Tag: Button Poetry

REVIEW: I DONE CLICKED MY HEELS THREE TIMES BY TAYLOR BYAS (SOFT SKULL PRESS)

Award-winning poet Taylor Byas offers one of the summer’s best collections with her full-length debut, I Done Clicked My Heel Three Times, from Soft Skull Press. – Ronnie K. Stephens

REVIEW: STILL FALLING BY JENNIFER GROTZ (GRAYWOLF PRESS)

Still Falling, the fourth collection from Jennifer Grotz, is a brief and impossibly rich exploration of loss, grief, and the unfettered will to endure. – Ronnie K. Stephens

REVIEW: EPHEMERA BY SIERRA DEMULDER (BUTTON POETRY)

Readers familiar with DeMulder’s work will be at home with Ephemera, which taps into her keen ability to balance trauma with inner peace. – Ronnie K. Stephens

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: 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: 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 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

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

TPQ20: S4EP10 – NAT RAUM

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

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

REPLAYS: ICU BY COCO JONES

You
Yes you
I need you
– Reggie Johnson

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

REPLAYS: SHIRT BY SZA

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

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

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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!

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!

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

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

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

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

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

REPLAYS: GRAND BY KANE BROWN

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

REVIEW: DIARIES OF A TERRORIST – CHRISTOPHER SOTO (COPPER CANYON PRESS)

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.

REPLAYS: THE SIGN BY LIZZO

Hey how you doing?
Are you getting tired yet?
I might forgive you
But I never forget
– Reggie Johnson

REVIEW: LET THE DEAD IN – SAIDA AGOSTINI (ALAN SQUIRE PUBLISHING)

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

REVIEW: YOUR EMERGENCY CONTACT HAS EXPERIENCED AN EMERGENCY – CHEN CHEN (BOA EDITIONS LTD)

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

REPLAYS: KARMA BY SUMMER WALKER

There is a fine line
In the root of good and evil
So stop it with this balancing act
– Reggie Johnson

REVIEW: TIME IS A MOTHER – OCEAN VUONG (PENGUIN PRESS)

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

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TPQ20: S3EP5 – RONNIE K. STEPHENS

Join Chris of The Poetry Question in a sit-down with Poet-Historian, Ronnie K. Stephens to talk about passions, process, pitfalls, and poetry! 

SATURDAY T-SHIRT ALERT

𝐏𝐎𝐄𝐓𝐑𝐘? 𝐅𝐔𝐂𝐊 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐇.
It’s the only shirt your kid’s teacher won’t dress code them on.

REVIEW: ALL THE BLOOD INVOLVED IN LOVE (HAYMARKET BOOKS)

Maya Marshall’s debut interrogates the current sociopolitical nature and its threat to reproductive rights, choice, and Blackness. – Caitie L. Young

REPLAYS: BREAK MY SOUL BY BEYONCÉ

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

SPEAK FREELY: NAMING AND UNNAMING THE SELF

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

REPLAYS: SURPRISE BY CHLÖE BAILEY

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

REVIEW: ALL THE FLOWERS KNEELING – PAUL TRAN (PENGUIN POETS)

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

REPLAYS: SAVE ME BY DANNY LONDON & HALFOFYOU

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

RELEASE DAY: HALF-BRED – ANTHONY SALANDY

Order your copy of A.R. Salandy’s Half-Bred! Only 100 copies available!

SPEAK FREELY: MENTAL HEALTH AND THE POETICS OF COLLECTIVE HEALING

Discussing mental health in the classroom can be incredibly daunting, especially as educators face public criticism and accusations of indoctrinating students. – Ronnie K. Stephens

REVIEW: REVENGE BODY – RACHEL WILEY (BUTTON POETRY)

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

REPLAYS: WAVES – RUSS

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed and I just need to breathe

Inhale exhale put my mind at ease
– Reggie Johnson

REVIEW: THE TREES WITNESS EVERYTHING – VICTORIA CHANG (COPPER CANYON PRESS)

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

REVIEW: THE HURTING KIND – ADA LIMÓN (MILKWEED EDITIONS)

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

SPEAK FREELY: NATIONAL POETRY MONTH EDITION

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

REVIEW: SPELLS OF MY NAME – I.S. JONES (NEWFOUND)

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

REVIEW: AGAINST HEAVEN – KEMI ALABI (GRAYWOLF PRESS)

“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

REVIEW: DROWNING IN LIGHT – TAYLOR STEELE (PLATYPUS PRESS)

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

REVIEW: YEAR OF THE UNICORN KIDZ – JASON B. CRAWFORD (SUNDRESS PUBLICATION)

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

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TPQ20: S2EP9 – KYLE TRAN MYHRE (GUANTE)

Join Chris and Courtney in a sit down with Kyle Tran Myhre (Guante), author of Not a Lot of Reasons to Sing, But Enough (Button Poetry), about passions, process, pitfalls, and poetry!

