How then can I sing and tell of Thine Essence, which the wisdom of the wise and the learning of the learned have failed to comprehend, inasmuch as no man can sing that which he understandeth not, nor recount that unto which he cannot attain, whilst Thou hast been from everlasting the Inaccessible, the Unsearchable.
Powerless though I be to rise to the heavens of Thy glory and soar in the realms of Thy knowledge, I can but recount Thy tokens that tell of Thy glorious handiwork.
~ Bahá’u’lláh
Leaves by John Grauer
Tokens magazine has established its presence as the distinctive artistic voice of a worldwide growing spiritual community. We are open to contributions from Bahá’ís and friends of the Faith, anywhere. We draw no distinction between professional artist and amateur. We adhere to no particular school or style but strive to share everyone’s contributions in written and visual arts. Some very limited materials in Spanish and Persian may also find a home at Tokens. We seek to share contributions that reflect some aspect of a spiritual journey in an authentic voice, but the subject need not be explicitly Bahá’í or even religious in nature. However, the magazine reflects the values and standards of that community.
We publish Tokens magazine only in print form as part of our commitment to our literary heritage. It is printed on acid-free and lignin-free paper using stable inks and is bound with stainless steel staples for long life. When you hold a copy of Tokens in your hands you will feel even closer to the artists and poets who have contributed to it.
Yazd by Roya Taheri
Tokens magazine has been available as a one-year subscription for two issues, Summer and Winter, for $14.95 domestic, or $16.95 international, first class postage included. Unhappily we must announce that as of October 2022 circumstances have forced us to suspend publishing. Back copies of some issues may be available for a time. For more details contact us at TokensPoetry@gmail.com. Individual copies are available postpaid for $7.95, domestic, or $8.95, international.
Individual copies may also be purchased from the Baha’i Distribution Service at www.bahaibookstore.com.
Winter Grass by Donald E. Camp
With apologies, as of October 2022 Tokens Magazine is no longer receiving submissions.
What we are looking to publish will no doubt change, perhaps many times. At present we can say that we are trying to establish our presence as a regional Bahá’í community with its own artistic voice. Thus we are open to contributions from Bahá’ís, and friends of the Faith, from around the world. We try to be inclusive. We draw no distinction between professional artist and amateur. We adhere to no particular school or style but strive to share in everyone’s contribution. We look for submissions that evidence care in composition and respect for the language. Some very limited materials in Spanish and Persian may also find a home at Tokens. We seek contributions that reflect some aspect of a spiritual journey in an authentic voice, but the subject need not be explicitly Bahá’í or even religious in nature. Submitters should keep in mind that the magazine strives to observe the sensibilities of a religious community. To get some idea of what we are after it will be helpful to look at a few of the extracts published on line.
Written
For written materials such as poems, we are helped if each item is submitted by email as a separate attachment in Word or similar format readable by Word. Please do NOT send PDFs or include your poem within the body of an email. It is helpful if no more than three such documents are attached to an email. Written materials are preferably short. We do not have space to publish long form compositions. Bearing in mind that our pages are 5 ½ x 8 ½ inches (140 mm x 216 mm), a short poem will run up to 32 lines. Lines longer than 55 characters will have to be split. No poem should run more than 64 lines; poems at 32 lines or less will obviously stand a better chance of being selected so as to allow more voices to be heard. You should use a simple typeface except where something else is required for your particular expressive purpose. Tokens usually publishes text in twelve-point Cambria. Be sure the author’s name and contact information is on each submission. If you have used a lot of formatting in your poem you can submit the text as an unformatted Word doc along with a PDF to show how you would like it ideally to appear. We prefer no formatting.
Visual
We have published photographs and sketches as well as page decorations of various sorts and a musical score. You should expect that we will edit these for size. Submissions should be in the form of a JPEG or PNG or TIFF document – as large as feasible, it can always be reduced – attached to your email.
Legal
For all submissions we will need to have a title, a year of composition if you like, and a clear statement whether the work has been published before or not. If it has, we will need to have a written clearance from the original publisher. If the author retains the copyright this clearance may be in the form of a simple email statement from the publisher. For visual works you should describe the media or method of composition. While each issue is copyrighted byTokens Magazine, all rights to the items published, including the original copyright, are expressly reserved to the individual contributing authors and artists.
Compensation
We seek to have Tokens remain a publication within the reach of the general public. Contributors of materials that are accepted for publication will receive one copy of Tokens.
Tokens is printed on archival acid-free and lignin-free paper using stainless steel staples for long life. Copies are filed permanently with the National Bahá’í Archives library and in the Philadelphia Bahá’í Community library.
Contact
Submissions may be sent by email to TokensPoetry@Gmail.com. Materials submitted by mail should be addressed to
Editor, Tokens Magazine 417 West Chelten Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19144
Tokens is edited by James Tichenor. Its design is by Melanie Etemad. The magazine’s website is at www.TokensPoetry.org.
Hints to what we look for in poetry
Tokens Magazine James Tichenor, Editor 417 West Chelten Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19144 tokenspoetry@gmail.com
