Conceived with the lofty belief that poetry is a form of condensed
energy, that language holds power and, though it assumes different forms,
one of its possibilities is to alter those who encounter it, 4AM exists
to give space to emerging and established poets who write because they can’t
not and to be the mere vessel through which carefully-wrought words are
spread like a medicine against the eroding forces of cultural vacuity.
4AM seeks poetry that is accessible without being shallow, rather,
poems whose meaning isn't so oblique as to be irrelevant but whose language
makes a visceral impact, leaves you shaken, your mind replaying the sounds
over as you turn in sleep.
The name was inspired by a philosophy of insomnia and the incandescence of that hour.