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
Add Schneberg to the list of authors you turn to, in your own crises and in the crises of others. – Ronnie K. Stephens
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
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 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
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
Baird truly pours her heart onto each page, and it can be felt beating in every single word. – Isabella Ciraco
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
Su Cho’s The Symmetry of Fish is a summon into experience, adventure, loss, sadness, pain and enlightenment. – Michael Imossan
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
Join Chris in conversation with Nat Raum, Editor of Fifth Wheel Press, about passions, process, pitfalls, and Poetry!
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
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
Take it back to the time
To who was really riding with me
And not just in the passenger seat
– Reggie Johnson
Blood again on my cardigan
Yes, we could’ve been more than friends
– Reggie Johnson
Join Chris in conversation with performance poet, advocacy journalist, and teaching artist, Donney Rose, about passions, process, pitfalls, and Poetry!
Bet
I’m over here just matching my energy
You sigh in relief
But there ain’t no relief in me
– Reggie Johnson
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
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!
I ain’t mixy
If my actions change
Adjusting to your nonsense
Now all of sudden I’m acting strange
– Reggie Johnson
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
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.
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
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!
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!
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
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!
This collection of poems is a mosaic of mirrors, reflecting the innerman with the wavelength of an x-ray. – Martins Deep
Luckily I clean it up well
Yeah prepare for the tide
Not a stain on me
We take off on our ride
– Reggie Johnson
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!
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
Join Chris in a sit-down with Aurielle Marie, author of Gumbo Ya Ya (University of Pittsburgh Press), about passions, process, pitfalls, and poetry!
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
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
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
Dramamine because I’m sick of you
When patience ran thin
Where was thick for you?
What didn’t click for you?
– Reggie Johnson
Join Chris in a sit down with H. MELT, about passions, process, pitfalls, and Poetry!
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
You’re no longer a need
No longer a want
A picture in my mind
My dreams you won’t haunt
– Reggie Johnson
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
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
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
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
Rachel McKibbens “The Widower” captures students because it’s visceral, emotional, and refuses to be ignored. – Ronnie K. Stephens
I had thoughts
Deep thoughts
Of me, myself and the pen
Replay the moment in my head
Not taking it for granted again
Some people say they family
And they never been a kin
– Reggie Johnson
Join Chris in a sitdown with I.S. Jones, author of Spells of My Name, and Editor at Frontier Poetry, about passions, process, pitfalls, and Poetry!
Soto’s poems are meant to be rough, triggering at times, and cut straight to the point. Readers can’t help but understand the message, empathize, and feel like we’re supposed to fix things ourselves.
Hey how you doing?
Are you getting tired yet?
I might forgive you
But I never forget
– Reggie Johnson
The language, lyrically dispensed in its distinct style, portrays bravery and reveals a poet whose voice is both an ache and a cure. – Martins Deep
The risk of centering a speaker who is, at times, painfully self-involved is significant, but Chen balances these sentiments with frequent moments of grace, desire and appreciation. – Ronnie K. Stephens
There is a fine line
In the root of good and evil
So stop it with this balancing act
– Reggie Johnson
Vuong uses structure to further disrupt linear fluidity. His poems frequently utilize a style of enjambment that eschews natural speech, presenting fragments that time and again force the reader forward. – Ronnie K. Stephens
𝐏𝐎𝐄𝐓𝐑𝐘? 𝐅𝐔𝐂𝐊 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐇.
It’s the only shirt your kid’s teacher won’t dress code them on.
Maya Marshall’s debut interrogates the current sociopolitical nature and its threat to reproductive rights, choice, and Blackness. – Caitie L. Young
They don’t like us outside
But now we ain’t gonna be inside
From the inside, I can see your insides
Looks like y’all don’t like yourself inside
y’all should’ve kept your opinions inside
– Reggie Johnson
Brookins, Melt, and Tran all address the process of naming and unnaming from different perspectives. Together, these poems will help foster understanding and empathy around the language we use with one another. – Ronnie K. Stephens
Join Chris in conversation with Khalisa Rae, author of Ghost in a Black Girl’s Throat (Red Hen Press), about passions, process, pitfalls, and poetry!
Not into too many surprises
Unless it’s a special occasion
And whenever I’m with you
It’s a cause for a celebration
– Reggie Johnson
Paul Tran’s long-awaited debut collection, All the Flowers Kneeling, is a fierce reminder that Tran is one of the most talented and visceral poets writing in America today. – Ronnie K. Stephens
Running from the fears
When it’s coming from the inside
No more counted out
No where for me to hide
Who knows what happens when
Pain and perseverance collides?
– Reggie Johnson
Order your copy of A.R. Salandy’s Half-Bred! Only 100 copies available!
Join Chris Margolin of The Poetry Questions in a sit-down with Jennifer Huang, author of Return Flight (Milkweed Editions), to talk about passions, process, pitfalls, and poetry!
