Author: Laura Jeu

Can a self-love letter be addressed to someone other than the author?
I think so! Today, an overcast and snow-filled Thursday in February, I listened to “Feeling Good” as made famous by Nina Simone to recall the sun in the sky, the butterflies having fun, and the scent of the pine. The music resonates with me because of her emotion and expression, but I couldn’t help noting that she is singing about self-love in a way that is addressed to a series of beings other than herself, a series of apostrophes to inspirations from nature.

Whether talking to the Dragonfly out in the Sun, the Birds flying High, or the River Running Free, she speaks to the objects about their freedoms, their abilities, their purposes, before pausing to declare, “you know how I feel.” Her self-appreciation does not diminish when she addresses other items; it grows, blossoms, flourishes.

So, you certainly can write a self-love letter to yourself, but you can also write it anyone or anything that makes you know you are loved!
However you choose to write it, we want to hear it! This themed submission closes on February 28, so submit your poems, prose, art, or other media of self-love. General submissions are also open.

Our February themed call for submission is self-love letters, but what exactly does that mean? In the simplest terms, a self-love letter is a heartfelt tribute to the aspects of yourself that you like. Do you have a very specific coffee routine every morning, encompassing a mess of slow roasted beans and a twenty-minute drip process, after which you warm your hands on a mellowly steaming mug of excitement for the day? Or do you recite the lyrics to Bohemian Rhapsody in your sleep, which unnerves your roommate, but reminds you of your September in Colorado where you discovered the pulsations of music which center your day, your heart, your head and propel you forward?

We love Lucille Clifton’s “homage to my hips“, which describes the freedom she finds in her own body, the revelry in knowing her capabilities and worth.

So, what is the quality that you love about yourself? We want to hear it! This themed submission closes on February 28, so submit your poems, prose, art, or other media of self-love. General submissions are also open.