Breadcrumb Scabs
A Poetry Magazine About the Human Condition
Welcome to Our Literary Community
Breadcrumb Scabs is a monthly poetry magazine dedicated to the raw, unfiltered exploration of human experience. We publish confessional poetry that dares to be unflattering, pessimistic, and brutally honest. This is not a place for pretty verse or sanitized emotion. This is where poets confront the beautiful messiness of being human.
Founded on the belief that authentic poetry must sometimes make us uncomfortable, we specialize in work that combines sentimentality with grittiness, love with loss, and hope with despair. Our pages feature contemporary voices that refuse to look away from difficult truths.
Our Mission
We are committed to amplifying underrepresented voices in contemporary poetry. While we particularly champion queer poets and women writers, we welcome submissions from all poets internationally who share our vision of unflinching literary honesty.
Each monthly issue offers both free digital downloads and affordable print editions, making contemporary poetry accessible to readers everywhere. We believe great poetry should reach beyond academia and traditional publishing gatekeepers.
What We Publish
Breadcrumb Scabs seeks poetry that explores:
- Guilt - The weight of conscience and moral complexity
- Grit - The texture of struggle and survival
- Sex - Desire in all its complicated forms
- Scabs - The evidence of wounds healing and reopening
We favor confessional poetry that reveals rather than conceals, that chooses authenticity over prettiness, and that trusts readers to handle difficult emotional terrain. Our aesthetic embraces the nauseous alongside the beautiful, recognizing that both are essential to genuine human experience.
Recent Issues
Browse our archives to explore past issues featuring work from emerging and established poets. Each issue presents a carefully curated selection of contemporary verse that challenges, provokes, and moves.
Join Our Community
Whether you're a poet seeking publication, a reader hungry for authentic voices, or simply curious about contemporary confessional poetry, we invite you to explore our pages. Read our submission guidelines to contribute your work, or dive into our latest issue to experience poetry that refuses to flinch.
Recommended for mature readers. Breadcrumb Scabs publishes adult-oriented poetry that may contain explicit language and themes.