zodiac8 Jan 2006

Yes. Two.

1) Get a recent poetry collection, like Poetry Daily's 366 poems or Billy Collins' anthology of American poems, Poetry 180. It should show a bunch of poems published in different books and journals in the last ten years, and what journals they were in. Also check Poetry Daily's website: www.poems.com . For one, you'll find that you're as good as half the poets there. For another, when you find a poem whose style, length, subject or anything looks like what you write, note the journal it got published in.

2) Get the 2005-6 edition of Poet's Market. It has all the submission details of the journals you just noted. Look especially for journals that accept simultaneous submissions. Pick your 5 best poems and submit them to all of those. You can, of course, try submitting a whole book or chapbook, either to a publisher (again, see Poet's Market) or to a reputable contest like New Century Writer Awards. I wouldn't trust 90% of the contests you'd find online, though. If you know a local contest (and one that won't end up owning your book, if chosen,) go for that. But I think submitting small batches of poems to journals is the best way to start, personally.