watercolor painting, etc.). The deadline for submissions for the online summer edition is July 4th at midnight. We look forward to hearing from you! 

​

 We abide by the following guidelines: ​

​

• Individuals may submit up to three works of poetry, prose, or art, in any combination (e.g. three poems; one poem, one short story, and one painting; one essay and two sketches; one hybrid essay-poem and two sketches; two short stories; a single poem; etc.). 

• Each work must be submitted separately as an individual piece (i.e. upload one piece per submission). Those who include multiple pieces in one submission (by uploading three poems in one document, for example) will not be considered for inclusion in Penumbra. 

• Poetry: avoid the urge to submit “epic” or narrative poems of several hundred lines. We align with Edgar Allan Poe on this matter, who wrote that “there is a distinct limit, as regards length, to all works of literary art—the limit of a single sitting,” one that “can never be properly overpassed in a poem.”  In deference to Poe’s opinion and because of space restrictions in our print journal, we need to keep poems relatively short—no more than 150 lines.  

• Hybrid/Fiction/Non-Fiction: We will not consider individual works in these genres that exceed 1500 words in length. 

• Art: Images must be submitted in jpeg format, with a minimum resolution of 200 dpi.  

• All works must be submitted through Submittable. Again, each work must be  
  uploaded individually. 

• The deadline for submissions is July 4th, 2026, before midnight. 

​