SPEAK FREELY: FORMAL VERSE AS AN ACT OF RESISTANCE

“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

REPLAYS: LITTLE STORY – KEHLANI

The nightmare is when all the magic stops
Boogeyman syndrome, stay away
– Reggie Johnson

TALK TO ME: MORDECAI MARTIN WITH ARDEN HUNTER

“When I’m in the middle of creating I’m actually not very reflective; I don’t sit back and think, ‘why am I doing it this way?’ I just get a bit possessed by it and power through”. – Arden Hunter

REVIEW: BLOODFRESH BY EBONY STEWART (BUTTON POETRY)

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

REPLAYS: HRS & HRS – MUNI LONG

Who knows how one’s body could have
All the answers to our questions
Thank you for your blessings
– Reggie Johnson

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TPQ20: S2EP5 – JAE NICHELLE

Join Chris and Courtney in a sit down with @CropTopAssassin, author of The Porch (@yesyesbooks), in a conversation about passions, process, pitfalls, and poetry!

REPLAYS: JOHNNY P’S CADDY – BENNY THE BUTCHER & J. COLE

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

SPEAK FREELY: EBONY STEWART TRANSFORMS LIVED EXPERIENCES INTO AWARD-WINNING LITERATURE

“…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

REPLAYS: SET IN STONE – DANNY LONDON

So when it’s all said and done
It’s done, nothing to be said
– Reggie Johnson

EVERYTHING IS A POEM: SPAM AND SOY SAUCE SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH RICE

There’s a deep hurt I feel when I share my food with others and they respond with, “That looks gross!” – Alex Dang

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TPQ20: EPISODE 22 – REAGAN MYERS

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!

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TPQ20: EPISODE 16 – TAYLOR BYAS

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!

TALK TO ME: CLAIRE TAYLOR

“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

REVIEW: EVERY JOURNAL IS A PLAGUE JOURNAL – RAYE HENDRIX (BOTTLECAP PRESS)

“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

EVERYTHING IS A POEM: BETTER CALL SOMEBODY, AND PLEASE DON’T YELL

“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

REPLAYS: OVER – DRAKE

The song served as a reintroduction for my love for writing. For the first time, I was able to combine my love for both music and writing together.

REPLAYS: CAN’T TOUCH THIS – MC HAMMER

My love for music dates back to me being a kid, where whenever my mom needed to occupy my time while she was busy, she would turn on the music videos.

REPLAYS: “LOVE ME LIKE YOU SAY YOU LOVE ME” – KYLE

Should’ve learned to love me
By asking questions
Instead of taking my actions for granted
And second guessing
My motives
My intentions

REVIEW: APPLE SKIN – KELSIE COLCLOUGH (SWORD & KETTLE / CUP & DAGGER).

All in all, it’s a one for one exchange of the original myth, albeit more fleshed out, modern, and quietly queer. – Lannie Stabile

REVIEW: LOVE MOST OF YOU TOO – DUSTIN BROOKSHIRE (HARBOR EDITIONS)

This chapbook showcases a voice reclaiming words meant to hurt, detailing the traits wanted in a lover, and reminding the reader “not to accept what’s in front of you / at face value.”

REPLAYS: NO TIME BY KRIIISPY & M.I.L.O.

She says her time is money
And I don’t have time to waste
Tired of dealing with the same dudes
Done with the copy and paste
Babygirl just like wine and I’m trying to have a taste

REVIEWS: “THE DANDELION SPEAKS OF SURVIVAL” QUINTIN COLLINS (CHERRY CASTLE PUBLISHING)

What makes The Dandelion Speaks of Survival special is that it is more than a collection by a Black writer, but rather an Ode to Blackness.

REPLAYS: “PASADENA” BY TINASHE & BUDDY

Filled with positivity
Strengthening my sanity
Took last year
As a moment of clarity
The things you see now
Bask in the rarity

REVIEW: HOW SHE READ – CHANTAL GIBSON (CAITLIN PRESS)

At what point does language become meaningless? When does language actually lose its power?

REPLAYS: SEEING GREEN BY NICKI MINAJ, DRAKE, & LIL’ WAYNE

I been doing this here since Wayne’s dedication
I been doing this here, hear the dedication
I’ve been doing this hair, na look at the transformation
Went bald on everyone
And look how things shaping up
If you ain’t growing with me
Then you had to be cut