REVIEW: RADIOACTIVE WOLVES – AMY ROA (STEEL TOE BOOKS)

Amy Roa’s Radioactive Wolves is an intriguing collection, full of adventure, ponies, unicorns… and the struggle to survive the nagging hardship of the world. – Michael Imossan

REVIEW: IF SOME GOD SHAKES YOUR HOUSE – JENNIFER FRANKLIN (FOUR WAY BOOKS)

Franklin releases a fine collection, laced with the feminist struggle for freedom from patriarchy, love, loss, death, the finality of things, grief. – Michael Imossan

REVIEW: BLOODPATHS – SATURN BROWNE (KITH BOOKS)

The debut chapbook of a young, burgeoning talent in the broader literary sphere, Browne utilizes content, form, and structure in natural harmony to baptize us in the arteries of our lands. – Helena Pantsis

REVIEW: GENERAL RELEASE FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD – DONNA SPRUIJT-METZ (PARLOR PRESS)

Spruijt-Metz deftly explores the complexities of memory, healing, and the divine, delving into the profound connection between the present moment and beyond. – Martins Deep

REVIEW: MINOR POETS: VOLUME 1 – EDITED BY JOSHUA BENNETT AND JESSE MCCARTHY (PENGUIN CLASSICS)

Minor Poets: Volume 1 is a carefully curated anthology that presents key figures in Black poetics who deserve a place in conversations around American poetry. – Ronnie K. Stephens

REVIEW: BUFFALO GIRL – JESSICA Q. STARK (BOA EDITIONS)

Buffalo Girl is one of the most nuanced, complex and unique collections of the year. – Ronnie K. Stephens

REVIEW: VOZ – JENNIFER JEAN (LILY POETRY REVIEW)

Voz is a collection filled with adventures, beaches and forgiveness. – Michael Imossan

REVIEW: SALT WATER DEMANDS A PSALM BY KWEKU ABIMBOLA (GRAYWOLF PRESS)

This is a collection that far exceeds what readers might expect from a debut, quickly situating Abimbola as a preeminent and philosophical voice in American poetry. – Ronnie K. Stephens

REVIEW: THE ALPINIST SEARCHES LONELY PLACES – KYLE VAUGHN (BELLE POINT PRESS)

Kyle Vaughn opens us to how desire and hunger can be both holy and unholy. – Michael Imossan

REVIEW: READING BERRYMAN TO THE DOG – WENDY TAYLOR (BELLE POINT PRESS)

Taylor’s newest is a bold affirmation of denial which is the first stage of grieving, how one refuses to acknowledge the “dead overrunning one’s street”. – Michael Imossan

REVIEW: PROMISES OF GOLD BY JOSE OLIVAREZ (HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY)

Olivarez is particularly masterful at writing from a place of vulnerability, exposing his flaws without ever leaning into self-deprecation. – Ronnie K. Stephens

REVIEW: THE WEATHER GODS – SARAH ETLINGER (BARCLAY PRESS)

Etlinger’s The Weather Gods lives in the in-between—somewhere in the middle of ghosts and spirit, love and loss, memories and moments. – Michael Imossan

REVIEW: STANDING IN THE FOREST OF BEING ALIVE BY KATIE FARRIS (ALICE JAMES BOOKS)

Katie Farris balances grace and strength perfectly, offering poems that will linger with readers for days at a time. – Ronnie K. Stephens

IN GROWN-UP ELEMENTARY, D’MANI THOMAS GIFTS AGENCY – KB BROOKINS

Thomas gives readers the rare occasion to listen to, not judge or direct, the kid that lives in all of us. – KB Brookins

REVIEW: TRACE EVIDENCE BY CHARIF SHANAHAN (TIN HOUSE)

Trace Evidence is intensely complex and immediate, layered and poignant, positioned perfectly as a deeply personal and yet deeply relatable collection. – Ronnie K. Stephens

REVIEW: DOOM SCROLL – MATTHEW GUENETTE (UNIVERSITY OF AKRON PRESS)

Matthew Guenette navigates through past and present tragedies in a way that envisages the future. – Michael Imossan

