Author: Ronnie K. Stephens

Ronnie K. Stephens is a full-time English teacher and the father of identical twins. His poems often explore vulnerability in its many facets. His first collection, Universe in the Key of Matryoshka, was published by Timber Mouse Publishing in 2014. Individual poems have previously appeared in Rattle, Paper Darts, Weave Magazine, DASH, and PANK, among others. http://www.ronniekstephens.com

REVIEW: HOW TO IDENTIFY YOURSELF WITH A WOUND – KB (KALLISTO GAIA PRESS)

January 4, 2022

KB recognizes the wound as equally capable of memorializing beautiful, if painful, memories. – Ronnie K. Stephens

SPEAK FREELY: TEACHING BODY POLITICS AND THE SONG OF RESISTANCE

January 3, 2022

Gibson’s version is more culturally responsive and inclusive, inviting discussion into the limitations of Whitman’s perceptions of the body, who determines the worth of specific bodies, and how society uses language to establish a hierarchy of humanity. – Ronnie K. Stephens

REVIEW: SUPERDOOM – MELISSA BRODER (TIN HOUSE PRESS)

December 3, 2021

“Together, the poems function a bit like a greatest hits album, showcasing the breadth of style and distinct humor for which Broder is known”. – Ronnie K. Stephens

REVIEW: YELLOW RAIN – MAI DER VANG (GRAYWOLF PRESS)

November 18, 2021

“Mai Der Vang masters contemporary poetic structures, grounds her verse in vivid and haunting imagery, and carries a central narrative throughout the collection”. – Ronnie K. Stephens

REVIEW: ALL THE NAMES GIVEN – RAYMOND ANTROBUS (TIN HOUSE)

October 28, 2021

“Antrobus includes several poems that recall experiences with incarcerated people, and alludes to his own arrest. These poems speak to the terrible relationship between disability and incarceration by humanizing their subjects.” – Ronnie K. Stephens

SPEAK FREELY: IN DEFIANCE OF EVERYTHING

October 20, 2021

“Hopefully this will allow us all to go out into the world exposed, tongues out in absolute defiance of everything that would dare try to break us”. – Ronnie K. Stephens

REVIEW: OTHER PEOPLE’S COMFORT KEEPS ME UP AT NIGHT – MORGAN PARKER (TIN HOUSE)

October 14, 2021

“Parker is someone who immediately displays a deep understanding of the human condition. She’s also terrifyingly comfortable with vulnerability, unique for first collections”. – Ronnie K. Stephens

REVIEW: A NET TO CATCH MY BODY IN ITS WEAVING – KATIE FARRIS (BELOIT POETRY JOURNAL)

September 29, 2021

“… the poems also work to remind readers about the oft-ignored moments of grace that surround difficult times”. – Ronnie K. Stephens

SPEAK FREELY: POETRY AND POLITICS IN THE 21ST CENTURY CLASSROOM

September 15, 2021

“Poetry is something I love deeply, mainly because those from whom I have learned the most, personally and professionally, have been poets. I’ve never encountered a lesson that wouldn’t benefit from the inclusion of a poem or three”. – Ronnie K. Stephens

REVIEW: YOU BETTER BE LIGHTNING – ANDREA GIBSON (BUTTON POETRY)

September 2, 2021

But what stands out most in You Better Be Lightning is grace, for themselves and, often, for those who have harmed them.

REVIEW: POSTCOLONIAL LOVE POEM – NATALIE DIAZ (GRAYWOLF PRESS)

March 3, 2020

REVIEW: POSTCOLONIAL LOVE POEM – NATALIE DIAZ (GRAYWOLF PRESS)

I have never encountered a writer more capable of balancing softness and strength. These poems are quiet and technical and precise, yet the speaker never feels weak or timid. Rather, there is an everpresent sense that the rage lingering just beneath the lines may bare its teeth.

REVIEW: HOMIE – DANEZ SMITH (GRAYWOLF PRESS)

January 21, 2020

REVIEW: HOMIE – DANEZ SMITH (GRAYWOLF PRESS)

These poems are beautiful and messy and surprising and honest; they are everything a storied friendship is.

REVIEW: BOAT BURNED – KELLY GRACE THOMAS (YESYES BOOKS)

January 7, 2020

REVIEW: BOAT BURNED – KELLY GRACE THOMAS (YESYES BOOKS)
I found myself walking away from it often, not out of discontent but out of a need to process the full brunt of the emotions laid bare by the author.

REVIEW: A CHOIR OF HONEST KILLERS – BUDDY WAKEFIELD (WRITE BLOODY PUBLISHING)

December 11, 2019

It is not just a book of confessions, but of acceptance that we can be beautiful and flawed and problematic and good, that the only thing we ought to require of ourselves is the permission to be fully human. Buddy no longer apologizes for fucking things up.

REVIEW: I SHIMMER SOMETIMES, TOO – PORSHA OLAYIWOLA (BUTTON POETRY)

December 6, 2019

These poems make clear that Olayiwola, current poet laureate of Boston, is just beginning what is sure to be a long and much-lauded tenure in American poetics.

#TPQ5: RONNIE K. STEPHENS

November 25, 2019

#TPQ5: RONNIE K. STEPHENS

What will Ronnie K. Stephens, a poet, novelist, and essayist with five kids and a pregnant wife, include in today’s #TPQ5? FInd out inside!

REVIEW: ODES TO LITHIUM – SHIRA ERLICHMAN (ALICE JAMES BOOKS)

November 19, 2019

This book is, quite simply, indispensable. My only lament is that it does not fit in my pocket, as it is the kind of collection one wishes to have with them at all times, the sort that reminds one how to live with equal parts grief and grace.

REVIEW: HELP IN THE DARK SEASON – JACQUELINE SUSKIN (WRITE BLOODY PUBLISHING)

November 11, 2019

he visceral memories echo Sharon Olds and Rachel McKibbens, taking on a confessional style that does not flinch at trauma but also makes space for complexity of loving one’s parents even as abuse continues.

REVIEW: SPACE STRUCK – PAIGE LEWIS (SARABANDE BOOKS)

November 7, 2019

REVIEW – SPACE STRUCK BY PAIGE LEWIS (SARABANDE BOOKS)
In a year of absolutely gorgeous verse, Paige Lewis sets themselves apart, at once informed by the masters of craft and entirely unique in their own right. This is a collection you won’t want to miss.