We look for work that aims to answer that question: what is all of this goddamned for, anyway? Poetry comes from unexpected places, like gifts from long-gone friends that show up, unannounced, dropped at our feet. That’s what we’re after – the heart of the matter.

As readers, our job is to find the emotional throughline in the work, and follow it from there. The line can be faint, or saturated, or curved, or in the shape of a metaphor. But if it’s there, we’ll know. But please – take us off the beaten path, somewhere new.

By and large, we make things that you come across offline. Like in the old days, when it was okay if it didn't pop up in your Instagram feed. Ostensibly, that means books, zines, maps, ephemera, perhaps records, and more. In short, we're looking to create moments of connectivity in this world of endless scroll.

Common Meter Press was founded by two bandmates in 2023 with a passion for music, poetry, and publishing at the intersection of this press.

But it was Meredith who started making zines in the aughts and, in spite of the frequent foray into other formats, never stopped. "Make Books, Not Bombs" was her first slogan for Sweet Anthem Press, a zine distro and poetry press that disbanded in 2004. It turns out, some things never change.