The Red Shoe Poet

Shawn Aveningo Sanders

Journals & Anthologies

I’m truly honored and grateful to have my poetry published in these fine literary journals and anthologies:

(Online journals have link to the poem published, when possible)

2025

2024

2023

  • Voices of Lincoln, 2023 Contest Anthology — “The Gift I Want to Bestow” (Third Place, Category: Most Important Person in Your Life)
  • Voices of Lincoln, 2023 Contest Anthology — “Saving Maggie” (Second Place, Category: Making a Difference)
  • SPC Tule Review, guest ed. Susan Kelly Dewitt — “Feeding Him Grapes”

2022

  • Shanti Arts, Still Points Art Quarterly — “Collected and Standing the Test of Time”
  • Kosmos Quarterly — “One Final Inning in St. Louis”
  • Pain Poetry Prize —  “So Long Stones” (finalist)
  • Pure Slush: Appointment at 10:30 Anthology (Aus) — “Number 158”

2021

2020

2019

  • Calyx, Winter 2019  — “Getting Through Menopause Without Killing Everyone You Love”
  • Is It Hot in Here or Is It Just Me?, Beautiful Cadaver Project Anthology, 2019 — “Becoming Our Mothers” and “Getting Through Menopause Without Killing Everyone You Love”
  • Blue Heron Review, Featured Poet June 2019 — “The 2nd Time I Lost My Kidney,” “On Making Bisque to Comfort the Mother Who Lost Her Son” and “Unfurling”
  • WRATH, Vol 5 of Seven Deadly Sins Series, Pure Slush (Australia), 2019 — “Headline: A mother protects her son”
  • More Queer Families, An LGBQT & Allies Anthology — “A Singular Aluminum-Foiled Horn”
  • Cliterature, Special Edition by Invitation Only — “How to Seduce Me”
  • Blue Heron, Issue 11, Winter 2019 — “Letting Go”
  • SLOTH, Vol 4 of Seven Deadly Sins Series, Pure Slush (Australia), 2019 — “Lazy”

2018

  • Kosmos Quarterly, Summer 2018 — “How to Build a Home”
  • Amsterdam Quarterly, Genealogy Issue, 2018 — “From Those Who Came Before”
  • Rising Phoenix Review, November 2018 — “Desperate Choices”
  • Writer’s Resist, 2018 — “Liberty Turns Her Back”
  • Amethyst Review, 2018 — “To Question a Seed Pod in Autumn” and “To Fly”
  • Quiet Storm, 2018 — “Taking Away the Pain in Georgia” and “Metal in My Mouth”
  • GREED, Vol 3 of Seven Deadly Sins Series, Pure Slush (Australia), 2018 — “An American City”
  • Poets Reading the News, Summer, 2018 — “Jars of Clay”
  • Northampton Poetry Review (UK), Summer 2018 — Liberty Turns Her Back (a ghazal)
  • Visual Verse, Vol 5, Chap 7, May 2018 — “Not Too Cold / Not Too Hot”
  • Pilcrow & Dagger, 2018 — “Black Sheep”
  • Awakened Voices, Issue #6, May 2018  — “What Happens Later — Sometimes Much Later”
  • Panoply — “From Those Who Came Before”
  • The Poeming Pigeon: In the News, May 2018 — “For Eric and Erica”
  • GLUTTONY, Vol 2 of Seven Deadly Sins Series, Pure Slush (Australia), 2018 — “Teacups, Teacups Everywhere and Not a Scone in Sight”
  • Dissident Voices, 2018 — “Word Gate” and “On a Winter Sunday”
  • Suisun Valley Review, 2018 — “Benign?,” “Collected, Standing the Test of Time” and “Kidney Beans”
  • Voicecatcher: a journal of women’s voices & vision, Summer 2018 — “Getting Through Menopause Without Killing Everyone You Love”
  • Verseweavers (Oregon Poetry Association, 2018)– “Today I Am Venus” (2nd place, members only category)
  • Degenerates: Voices for Peace, Mental Illness Issue, 2018 — “Prescribed Addiction”
  • LUST, Vol 1 of Seven Deadly Sins Series, Pure Slush (Australia), 2018 — “Dental Impressions”
  • American Journal of Poetry, July 2018 — “Another Page in the Fraternity Scrapbook” and “My Name Doesn’t Appear in Your history Pages”

