Spark to Flame

@s2fjournal

A journal of collaborative poetry Washington, D.C.-based journal welcoming submissions from anywhere 🌏🛸 New instagram account at s2fjournal Subs for Issue Eight open August 2026

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Spark to Flame@s2fjournal· 11d

“When The Forest Is Quiet, You Must Be Quiet Also” by Coleman Pedigo (Flame) and @sachavega.bsky.social (Spark) is a fantastical journey through magical forest and enchantment: “To love as grown men love / is to remain when enchantments fade.” Page 17: www.s2fjournal.com/assets/Issue...

Image of neon yellow book black background line art.

Spark to Flame@s2fjournal· 17d

I love “Unfortunate Breath” by Athena Maynard and Anthony David Vernon: “Of course I’m scared of the fire / …” Check it out, page 16: www.s2fjournal.com/assets/Issue... #poetry #litmag #writingcommunity

Image of pink book and lighter combined, on black background, neon.

Spark to Flame@s2fjournal· 18d

“red CAPS” by J.D. (Flame) and Alyaa Zein (Spark) is the historical, multi-lingual, poem you are looking for! “one by land, two by sea / in a church steeple / for all to see…” Check it out, page 15: www.s2fjournal.com/assets/Issue... #poetry #litmag #writingcommunity

Photo of pink line art of a book on black background.

Spark to Flame@s2fjournal· 24d

A poem featuring sewing?! Yes, please! Check out “Phantom Thread” by @carriganak.bsky.social (Flame) and Annie Liang (Spark): “I often surrender control of my hands to a / careers softer than the silk I feed through the machine…” Check it out, page 14: www.s2fjournal.com/assets/Issue... #poetry

Graphic of book in green line art on black background.

Spark to Flame@s2fjournal· 25d

I love the format of “cotton rose blues” by @sorrenbriarwood.com (Flame) and Katerina Dementeva (Spark) in Issue Seven - what a haunting, emotional piece. Check it out, page 13: www.s2fjournal.com/assets/Issue... #poetry #litmag #writingcommunity

Book and lighter image in blue neon line art on black background.

Spark to Flame@s2fjournal· Jul 12

“Old and New Propositions” by @thejoelest.bsky.social (Flame) and @mithalanis.bsky.social (Spark) in Issue Seven plays with collective crisis, transactional relationships, and capitalism. Check it out, page 12: www.s2fjournal.com/assets/Issue... #poetry #litmag #writingcommunity

Multicolored line art of a pen with smoke. Black background.

Spark to Flame@s2fjournal· Jul 11

Check out “End-Of-Season Sale” by Lilly Purdy (Flame) and Coleman Pedigo (Spark) in our seventh issue: “My mother used to bake with honey-blood / redcurrants, reduced and distilled /…” Page 11: www.s2fjournal.com/assets/Issue... #poetry #litmag #writingcommunity

Image of neon yellow book on black background

Spark to Flame@s2fjournal· Jul 5

“Crow Queens’ Sexiest Song” by Katerina Dementeva (Flame) and M (Spark) is an ode to queer bars and connections with strangers. Check it out, page 10: www.s2fjournal.com/assets/Issue... #poetry #litmag #writingcommunity

Image of book thats also a lighter. Neon blur and pink on black background. By Renato Paucar

Spark to Flame@s2fjournal· Jul 4

A sonnet broken by anxiety? Say less. I love “Truths That Don’t Land” by Mahailey Oliver (Flame) and Lilly Purdy (Spark). Check it out, page 9: www.s2fjournal.com/assets/Issue... #poetry #litmag #writingcommunity

Photo of blue pen with smoke line art on black background

Spark to Flame@s2fjournal· Jun 28

I love “Lost Sea” by @mithalanis.bsky.social (Flame) and @sorrenbriarwood.com (Spark). The form! The imagery! The sea–gone. Check it out, page 8: www.s2fjournal.com/assets/Issue... #poetry #litmag #writingcommunity

Photo of book on black background. Line image, neon green

Spark to Flame@s2fjournal· Jun 27

“Forgotten” by M (Flame) and Abraham Aondoana (Spark) is gentle, yet haunting, and filled with ache. “...his lips frozen, as though silence / could hold the sky together.” Page 7: www.s2fjournal.com/assets/Issue... #poetry #litmag #writingcommunity

Image of a book that’s also a lighter. Yellow line art on black background. Image by graphic designer Renato Paucar.

Spark to Flame@s2fjournal· Jun 21

Second up from Issue Seven is “The Deadly Sins of Space,” which is a collaborative poem written by The Hivemind – 20 people! “The sea spat the fallen stars onto the shore, / dead as diamonds.” Check it out, page 6: www.s2fjournal.com/assets/Issue... #poetry #litmag #writingcommunity

Black image with neon pink line drawing of a pen on fire

Spark to Flame@s2fjournal· Jun 20

“A Brother’s Gotta Tell Me Goodbye” by Ryan McCarty (Flame) and Dylan Night (Spark) made me cry when I read it. “I squeezed all my hope into a stone and prayed it / toward the lake,...” Check it out, page 5: www.s2fjournal.com/assets/Issue... #poetry #litmag #writingcommunity

Black photo with neon line drawing of a book. Art by graphic designer Renato Paucar.

Spark to Flame@s2fjournal· Jun 14

Issue Seven of S2F is published! www.s2fjournal.com/assets/Issue... In this issue, we have two co-authored poems and eleven poems created through our "spark-to-flame" process. Thank you to the cover artist, Adam (see more of his work on Instagram at @digitallycomposed)

Cover image of Spark to Flame Issue Seven by Adam. Person with white pants and wings at Pride 2025, Washington, DC.

