Poetry evolves, particularly in the strangest, most difficult times. In this climate, poets Michael Balili and Paolo Manolo launched the online poetry journal “Horde: A Journal of Poetry & Ideas” with Issue #0 going live on Dec. 12 at hordepoetry.com.

“We begin with Issue #0 because we started with nothing but our frustrations and anxieties during this lockdown,” Manalo said in a statement. “We wanted a safe space for poetry that we liked so we asked those close to us to be our first 12 contributors. But we also want to share the work of upcoming writers, so we added two more to the list.”

“Horde” #0 includes poems by Mark Anthony Cayanan, Isabela Banzon, Jaime Jesus Borlagdan, Allan Justo Pastrana, Xenia-Chloe H. Villanueva, Vijae Alquisola, Melissa Salva, Aldus Santos, Mykel Andrada, Vyxz Vasquez, Naomi Cammayo and Raymond de Borja. The issue also introduces two new writers, Carmen Dolina and RC Lupena.

“We envision ‘Horde’ to be a venue for poetry of all forms and shapes managed by different editors per issue,” he added. “Here is our souvenir from a terrible year.”

The poems also have a vocal component, as the writers themselves and guest readers GP Abrajano and Hanah Faraon read the pieces.

The issue features a cover by Bheng Densing and is a “sibling” of Balili and Manalo’s micropress Gacha Press.

“We’re also accepting submissions for our first issue which will focus on fan poetry,” Manalo says.

The guidelines and call for submissions may be found at hordepoetry.com/submissions.