THE VOICE OF SMALL PRESS POETRY
FORGIVE YOURSELF THESE TINY ACTS OF SELF-DESTRUCTION – JARED SINGER @buttonpoetry
“…a manual for the last kid in the kickball line. It’s a must-read for those who can’t remember why they need to remember. It’s for those who sometimes forget they matter.”
Denehan is sort of like Bukowski, if Bukowski wrote while drinking rather than drunk. It’s proof that poetry doesn’t need to be complicated to tell a damn good story.
#TPQ5: DECEMBER LACE
What will December Lace, former professional wrestler, pinup model, & Best of the Net nominee, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: CHRISTOPHER FLAKUS
What will Christopher Flakus, co-editor-in-chief of Defunkt Magazine, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: RY DOWNEY
What will Ry Downey, editor in chief of the new poetry magazine, BEATIFIC, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: MARY PEELEN
What will Mary Peelen, winner of the Kithara Book Prize, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: ELLEN CHANG-RICHARDSON
What will Ellen Chang-Richardson, an emerging poet and the founder of Little Birds Poetry, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: VENUS DAVIS
What will Venus Davis, contributor for Marias at Sampaguitas, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: PRIYA DOLMA TAMANG
What will Priya Dolma Tamang, writer from the Himalayan state of Sikkim in northeastern India, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: LARISSA SHMAILO
What will Larissa Shmailo, a poet, novelist, translator, editor, curator, and critic, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
This is the past seen as scenes with edits. This is how family works and doesn’t and how people are more than just reflections of what came before.
#TPQ5: QUINTIN COLLINS
What will Quintin Collins, a writer, editor, and Solstice MFA Program Assistant Director, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
POWER OF POETRY #72: NOAH C. LEKAS
I wanted unrestrained access to the divine and I wanted to never have to ask permission or apologize for my ambition.
#TPQ5: ERIC ANDREW NEWMAN
What will Eric Andrew Newman, Fiction Editor of Okay Donkey, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: JANET M ROGERS
What will Janet M Rogers, a Mohawk/Tuscarora, lives on the Six Nations Reserve, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: CAROLINE SHEA
What will Caroline Shea, author of Lambflesh (Kelsay Books, 2019), include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: CASSIE DONISH
What will Cassie Donish, a queer Jewish poet and writer, author of The Year of the Femme, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
It’s a headfirst take on being simply yourself in a sardonic world that wants to throw cancer and queer and God’s erect penis at you like they are insults.
#TPQ5: D.A. GRAY
What will D.A. Gray, author, Retired soldier and veteran, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: TJ NEER
What will TJ Neer, a bookseller at The Book Loft in Columbus, OH, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: JUSTENE DION-GLOWA
What will Justene Dion-Glowa, a bi Métis poet from BC, Canada, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: KEVIN LATIMER
What will Kevin Latimer, a poet & playwright from Cleveland, Ohio, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
Review: An Offering – Stewart Sanderson (Tapsalteerie Publishing House)
A small, majestic journey is what comes to mind while reading An Offering; the kind you take close to home in the fresh damp of morning’s first light.
#TPQ5: TIGE ASHTON DeCOSTER
What will Tige DeCoster, a poet, professional bassist, music teacher, and recording artist, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: COURTNEY LeBLANC
What will Courtney LeBlanc, author of Beautiful & Full of Monsters (Vegetarian Alcoholic Press), include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: STEVE HENN
What will Steve Henn, author of Indiana Noble Sad Man of the Year, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: KOLLEEN CARNEY HOEPFNER
What will Kolleen Carney Hoepfner, whose main goal in life is to have Alec Baldwin smile at her, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: MARTIN OTT
What will Martin Ott, author of nine books of poetry and fiction, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
Review: 99 Names of Exile, Kaveh Bassiri (Newfound Poetry)
This is a work of tender vulnerability, offering a glimpse of deeply personal stories through the abstraction of metaphor.
#TPQ5: AMORAK HUEY
What will Amorak Huey, author of three books of poetry, most recently Boom Box (Sundress, 2019), include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: KATIE DARBY MULLINS
What will Katie Darby Mullins, nominated for both the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
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.
#TPQ5: SAMANTHA MERZ
What will Samantha Merz, published by Fevers of the Mind Poetry Digest, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: MEGAN CRAYNE
What will Megan Crayne, a writer and graduate student in Book Publishing in Portland, OR, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: JOSEPH EDWIN HAEGER
What will Joseph Edwin Haeger, author of When I Am a Famous Person (Optography Press), & Learn to Swim (University of Hell Press), include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: AMEE NASSRENE BROUMAND
What will Amee Nassrene Broumand, an Iranian-American poet, nominated twice for a Pushcart Prize, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: GILL McEVOY
What will Gill McEvoy, winner of the 2015 Michael Marks Award, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
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.