REVIEW: COMPOSITION BY JUNIOUS WARD (BUTTON POETRY)

Junious Ward is masterful with his language, yes, but he also manages to present a collection in which every poem offers something structurally and linguistically unique. – Ronnie K. Stephens

REVIEW: THE BODY PROBLEM – MARGARET WACK (ORISON BOOKS)

Margaret Wack’s dexterity is sprawled across the pages of her debut collection which is vivid, intense and heartwarming. – Ejiro Edward

REVIEW: THROWN IN THE THROAT – BENJAMIN GARCIA (MILKWEED EDITIONS)

This collection impeccably displays Garcia’s particular style and his skillful execution of it through his mastery of words. – Bella Ciraco

REVIEW: HOW TO MAINTAIN EYE CONTACT BY ROBERT WOOD LYNN (BUTTON POETRY)

A searing collection that encapsulates the full spectrum of the human experience….It is one of the best chapbook length collections in American letters. – Ronnie K. Stephens

REVIEW: CHROME VALLEY BY MAHOGANY L. BROWNE (LIVERIGHT PUBLISHING)

Browne has repeatedly asserted herself as one of the most preeminent voices in America, and her work has always been unflinching and vulnerable. – Ronnie K. Stephens

REVIEW: BAD OMENS – JESSICA DRAKE THOMAS (QUERENCIA PRESS)

The reader is transported into the heart of myth by Jessica’s uncanny ability to capture its essence, with such depth that it is both haunting and indelible.  – Martins Deep

REVIEW: THE NAKED ROOM BY WILLA SCHNEBERG (BROADSTONE BOOKS)

Add Schneberg to the list of authors you turn to, in your own crises and in the crises of others. – Ronnie K. Stephens

REVIEW: THE MAKER OF HEAVEN & – JASON MYERS (BELLE POINTE PRESS)

Jason treats all subject matter with such delicateness that it proves almost impossible for language to account for them. – Michael Imossan

REVIEW: HOPE IS A SILHOUETTE – LANA McDONAGH (WORDVILLE PRESS)

One finds themselves trying to determine if they’re more drawn to the art illustrations or the rhythmic flow but one thing is sure, hope is a silhouette is brilliant. – Ejiro Edward

REVIEW: DEAR OUTSIDERS – JENNY SADRE-ORAFAI (UNIVERSITY OF AKRON PRESS)

There is no way one can literally navigate the waters of reminiscence, loss and nostalgia the way Jenny Sadre-Orafai does it in her collection Dear Outsiders. I say literally because the poet exhibits the trait of a thalassophile—the inescapable need to be and live by the sea. In the collection,

REVIEW: THE COMMONPLACE MISFORTUNES OF EVERYDAY PLANTS – RENEE EMERSON (BELLE POINT PRESS)

Review by Ejiro Edward   “I’ve stopped taking pictures of my surviving children. I take pictures of the snow, and what the snow covers”.  from Family therapy The author of Church Ladies, Renee Emerson has released yet another engrossing masterpiece to the world.  In the poetry collection of  The Commonplace

SPEAK FREELY: ON BREAKUPS AND THE ART OF MOVING ON – RONNIE K. STEPHENS

This month, I am returning to one of the most pervasive experiences my students share, one that occupies the better part of their bad days. I mean, of course, break ups. Educators are tasked, more and more, with making content relevant to our students. Though I often use poetry as

REVIEW: UNSHUTTERED BY PATRICIA SMITH (NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY PRESS)

I hold my breath to tempt the light. This portrait should engage the interest of some decorous and cultivated gent accustomed to the ways of wooing. All my life I’ve sent so many men so many signals, just to be upstaged…   From “7” Patricia Smith reasserts herself as one

REVIEW: DIVINATION WITH A HUMAN HEART ATTACHED – EMILY STODDARD (GAME OVER BOOKS)

Armed with surrealism, Stoddard breaks free from the constraints of reality in order to tap into the realm of the irrational and dreamlike. – Martins Deep

REVIEW: A TINDERBOX IN THREE ACTS – CYNTHIA DEWI OKA (BOA EDITIONS)

