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JOB OPENINGS

Split This Rock is hiring!

We're looking for a First Reader to join our Poem of the Week curation team. Please review the job posting below for more information about each role and how to apply. The job posting and required materials are also available as a Word document which has been formatted for screen readers. The document is available for download at the top of the posting. If you have questions about the positions or the application instructions, or if these job positings are not accessible to you, please reach out to info@splitthisrock.org. 

Applications will be accepted until 11:59 pm ET on June 1, 2025. If we extend the application window, we will update the information here and announce the extension through our email list and social media channels (Twitter, BlueSky, Facebook, and Instagram). 

We look forward to reviewing your application materials! 

First Reader Position

View this job posting as a document formatted for screen readers by clicking to download the Word document. If you experience any difficulty with downloading the document, please send an email to info@splitthisrock.org.

Overview

Split This Rock seeks a First Reader to join our curation team for the Poem of the Week Series. First Readers are paid consultants who sign contracts with the organization, with a tentative commitment of one year. We welcome applications from individuals who reside in the United States.

The Poem of the Week curation team includes First Reader consultants and all full-time staff. We aim to work with someone who understands and values anti-oppression and racial, gender, economic, and disability justice as core organizational operating principles. We're particularly interested in people who have experience at the intersection of arts and social justice and share our commitments to equity, access, and liberation.

Split This Rock's Poem of the Week series publishes a contemporary poem online each week and shares each poem via our email newsletter and social media accounts. All poems are available in The Quarry: A Social Justice Poetry Database, the only database of its kind, searchable by social justice theme/topic, poet identities, and several other search tags, which can be combined to create a unique, specific search. Like all of Split This Rock’s programs, Poem of the Week and The Quarry are designed to amplify voices that have been historically underrepresented in the poetry field.

Scope of Work

First Readers work with Split This Rock's curation team in the following ways: 

  • Reviewing poems and providing feedback: First Readers review submitted poems over two- or three-week reading periods, for a total of approximately 20 poems maximum during each reading period. For each poem, First Readers provide a vote on whether a poem should advance to the next stage of review, note any potentially harmful or concerning ideas or language, recommend content notices, and provide additional comments. To best support our small staff team and the publication process, First Reader consultants must be able to meet requested deadlines.
  • Periodically attending virtual meetings: Meetings with the full First Reader team are scheduled based on participants’ availability. Meetings are held virtually on Zoom with access to automated captions and transcripts. Split This Rock is committed to doing all it can to make this an accessible virtual meeting experience. Each participant sends accommodation requests as early as possible before the scheduled meeting date to provide staff the best opportunity to fulfill requests.
  • Monthly invoicing: First Reader consultants submit one invoice via email to each month. Split This Rock can compensate each First Reader at a rate of $25 USD per hour, for up to 10 hours per month. Payments are issued within 10 days via mailed check or PayPal, depending on which payment method is requested in an invoice. Billable hours include reading time, reviewing training and guidance materials, Zoom meetings, responding to emails from Split This Rock staff, and other optional tasks that staff may request.
  • Reporting to Literary Arts Programs Director: The work of the Poem of the Week curation team, including First Reader consultants and staff, is managed by Split This Rock’s Literary Arts Programs Director. First Readers communicate with the Literary Arts Programs Director via email and full team Zoom meetings.

Timeline

Please send your application materials by 11:59 pm ET on June 1, 2025.

Consultation contract period will be June 25, 2025 to June 24, 2026, with the possibility of renewal.

While we appreciate the time it takes to apply for this position, we do not have capacity to respond to every candidate. Once we have identified a new First Reader for our curation team, we will make an announcement in our email newsletter.


Submission details

You can apply for Split This Rock’s First Reader position through Submittable.

If Submittable is not accessible to you, we ask that you download and fill in the requested information in this Word Document. The document is formatted for screen-readers. Once you've completed the document, please send it and your resume to info@splitthisrock.org.

Information that we will request in your application:

  • First and last name and pronouns
  • Contact information
  • Resume that lists relevant experience. (No cover letters, please!)
  • Poetry publication credits that do not include self-publication (ex. journals, newspapers, magazines, chapbooks, full-length books, and/or anthologies). 
  • Identify 3 poems in The Quarry: A Social Justice Poetry Database that resonate with you. For each poem, please provide the following: (1) The poem’s URL; (2) What you loved about the poem; (3) What, if any, content notices you would suggest for the poem. 
  • How did you learn about Split This Rock and/or the First Reader position? 

Access, Equity, and Inclusion

Split This Rock encourages applications from women, people of color, bilingual and bicultural individuals, people with disabilities, nonbinary and LGBTQ+ candidates. Split This Rock is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, marital status, family duties, personal appearance, citizenship status, or any basis prohibited by federal or local laws.

 

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