Poetry Consultations with Enzo Silon Surin
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Enzo Silon Surin is a Haitian-born award-winning poet, author, educator, publisher, and social advocate. He is the author of American Scapegoat (Black Lawrence Press, 2023) and When My Body Was a Clinched Fist (Black Lawrence Press, 2020), winner of the 21st Annual Massachusetts Book Award. He has also authored two chapbooks and co-edited Where We Stand: Poems of Black Resilience (Cherry Castle Publishing, 2022). Through his work as an editor, publisher, and consultant, Surin has helped hundreds of poets find the inner compass of their work—guiding them toward clarity, authenticity, and artistic courage. His poetry centers on the intersections of identity, belonging, and justice, giving voice to experiences that emerge from what he calls “broken spaces.” Surin’s writing has been featured by the Poetry Foundation, Poets & Writers, and the Academy of American Poets’ Poem-a-Day. He is the founder and publisher of Central Square Press, an independent press amplifying marginalized voices, and currently serves as a Visiting Lecturer in Creative Writing at Massachusetts College of Art and Design.
Enzo will provide detailed comments on your manuscript as well as a cover letter. After receiving these files, participants who submit chapbooks and full-length manuscripts may also book phone/video conferences with him at no additional charge.
Enzo is accepting single poems, folios, chapbooks, and full-length collections for critique. The fees and parameters for each of these categories are as follows:
- Individual Poems, up to 2 pages in length, $25
- Folios, up to 7 pages in length, not to include more than 5 poems, $55
- Chapbooks, 16-40 pages in length, $275
- Full-length collections, 45-80 pages in length $425
All manuscripts should be formatted in 12-point font. The deadline to submit work for this consultation program is December 31, 2025. Enzo will complete his work and respond to all participants by January 31, 2026.
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Enzo Silon Surin's Statement of Purpose
As a poet and mentor, I believe that every poem carries its own internal compass, a direction it is trying to move toward even when the poet isn’t yet aware of it. The work on the page should offer multiple points of entry for readers, balancing what is seen and what is felt, what is said and what is suggested. Achieving that balance often means learning to listen closely to what the poem is asking of us.
In consultations, my goal is to help poets locate and trust that inner compass. Together, we’ll explore how language, image, and form can align to reveal the poem’s truest intention. My process involves interrogating lines for both purpose and promise, identifying where the work might open further, and strengthening the clarity of the poet’s vision. Every comment and suggestion is offered with care for both the poem and the poet, to ensure that each voice remains distinct, grounded, and fully alive on the page.