Astronauts claim it takes leaving earth   to know earth, how alone and woven we are, o zone, how   wondrously thin   the layer of glow defending us from obliteration. From “March in the Garden of Ghosts” Cynthia Dewi Oka draws on newly classified documents around the 1965 genocide

REVIEW: JUDAS GOAT – GABRIELLE BATES (TIN HOUSE)

Gabrielle Bates is one part rock star, one part bard, offering a debut that perfectly balances an unflinching, badass attitude with the practiced precision of an experienced student of poetics. – Ronnie K. Stephens

REVIEW: LYING IN – ELIZABETH METZGER (MILKWEED EDITIONS)

Told from a standpoint of bed rest, Elizabeth Metzger analyzes how the body pays the price of bearing something as fragile as another self twice as susceptible to vulnerability. – Martins Deep

TPQ20: S4EP12 – JONAH MIXON WEBSTER

Join Chris in conversation with author of Stereo(types), Jonah Mixon-Webster, about passions, process, pitfalls, and Poetry!

REVIEW: SWEET, YOUNG, AND WORRIED – BLYTHE BAIRD (BUTTON POETRY)

Baird truly pours her heart onto each page, and it can be felt beating in every single word. – Isabella Ciraco

REVIEW: FROM FROM – MONICA YOUN (GRAYWOLF PRESS)

From From offers an opportunity to consider what it means to be an American, to reach inside oneself to critically examine the ways in which western ideology has impacted colonization and racial identity. – Catie L. Young

REVIEW: SYMMETRY OF FISH – SU CHO (PENGUIN BOOKS)

Su Cho’s The Symmetry of Fish is a summon into experience, adventure, loss, sadness, pain and enlightenment. – Michael Imossan

REVIEW: URBANSHEE BY SIAARA FREEMAN (BUTTON POETRY)

Siaara Freeman shrieks and wails, but she also knows when to pull back, when to whisper and when to let the blank space reverberate like the ghost of a storm – Ronnie K. Stephens

SPEAK FREELY: AGENCY AND POSSIBILITY, A GENERATIVE WRITING EXERCISE

Poetry is generative and scientifically proven to promote healing, not just cognitively and emotionally, but also physically. – Ronnie K. Stephens

REVIEW: KILLING IT – GAJA RAJAN (BLACK LAWRENCE PRESS)

As is typical of confessionalism, the poet flings all caution in the face of the bull. They are the red flag, the matador, and the dust that refuses to settle. – Martins Deep

TPQ20: S4EP10 – NAT RAUM

Join Chris in conversation with Nat Raum, Editor of Fifth Wheel Press, about passions, process, pitfalls, and Poetry!

REVIEW: A HOME TO CROUCH IN – HUGH BLANTON (CAJON MUTT PRESS)

In A Home To Crouch In, Blanton introduces readers to the life of an urban recluse speaker who finds solace in a bottle of cheap liquor and a poetry book in his rundown apartment. – Caleb Jones

REPLAYS: BLIND BY SZA

It’s so embarrassing
How we used to be friends
To now I don’t care if it ends
Past making amends
– Reggie Johnson

REVIEW: GROCERY SHOPPING WITH MY MOTHER – KEVIN POWELL (SOFT SKULL PRESS)

The emotional language and distinct structure in Kevin Powell’s collection will leave you with a new perspective on love, injustice, and devotion to your people that will make your sorrows soothed and your soul uplifted. – Isabella Ciraco

REVIEW: SHE HAS VISIONS – CARLA SARETT (MAIN STREET RAG)

She Has Visions packs quite the punch for the reader in realizing the everyday challenges in learning to overcome grief and loss. – Sydney Norton

REVIEW: NAMING THE GHOST – EMILY HOCKADAY (CORNERSTONE PRESS)

This ghost, this fear as depicted by the poet is seen to be ever present; constantly walking through the poet’s bones, becoming alive again in every breath and in every “gust” as the poet affirms “we know the ghost is here”. – Michael Imossan

REVIEW: BORROWING YOUR BODY – LAURA PASSIN (RIOT IN YOUR THROAT)