2017

  • The Poeming Pigeon: Love Poems, Decl 2017 — “Our Love Isn’t Photoshop’d”
  • Visual Verse, Vol 4, Chap 10, November 2017 — “Emma Jane“
  • PoeticDiversity – The Poetry Zine of Los Angeles, April 2017
    — “A Groupon for Women’s Plus-Size Mermaid Swimsuit” (nominated for Best of the Net, 2017)
  • Delaware Poetry Review, March 2017, This Thing Called Life–The Prince Issue — “Forever 19”
  • mgversion2>datura: La petite mort, Jan 2017, Issue #87 — “Ecstatic Death” and “The Gift”

2016

2015

  • Timberline Review, Inaugural Issue, Summer 2015 — “Floating in her Mouth”
  •  Museum of Awkward (Oakland Installment)
    — “What Pray Tell Is a Pussy Fart?”
  • Visual Verse, Vol 3, Chap 12 — “Her Blue Period”
  • Songs of Eretz (Annual Contest Finalist, Dec 2015) — “Crabgrass in Suburbia”
  • Suisan Valley Review, 2015 — “Decisions, Decisions”
  • The Poeming Pigeon: Poems about Food (Fall 2015)— “How to Eat a Strawberry”
  • Verseweavers, Oregon Poetry Association (Spring Contest, Honorable Mention for Ghazal Category) “Safe Distance from the Flame”
  • Poeming Pigeons: Poems about Birds (Spring 2015)– “What They See” (aka “Bird Watching”)
  • Songs of Eretz (March 2015) — “Bird Watching”
  • Shattered (Kind of Hurricane Press, Anthology) — “Becoming Ophelia”
  • Léannan, Love & Marriage Issue (South Africa) — “Saturday Nights”
  • PDXX Collective (Dec, 2015, now Visitant Lit) — “Nothing Left to See”
  • PDXX Collective (Dec, 2015, now Visitant Lit) — “On Why The Editor Can’t Objectively Select Poems  After Sex”
  • FIVE  (5 yr Anniversary Print Issue from Pure Slush, Australia) — “Take Five”
  • MUSED Quarterly, Winter 2015 — “Angel Hair” and “It’s Soothing Gift”
  • *Star 82 Review, Issue 3.4, Dec 2015 — “Safe Distance From the Flame”
  • Snapdragon, Summer 2015 — “Perpetual”
  • Weatherings (Future Cycle Press, 2015) — “They Call Me Mary”
  • Of Course, I’m a Feminist! (Anthology celebrating International Women’s Day, 2015) — “Empty”
  • Page & Spine (Jan 2015) — “This Is My Body”

2014

  • Deep Waters Literary Journal (South Africa, Aug, 2014) — “He Doesn’t Know“
  • Elohi Gadugi, Fall 2014 — “Jasmine”
  • Minerva Rising (Food Issue, 2014) — “Strawberry Jam”
  • Munyori Literary Journal (Featured Poet) — “Born Where Men Go to Die”, “And the Question Is…”, “Shape Shifting”, “Last Call” and “Citizen’s Mistress”
  • VoiceCatcher – A Journal of Women’s Voices & Visions, Summer 2014 — “Binders Full of Women”
  • Whisperings Literary Journal (Volume 3, Issue 1,Mountain Tales Press) — Featured Poet: “Thought Drops,” “American Cannibals,” “Crabgrass in Suburbia,” “Poetically Opposed” and “Virtuoso”
  • Napalm & Novocain — “black widows and divorce”
  • Kind of a Hurricane Press (Something Brewing Anthology)– “Saturday Morning at Starbucks”
  • Eternal Snow (Anthology edited by Yuyu Sharma) — “Himalaya”
  • Boston Poetry Magazine (Feb 2014) — “Blue Moon,” “Cancer Beetles” and “Shane’s Beach”
  • PoeticDiversity – The Poetry Zine of Los Angeles, April 2014
    — “Can’t Quite Fill the Space” (Pushcart Nominee)
  • The Kentucky Review (2014) — “Pie Filling” and “Mapping His Freckles”
  • Rubicon: Words and Art Inspired by Oscar Wilde (Sybaritic Press) — “From the Depths”
  • Benicia Annual Love Poetry Contest, 2014 Finalist — “The Shape of Your Mouth”
  • River Poets Journal – Special Edition Anthology — “Runaway”
  • From the Depths Quarterly Review (Haunted Waters Press, Summer 2014) — “Emma Jane”
  • Crossing Over (Main Street Rag, 2014) — “Jungle Fever”
  • PoeticDiversity – The Poetry Zine of Los Angeles, April 2014
    — Post Divorce Tarot Reading: A Courtship Trifecta
  • Keeping It Weird: Stories and Poems of Portland, Oregon — “A Girl and a Pole”

