It could be argued that every pop song ever written is about love. And movies. And books. And so on. Whether the feeling is fleeting or lasts a lifetime, it’s the universal language, the thing that inspires us and keeps us going. And now, it's the theme for this year’s Literary Gazette special publication magazine.

The Literary Gazette is published annually by The River Reporter. This year’s Gazette will come out on July 23.

Your piece can be funny, or sad, maybe cheesy (though not too cheesy), and even angry. It can be about love in all forms: your spouse, your dog, your community. It can be X-rated or high-school-sweetheart saccharine. For reference and inspiration, take a look at the “Modern Love” column in The New York Times.

The literature will be accompanied by portraits of people and who they love. We will be setting up a day or two to take these portraits, and we need people to participate. So, if you are also interested in having your picture taken, please contact me and spread the word to friends and family.

The Gazette accepts short fiction and essays up to 1,000 words, or poetry (any style) up to 40 lines (not including stanza breaks). Send up to four submissions as word documents to isabel@riverreporter.com. Email is preferred, if you can’t email, please call. Submit poems as separate word documents and put complete contact information on each poem. Include a short (50 words or less) bio with your submission. For questions, send an email to the address above or call 845/252-7414 ext. 30. Deadline for submissions is June 1.