Through Passin’s use of varying structures, consistent diction, powerful imagery, and unique metaphors, it will seem… you are borrowing her body and feeling it as your very own. – Ciraco

REVIEWS: O – ZEINA HASHEM BECK (PENGUIN POETS)

Zeina Hashem Beck quickly and repeatedly establishes herself as one of the most talented formal technicians in contemporary poetry – Ronnie K. Stephens

THE STUDY OF HUMAN LIFE – JOSHUA BENNETT (PENGUIN POETS)

Bennett has established himself as an intensely patient and deliberate writer capable of upending genre as seamlessly as he upends our understanding of the world. – Ronnie K. Stephens

REPLAYS: FEEL ALRIGHT BY KRIIISPY

This year I been moving different
People acting mad funny – Peter griffin
People shooting for the stars
When they should’ve just stayed wishing
– Reggie Johnson

TPQ20 – S4EP7: SHELLEY WONG

Join Chris in conversation with Shelley Wong, author of As She Appears (YesYesBooks), about passions, process, pitfalls, and Poetry!

REPLAYS: MEMORABLE BY SAWEETIE

Treat me like a god
Worship me like I a deity
What they said was true
And I guess she wasn’t meant for me
– Reggie Johnson

TPQ20 – S4EP6: SAGE FRANCIS

Join Chris with hip hop legend, Sage Francis, on the 20th anniversary of Personal Journals, about passions, process…well, really about life and music!

REPLAYS: ICU BY COCO JONES

You
Yes you
I need you
– Reggie Johnson

REVIEW: CONCENTRATE – COURTNEY FAYE TAYLOR (GRAYWOLF PRESS)

Taylor aptly grounds the collection in lived experience, humanizing Harlins and deliberately avoiding the familiar tropes that so often flatten Black trauma. – Ronnie K. Stephens

REPLAYS: 3AM IN GLENWOOD BY 21 SAVAGE

Take it back to the time
To who was really riding with me
And not just in the passenger seat
– Reggie Johnson

TPQ20 – S4EP4: BILLY COLLINS (fmr. UNITED STATES POET LAUREATE)

Join Chris in conversation with former United States Poet Laureate and author of Musical Tables (Random House), Billy Collins, about passions, process, pitfalls, and Poetry!

REPLAYS: SHIRT BY SZA

Blood again on my cardigan
Yes, we could’ve been more than friends
– Reggie Johnson

REVIEW: THE WORLD KEEPS ENDING, AND THE WORLD GOES ON – FRANNY CHOI (ECCO)

Choi leaves nothing on the table, offering a collection that will satisfy students of poetry and casual readers with equal fervor. – Ronnie K. Stephens

TPQ20 – S4EP3: DONNEY ROSE

Join Chris in conversation with performance poet, advocacy journalist, and teaching artist, Donney Rose, about passions, process, pitfalls, and Poetry!

REPLAYS: BET BY RUSS

Bet
I’m over here just matching my energy
You sigh in relief
But there ain’t no relief in me
– Reggie Johnson

SPEAK FREELY: MEMORY AND ALTERNATE HISTORIES AS CATHARSIS

Franny Choi’s “Wildlife” and “Demilitarized Zone” both offer excellent frameworks to facilitate lessons that center retrofitted memory and alternate history as a cathartic process. – Ronnie K. Stephens

TPQ20 – S4EP2: COURTNEY FAYE TAYLOR

Join Chris of The Poetry Question in conversation with Courtney Faye Taylor, author of Concentrate (Graywolf Press) and winner of the Cave Canem Poetry Prize, about passions, process, pitfalls, and Poetry!

REPLAYS: MIXY BY QUAVO, TAKEOFF & SUMMER WALKER

I ain’t mixy
If my actions change
Adjusting to your nonsense
Now all of sudden I’m acting strange
– Reggie Johnson

REVIEW: BETWEEN EVERY BIRD, OUR BONES – EMET EZELL (NEWFOUND)

The equation is one, in which, survival and domestic intimacy, are constants. It is true then, that emet ezell was first, a witness, before being identified as a poet. – Martins Deep

TPQ20 – S4EP1: LUTHER HUGHES

Join Chris of The Poetry Question in a sit down with Luther Hughes, author of Shiver in the Leaves, about passions, process, pitfalls, and Poetry.