2013

  • Chicago Literati — “Too  Soon”
  • Tule Review (Sacramento Poetry Center, Fall 2013) — “The Second Time I Lost My Kidney”
  • From the Depths Quarterly Review (Haunted Waters Press, Fall 2013) — “How to Build a Home,” “Take Five” and “Root Beer Floats”
  • Paper Bag Writers Project (Nov, 2013) — “In From Out of the Cold”
  • Sacramento Voices (Cold River Press) — “Unfastening,” “Midnight in Missouri,”  “Mirror, Mirror” and “Waiting for the Age of Aquarius”
  • From the Depths Quarterly Review (Haunted Waters Press, Summer 2013) — “Unfinished Sentences”
  • Metric Conversions (Nazar Look – Romania) — “Union”
  • National Poetry Month Anthology (Writing Knights Press, 2013) — “A Single Drop of Sweat”

2012

  • Savage Melodies & Last Call Serenades (Six Ft Swells Press) — “What Hat?” and “Journey’s Rush”
  • Nefarious Ballerina (Shoe Music Press) — “The Hungarian Adventurer”
  • Voice of Lincoln Annual Contest Anthology, 2012 — 1st Prize Winner (What Money Can’t Buy): “And Life Goes On” and 2nd Prize Winner (Unbelievable but true): “Fingerpainting”
  • Longest Hours: Thoughts While Waiting (Silver Boomer Books) — “Biopsy”
  • Zingara Poetry Picks — “Now You See It, Now You Don’t”
  • WTF?! (Rattlesnake Press, Fall, 2012) — “This Ain’t No Bangles Song”
  • Harbin Hot Springs Poetry Contest — 3rd Place Winner: “Canopy”
  • From the Four-Chambered Heart: Anais Nin Tribute Anthology (Sybaritic Press) — “Dear Henry”
  • Seattle Erotic Festival Anthology (2012) — “Fucking Alliteration,” “Ecstatic Death,” “Bewitched” and “My Religion”
  • Skin 2 Skin: Art of the Lesbian — “A Mother’s Dream”
  • New Orleans by Gaslight (Black Tome Books) – “Pocketful of Coppers”

2008–2011

  • Tincture Journal (Australia) – “Traffic Jam”
  • Featherlit — “He Loved”
  • Cliterature — “Was Black Friday Part of Mayan Calendar?”
  • The Oddity (Absurd Publications) — “Empty”
  • Pirene’s Fountain (Beverage Issue, Glass Lyre Press) — “Morning Ritual”
  • The Possibility Place — “A Mother’s Dream”
  • WTF?! (Rattlesnake Press, 2011) — “Muse-ic”
  • Poets Corner – Sacramento News & Review  (April 2012)– “R(ela)x”
  • Wait a Minute, I Have to Take off my Bra (Inkspotter Publishing (Canada) — “Pink Ribbons”
  • Convergence: Journal of Poetry & Art (Editors Choice, 2011) — “Business Proposal,” “Let My Soul Dance” and “Patchwork Heart”
  • Survivor’s Review (July 2010) — “Pink Ribbons”
  • Prospective: Journal of Speculation (Loyal Stone Press) — “Hell Hath No Fury”
  • Poetry Now (Sacramento Poetry Center,  Fall, 2009) — “Where Does Poetry Live,”
  • Poetry Now (Sacramento Poetry Center,  Spring, 2009) — “Red Dress,” “Taurus Fell Under the Moon,”
  • Poetry Now (Sacramento Poetry Center,  Fall, 2008) — “Play for Me Claire de Lune,”
  • Poetry Now (Sacramento Poetry Center, Spring, 2008) —  “Generations” and “Capitalism”
  • Survivor’s Review (June 2008) — “Remission”
  • Rattlesnake Review (Spring, 2009) — “Speak” 
  • Rattlesnake Review (Summer, 2008) — “Gadzooks,” “Laughter,” “Doohickey,” “Rules of 4” and “Saturday Morning at Starbucks”
  • Rattlesnake Review (Winter, 2008) –“Like Snow”
  • The Obsidian (Rattlesnake Press) — “Pancakes”