Dear God. Dear Bones. Dear Yellow. is the divine feminine’s wrath with no apologies, and yes, you should say thank you. – Lyra Thomas
Thanni paints the scenery for us clearly—the love between families, the high stakes involved in pursuing change (fly/break, free/remembered), and nestled in these intense bonds, intense violence. – Jeni De La O
Discussing mental health in the classroom can be incredibly daunting, especially as educators face public criticism and accusations of indoctrinating students. – Ronnie K. Stephens
These poems rip at the meat, bone, and marrow of aspects of the institution that has settled in the hearts and minds of our societal zeitgeist. – Melissa Ferrer
Sometimes I feel overwhelmed and I just need to breathe
Inhale exhale put my mind at ease
– Reggie Johnson
Each section speaks to a specific season, emphasizing the passage of time and its effect on our understanding of the world around us. – Ronnie K. Stephens
Does drained looked good on me?
The pressures of life begin to sink in
And it’s like someone left the water running
Washing ourselves of the sins
But it feels like I’m taking a ho bath
– Reggie Johnson
If I was going to try and convince someone that poetry is our most important verbal art, I would start with The Hurting Kind. – Ronnie K. Stephens
I think the brevity comes somewhat from the fact that I see this glow, this halo, around my intimacy so clearly. I see it, I feel it, I say it. And that’s that. It comes (ah, another pun!) easy. – Aleah Dye
This month, I’m sharing some of my favorite pedagogical practices to introduce during National Poetry Month, as well as some of the poems I return to in my classes year after year. – Ronnie K. Stephens
This entire collection is a canal–a wrenching chasm opening for rebirth–a witness to the psyche, split apart, in a world ruled by men who abandoned their humanity for the sake of domination. – Melissa Ferrer
“Against Heaven is an ode to blackness with a question mark to Black Christianity. It is a tribute to queerness and transness. It is a love letter to polyamory, and the lovers had and yet to have….” Lyra Thomas
In this speaker’s world, loneliness becomes a proper noun. A thing of beauty. A thing that will grow into its own season. – Amanda Rabaduex
These are painful in a glorious way – a healing kind of hurt. This collection offers a safe space for queerness and self and love. – Courtney Margolin
Join Chris and Courtney Margolin of The Poetry Question in a sitdown with Saeed Jones, author of Alive at the End of the World (Coffee House Press), about passions, process, pitfalls, and poetry!
With a hint of irony she reminds us of all the rules we’ve been exposed to growing up, of the smallest signs we have to use every day to express ourselves in front of the societal expectations. – Valentina Linardi
This collection of life-flowers reminds us that life may be ordinary, but this ordinary may just be lovely enough to convince us that we want to be in it. – Melissa Ferrer
[This collection takes a] hard look at the challenges of existing in exile, of growing accustomed to the comforts of America, and of conflicting feelings around claiming a home to which the speaker cannot return. – Ronnie K. Stephens
“The activist in me wants students to grapple with how form, and departure from form, serves as commentary on systemic oppression and gatekeeping”. – Ronnie K. Stephens
The nightmare is when all the magic stops
Boogeyman syndrome, stay away
– Reggie Johnson
“The idea of losing blood to be filled with salvation, to make sacrifices, to hitchhike trying to find a way home – these speak to overarching themes throughout”. – Amanda Rabaduex
Stewart is at her best, masterfully blending her understanding of craft with her keen ear for orality to offer a collection readers will be talking about for years. – Ronnie K. Stephens
Connotary is an incantation into remembrance. And an edification from where one has been and is always going. And still is also this gift, this display, of honor and renewal. – Melissa Ferrer
Who knows how one’s body could have
All the answers to our questions
Thank you for your blessings
– Reggie Johnson
Join Chris and Courtney in a sit down with @CropTopAssassin, author of The Porch (@yesyesbooks), in a conversation about passions, process, pitfalls, and poetry!
“When we write about family, we tread a complicated tightrope between sentimentality and honesty; The way that Njambi writes about family is what pulls each poem together”. – Caitie L. Young
Join Chris, of The Poetry Question, in a one-on-one with KB, author of How To Identify Yourself with a Wound (Kallisto Gaia Press), about passions, process, pitfalls, and poetry!
Done giving you a reason
You can’t take my words
And make your own
You don’t have your own seasoning
Soon you’ll learn there’s no appeasing me
Within good reasoning
– Reggie Johnson
“…let us be intentional in recognizing the incredible contributions that women of color have made & continue to make, not just in literature but in all fields”. – Ronnie K. Stephens
Join Chris and Courtney of The Poetry Question in a sit down with Gabrielle Bates about passion, process, pitfalls, and poetry!
So when it’s all said and done
It’s done, nothing to be said
– Reggie Johnson
There’s a deep hurt I feel when I share my food with others and they respond with, “That looks gross!” – Alex Dang
Chris sits down for a one-on-one with Reagan Myers, author of Afterwards (Button Poetry), to talk about passions, process, pitfalls, poetry… and YA lit!
Chris sits down for a one-on-one conversation with Taylor Byas, author of Bloodwarm (Variant Lit), for a conversation about passions, process, pitfalls, and poetry!
“I wonder if I can write an entire manuscript centered around the lines from [the Growing Pains] theme song. And that is what I did”. – Claire Taylor
“Hendrix does not shy away from the complex, daily horrors that were ushered in, and the microscopic to multidimensional trauma that came from hearing the city cheer nightly, like a ritual or like war”. – Rachael Crosbie
“I have also tried to be somebody that I’m not. It hurts to crack yourself into multiple parts. It is the loudest noise. It breaks you”. – Alex Dang