REPLAYS: BIG MAD BY KTLYN

Had to spell it out for you
On my national Scripps
Quiet ones to watch
Since we stay tight lipped
Readying my arsenal
Stay fully equipped
– Reggie Johnson

REVIEW: CONSTELLATION ROUTE – MATTHEW OLZMANN (ALICE JAMES BOOKS)

Olzmann’s choice to fully immerse himself in the epistle offers a chance to display his range of voice, to give space to seemingly disparate social inequities, to remain constantly intimate in his conversation with the reader. 

REPLAYS: RESET BY NAV & BRYSON TILLER

Overdue for a reset
Been climbing mountains and mountains
But I haven’t peaked yet
Still gotta eat yet
– Reggie Johnson

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TPQ20: S3EP17 – JASMINNE MENDEZ

Join Chris of The Poetry Question in a sit down with Jasminne Mendez, Author of City Without Altar (Noemi Press), about passions, process, pitfalls, & Poetry!

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TPQ20 – SAIDA AGOSTINI BOSTIC

Join Chris in a sit down with Saida Agostini Bostic, author of Let the Dead In (Alan Squire Publishing), about passions, process, pitfalls, and Poetry!

REPLAYS: WHO’S GONNA LOVE YOU TONIGHT BY SNAKEHIPS & TINASHE

Who’s gonna love you
If you can’t love yourself
Because the actions that you did
Were bad for my mental health
– Reggie Johnson

REVIEW: SO TALL IT ENDS IN HEAVEN – JAYME RINGLEB (TIN HOUSE)

Debut author Jayme Ringleb has mastered the art of language that yearns, of metronomic white space that beats with all the quiet inevitability of an unrequited heart. – Ronnie K. Stephens

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TPQ20: S3EP15 – DR. DESTINY O. BIRDSONG

Join Chris in a sit down with Dr. Destiny O. Birdsong, author of Nobody’s Magic (Grand Central Publishing) and Negotiations (Tin House), about passions, process, pitfalls, and Poetry!

REVIEW: UNRAVELING – BRANDON LEAKE (SIMON AND SCHUSTER)

This collection of poems is a mosaic of mirrors, reflecting the innerman with the wavelength of an x-ray. – Martins Deep

SPEAK FREELY: BANNED BOOKS EDITION

Though book burning may appear historically and practically extreme in comparison to book bans, consider that one of the guiding principles of book burning is public spectacle. – Ronnie K. Stephens

REVIEW: A LITTLE SMALLER THAN THE FINAL QUARK – CARSON PYTELL (BULLSHIT LIT)

Refreshingly amusing poetry that captures the fallibility of human experience––and with witty titles. – Caitie L. Young

REPLAYS: OUTSIDE BY BRYSON TILLER

Luckily I clean it up well
Yeah prepare for the tide
Not a stain on me
We take off on our ride
– Reggie Johnson

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TPQ20: S3EP14 – SANDRA CISNEROS

Join Chris in a sit-down with the legendary Sandra Cisneros, author of Woman Without Shame (Alfred A. Knopf), about passions, process, pitfalls, and poetry!

REVIEW: NIGHT SWIM – JOAN KWON GLASS (DIODE EDITIONS)

“This collection is a testament to love beyond mortal remains, beyond the bleak stillness of nights and days consumed by stages of grief….” – A.R. Salandy

REVIEW: ALIVE AT THE END OF THE WORLD – SAEED JONES (COFFEE HOUSE PRESS)

Jones reaffirms his place as one of the most talented living poets writing in English with this collection, demonstrating an ever-evolving mastery of language and a distinct eye for structural balance. – Ronnie K. Stephens

TPQ20: S3EP13 – AURIELLE MARIE

Join Chris in a sit-down with Aurielle Marie, author of Gumbo Ya Ya (University of Pittsburgh Press), about passions, process, pitfalls, and poetry!