Spark to Flame@s2fjournal· Mar 23

Flyers up in various cities thanks to friends ~ here’s one in Austin, Texas! Submissions open until April 12 for Issue Seven! #writingcommunity #poetry

Flyer advertising Spark to Flame’s submissions are open for issue seven on a community board.

Spark to Flame@s2fjournal· Mar 1

Peep our issue seven flyer at @capitolhillbooks.bsky.social 💕

Spark to Flame@s2fjournal· Jan 11

The last poem from Issue Six is "Liminal Light," by Duma Lupe Davila and Renee Alexander. I love the precision and gentleness of the poem. It closes our issue so, so beautifully. Check it out, page 12: www.s2fjournal.com/assets/Issue... #writingcommunity #poetry

Spark to Flame@s2fjournal· Jan 10

Next up from Issue Six is "Ganymede" by @louisehurrell.bsky.social (Flame) and Sam Kerbel (Spark). “You’d call me a moon, say I’m barren / that I simply cannot sustain life..." and it also introduced me to Pàdraig MacAoidh. Page 11: www.s2fjournal.com/assets/Issue... #writingcommunity #poetry

Spark to Flame@s2fjournal· Jan 4

Today we are highlighting "Brood XXII" by Jennifer Schomburg Kanke (Flame) and Joey Price (Spark). "We have waited so long / in the cold, hard, silent ground / let now be our time / to scream, scream, scream." Check it out, page 10: www.s2fjournal.com/assets/Issue... #writingcommunity #poetry

Spark to Flame@s2fjournal· Jan 3

Next up from Issue Six is "Ecdysis" by J.D. (flame) and Paige Groome (Spark). "Human nature is an insatiable itch / straitjacket perfection cannot scratch." Check it out, page 9: www.s2fjournal.com/assets/Issue... #writingcommunity #poetry

Spark to Flame@s2fjournal· Dec 28

Next up from Issue Six is "Retrocausality" by @mithalanis.bsky.social (Flame) and J.D. (Spark). It brings us through the liminal, the ache, the solace of change and growth. Check it out, page 8: www.s2fjournal.com/assets/Issue... #writingcommunity #poetry

Spark to Flame@s2fjournal· Dec 27

Next up from Issue Six is "2020 Vision" by Sam Kerbel (Flame) and @mithalanis.bsky.social (Spark). I love "I say we'd shine despite the fire / The heavy knowledge of knowing..." Check it out, page 7: www.s2fjournal.com/assets/Issue... #writingcommunity #poetry

Spark to Flame@s2fjournal· Dec 21

Today we are highlighting "Aurora" by Sarah Watkins (Flame) and @louisehurrell.bsky.social (Spark). I love the interplay between the internal and external in this piece. Check it out-page 6: www.s2fjournal.com/assets/Issue... #writingcommunity #poetry

Spark to Flame@s2fjournal· Dec 20

First up from Issue Six is the collaboratively written poem, "We Write What We Know" by @nathanthegreathan.bsky.social and Neal Allen Shipley. I love how it grapples with knowing and non-knowing, tension, shame, and identity. Page 5: www.s2fjournal.com/assets/Issue... #writingcommunity #poetry

Photo from unsplash of old bridge and a person going under it

Spark to Flame@s2fjournal· Dec 14

We are excited to publish S2F’s Issue Six: www.s2fjournal.com/assets/Issue... In this issue, we have two co-authored poems and seven poems created through our “spark-to-flame” process. Thank you to our contributors, who connected with others' words and shared their joy and pain.

Cover of Spark to Flame Issue Six by Sophia May. Three people helping each other over a cliff, with a sunrise or sunset in the background.

Spark to Flame@s2fjournal· Sep 30

Congrats to S2F’s Best of the Net nominees!

Spark to Flame’s Best of the Net Nominations 2026. From issue four: “here in the dreaming” by Ashley Varela (Flame) and mk zariel (Spark). From issue five: “Outside the Garden” by Allison Burris (Flame) and Elizabeth Wing (Spark); and “fire” by nat raum and D.W. Baker.

Spark to Flame@s2fjournal· Jul 20

Issue Five closes with “Little Sapling”--a beautiful meditation on our relationship to nature by Karina Lin Jones (Flame) and @mithalanis.bsky.social (Spark). Check it out, page 14: www.s2fjournal.com/assets/Issue... #writingcommunity #poetry 📝

Spark to Flame@s2fjournal· Jul 19

“Draught” by @giadapesce.bsky.social (Flame) and Jake Williams (Spark) is surprising yet alluring. “It is a vast, vibrating land / Of scorching red.” Check it out, page 13: www.s2fjournal.com/assets/Issue...

Spark to Flame@s2fjournal· Jul 13

“Mother Memory” by Jaydn Hayes (Flame) and @giadapesce.bsky.social (Spark) is so potent--evoking memory, ancestors, and generational ties. Check it out, page 12: www.s2fjournal.com/assets/Issue... #writingcommunity 📝

Spark to Flame@s2fjournal· Jul 12

“We know what happens to a dream / deferred / but what about / a love led awry?” Love “Fleeting” by Mahailey Oliver (Flame) and @angelaheiser.bksy.social (Spark). Check it out, page 11: www.s2fjournal.com/assets/Issue... #writingcommunity 📝