Protean Magazine
@proteanmag
An independent leftist magazine collecting criticism, essays, fiction, poetry, and art • Support our work at
FROM THE ARCHIVE Tim Faust Lays Out the Case for Radical Change in Health Justice Now: Single Payer and What Comes Next by Abby Cartus Abby will appear in the forthcoming print edition. proteanmag.com/2019/09/10/t...
It has never been more urgent for us to come together and learn from one another. September 4-7, 2026, in Chicago, @socialismconference.org will bring together activists, organizers, and communities from across the country and around the world. Register EARLY BIRD via socialismconference.org.
Protean Magazine is thrilled to be tabling at Socialism Conference 2026! This September, @socialismconf will bring together activists, organizers, and communities from across the country and around the world. Join us in Chicago, September 4-7! See you there!
If you're in North Texas, come grab a copy of Protean and a limited edition print at the Art Book Fair at the Dallas Contemporary museum, from 12pm-5pm today and Sunday!
Protean: Issue VI is in the works, and the presale is coming soon! If you want to be one of the first to receive the issue when it’s out—and to get free giveaways and extras—subscribe to the magazine by joining us on Patreon: patreon.com/proteanmag
We’re committed to providing our viewers with an advertisement and paywall free reading experience. To do so, we depend on our audience’s support. Consider becoming a patron of ours on Patreon or purchasing a print edition. Thank you for your constant support!
An excerpt from Joni Prince's "Clarification Letter, Nov 2023" proteanmag.com/2025/05/15/c...
“Restricting the right to read, in this way, is a tactic intimately bound up with the history of American racism and white supremacy.” proteanmag.com/2021/11/29/t...
From the Protean Archive - “Around the world, vast labor movements merged economic and radical political demands; they pioneered mass political parties that seemed to be driven by an irresistible momentum towards victory, even electoral victory." proteanmag.com/2024/06/16/f...
Part of a series of archival ekphrasis, Eric Abalajon's "filipino laborers working as the boss looks on" interprets the visual remnants of class struggle from economic periphery to imperial core. proteanmag.com/2025/10/28/f...
We thank you for your support of Protean Magazine. Protean depends on our Patreon members—and thanks to your generosity, we're able to continue publishing the work we love. patreon.com/proteanmag
All poetry submissions—both for print and for our online section—are now closed. Thanks to all who have submitted!
Farewell to The Pink House—depicted here in a piece by 20th Century Collages that appears in Protean Issue IV. Read Luke's Issue IV story, "Newburyport, MA": proteanmag.com/2023/07/31/n...
Our online Poetry section has also reopened! Likewise, before submitting poems (whether for print or online), please review ALL guidelines, format your pitch correctly, and submit to the appropriate inbox. We'd also like to call particular attention to our most recent submissions policy update:
Print submissions for Protean Magazine: Issue VI are now open. Send us your most affecting poems, or your best essay pitches and/or drafts—we want to read your incisive, rigorous, lyrical critiques of American decay, social pathology, and imperial decline. Guidelines: proteanmag.com/submissions
Thanks to James Folta of LitHub (@literaryhub.bsky.social) for dropping by our event last week and giving their kindly recommendation.
To our readers, supporters, and friends: We're very pleased to invite you to a world first—a live Protean event. On June 7th at the Verso Books space in NYC, we'll be hosting readings by exceptional poets, fundraising, and celebrating the 8th year of the magazine. Space is limited! Details below:
If you're in north Texas, come see us at the Dallas Art Book Fair this weekend, Saturday and Sunday from 12pm to 5pm at the Dallas Contemporary Museum.
We're so grateful to all those who backed us via our pre-sale and on Patreon. Now that our contributing readers have been sent their copies of Issue V, we're making it available to all. You can now pick up Protean Issue V: Contra Temps in print and digital editions—see below.
We’re very pleased to share that at long last, we’ve received the full print run of Protean Issue V: Contra Temps. All pre-orders are shipping now. Patrons, keep an eye out for your free-issue coupon. To everyone else—you’ll soon be able to order a copy as well. Our cover:
Get the new Protean tote bag at our webstore! proteanmag.com/shop/
We're excited to give you a first look inside Issue IV: Special Relativity. Check out these lovingly designed spreads from within the issue—and get ready for Monday the 24th, when it will be fully released, in print and digital editions.