REVIEW: A SHIVER IN THE LEAVES – LUTHER HUGHES (BOA EDITIONS)

His use of structure, rhythm and extended metaphor are among the best, and his particular utilization of the crow throughout A Shiver in the Leaves sets this debut apart as one of the most layered, complex collections of the year. – Ronnie K. Stephens

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TPQ20: S3E12 – INK

Join Chris in a sit-down with @ink_just_ink, EiC of @StanzaCannon and author of 61 Central (@FLPress), about passions, process, pitfalls, and poetry!

TALK TO ME: NOLCHA FOX

I love putting odd images together, playing with alternate definitions of words, twisting the end. My adult me is the one who figures out where to submit the glorious mess I make of a poem. – Nolcha Fox

Speak Freely: Imperative Voice and the Performance of Womanhood

Xie’s use of the imperative voice, intentionally or not, mirrors the language in Kincaid’s text, and both authors use the imperative specifically to convey expectations to younger generations of women. – Ronnie K. Stephens

REVIEW: EVERY POEM A POTION, EVERY SONG A SPELL – STEPHANIE PARENT (QUERENCIA PRESS)

She brought me back to when I was a little girl, feeling very much alone, seeking refuge in books that I didn’t know yet would have been with me while growing up. – Valentina Lenardi

REPLAYS: TOXIC BY YG

Dramamine because I’m sick of you
When patience ran thin
Where was thick for you?
What didn’t click for you?
– Reggie Johnson

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TPQ20: S3EP11 – H. MELT

Join Chris in a sit down with H. MELT, about passions, process, pitfalls, and Poetry!

REVIEW: LOTUS & THE APOCALYPSE – AUSTIN DAVIS (OUTCAST PRESS)

It’s a testament to all of us holding depression and joy in both hands, to everyone that has ever felt their world could end before the sun goes down. – Caitie L. Young

REPLAYS: PICTURE IN MY MIND BY PINK PANTHERESS & SAM GELLAITRY

You’re no longer a need
No longer a want
A picture in my mind
My dreams you won’t haunt
– Reggie Johnson

REVIEW: MAGNOLIA – NINA MINGYA POWLES (TIN HOUSE)

The poems are clearly the work of someone who has dedicated significant time to craft, & who approaches language like an anthropologist or philosopher might. – Ronnie K. Stephens

TPQ20: S3EP10 – BUDDY WAKEFIELD

Join Chris in a sitdown with actor, writer, producer, and all-around bad-ass Buddy Wakefield, about passions, process, pitfalls, and poetry!

REVIEW: THE WET HEX – SUN YUNG SHIN (COFFEE HOUSE PRESS)

At the heart of the poem is an image of the author’s passport, effectively bridging mythos and history to highlight a long and violent legacy of colonialism and its impact on colonized peoples. – Ronnie K. Stephens

REPLAYS: I LITERALLY NEVER THINK ABOUT YOU BY KYLE

No matter the companionship
Friend, coworker or foe
You’ll never catch me banana slip
I literally never think about you
I just stack chips and I dip
– Reggie Johnson

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TPQ20: S3EP9 – MAYA MARSHALL

Join Chris in a sitdown with Maya Marshall, author of All the Blood Involved in Love and an Editor at Haymarket Books, about passions, process, pitfalls, and poetry!

REVIEW: SO, STRANGER – TOPAZ WINTERS (BUTTON POETRY)

Winters offers a layered and thoughtful critique of the immigrant experience in America, the nuances of her relationship with her father and how borders operate in our lives. – Ronnie K. Stephens

REPLAYS: NEW TO YOU BY CALVIN HARRIS, NORMANI, TINASHE & OFFSET

Now we just on the road
No one knows where we going
Has the love come and gone
Did we miss the moment?
– Reggie Johnson

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TPQ20: S3EP8 – BRIAN TIERNEY

Join Chris in a sitdown with Brian Tierney, the author of Rise and Float (Milkweed), about passions, process, pitfalls, poetry, and a whole lot of music! 

SPEAK FREELY: MEANING AND METAPHOR IN RACHEL MCKIBBENS’ “THE WIDOWER”

Rachel McKibbens “The Widower” captures students because it’s visceral, emotional, and refuses to be ignored. – Ronnie K. Stephens