Tag: loss

REVIEW: I’M ALWAYS SO SERIOUS BY KARISMA PRICE (SARABANDE BOOKS)

I’m Always So Serious is among the best debuts in American poetry, and Price has established herself as one of the most preeminent voices of her generation. – Ronnie K. Stephens

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: 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: 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: 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

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: 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: 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: 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: 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

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!

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

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

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

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!

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

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TPQ20: S3EP4 – KHALISA RAE

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!

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!

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TPQ20: S3EP2 – JENNIFER HUANG

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!

REPLAYS: BLU MOON – THEY.

It happens every blue moon
When it aligns, we eclipse
I love everything about you
Fingertips to your lips
– Reggie Johnson

BROWN STUDY: Ọbáfẹ́mi Thanni

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

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

TALK TO ME: ALEAH DYE

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

REPLAYS: BE FORREAL BY BLXST

For me it’s sink or swim
Too many people I extended branches
And gone out on a limb
The switch up is contagious
Many do it on a whim
– Reggie Johnson

REVIEW: WHAT IS OTHERWISE INFINITE – BIANCA STONE (TIN HOUSE PRESS)

These are poems that do not lend themselves to passive reading, but rather demand deep internal reflection and renewed engagement with the most basic, unanswerable questions of human existence. – Ronnie K. Stephens

REVIEW: A PRAYER FOR A NON-RELIGIOUS AUTISTIC – LUCAS SCHEELK (MASON JAR PRESS)

Scheelk offers first-hand accounts of the effects of misdiagnosis, queer identity, and the intersections of these as an autistic person. – Caitie L. Young

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: THE BODY MYTH – HANNAH LAND (THE HUNGER JOURNAL)

The Body Myth (The Hunger Journal) by Hannah Land is beauty in words, harmonic sounds and striking imagery, all to narrate an all too familiar painful story. – Valentina Lindardi

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

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TPQ20: S2EP14 – KRISTIN GARTH

Join Chris and Courtney in a sit down with Kristin Garth, the Editor in Cheif of Pink Plastic House, for a conversation about passions, process, pitfalls, and poetry!