#TPQ5: SARAH WALLIS
What will Sarah Wallis, a poet & playwright based in Scotland, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: TARA LYNN HAWK
What will Tara Lynn Hawk, author of Rhetorical Wanderlust, and The Dead, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: COLIN BANCROFT
What will Colin Bancroft, winner of the 2016 poets and players prize, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: JILL MCELDOWNY
What will Jill Mceldowny, author of the Airs Above Ground (Finishing Line Press) and Kisses Over Babylon (dancing girl press), include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: BRIAN S. ELLIS
What will Brian S. Ellis, author of Often Go Awry from University of Hell Press, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: SCOTT MANLEY HADLEY
What will Scott Manley Hadley, Satire Editor at Queen Mob’s Teahouse, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: PAOLA FERRANTE
What will Paola Ferrante, author of What to Wear When Surviving A Lion Attack, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: MARY HARWELL SAYLER
What will Mary Harwell Sayler, loves writing poetry, prayers, and anything Bible-based, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: EDITOR OF TPQ -CHRIS MARGOLIN
What will Chris Margolin, Editor-in-Chief of The Poetry Question, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: KEVIN SPENST
What will Kevin Spenst, the author of Ignite, and Jabbering with Bing Bong (Anvil Press), include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: ISABELLE KENYON
What will Isabelle Kenyon, the managing director of Fly on the Wall Press, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
WE HAVE TPQ SHIRTS!
All sales from this shirt will go to support medical co-pays over the next several months as my wife recovers from a severe traumatic brain injury.
#TPQ5: JAMES KRENDEL-CLARK
What will James Krendel-Clark, who is doing his best to make mischief, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find our inside!
#TPQ5: LEAH CALLEN
What will Leah Callen, whose poems can be found in The Malahat Review, Vallum Magazine, Kissing Dynamite, and Barren Magazine, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
REVIEW: THE DEATH OF A CLOWN – TOM BLAND (BAD BETTY PRESS)
Bukowski and Monica Drake would be proud. This is sex and hard drugs and love and the general misfiring of everyday life when nothing is really everyday life.
#TPQ5: MICHAEL IGOE
What will Michael Igoe, author of numerous publications, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
Instead, we find a couple working on a relationship – because after-all, they are work. Relationships are wonderful and beautiful and trying and difficult and sometimes we don’t always like the person we love, but it’s not something that we can’t overcome.
#TPQ5: MEHER MANDA
What will Meher Manda, a poet, short story writer, culture critic, and educator from Mumbai, India, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: Maté Jarai
What will @MateJarai, Editor-in-Chief at Cephalopress, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: CARLA CHERRY
What will Carla Cherry, an English teacher and poet who has published four books through Wasteland Press, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: ALEX DiFRANCESCO
What will Alex DiFrancesco, a multi-genre writer, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: GE SCHWARTZ
What will G. E. Schwartz, the author of Only Others Are, World, and Thinking In Tongues, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: CAITS MEISSNER
What will Caits Meissner, author of the illustrated hybrid poetry book Let It Die Hungry (The Operating System, 2016), include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: HEIDI SEABORN
What will Heidi Seaborn, the Editorial Director for The Adroit Journal, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: SHANNON FROST GREENSTEIN
What will Shannon Frost Greenstein, a Best of the Net and Pushcart Prize nominee, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
REVIEW: SELF-PORTRAIT – ELISABETH HORAN (CEPHALO PRESS):
What do you do when you must lie on your back? When you can’t stand up for yourself – literally. You make the best of it. You create art like you’ve never created before.
#TPQ5: SAM ILLINGWORTH
What will Dr Sam Illingworth, a Senior Lecturer in Science Communication at Manchester Metropolitan University, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: DONNA LYNCH
What will Donna Lynch, a Bram Stoker Award-nominated horror/dark fiction author & poetic include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR – CHRIS MARGOLIN
We are a community that thrives because once in a while people find a poem or poet or press they like, and purchase a book. I do this because I love the art of putting words together and making people think about life and all it entails.
#TPQ5: A.A. PARR
What will A. A. Parr, whose debut poetry chapbook, What Lasts Beyond the Burning is forthcoming from Nightingale and Sparrow Press, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: KHASHAYAR MOHAMMADI
What will Khashayar Mohammadi, the host of knife | fork | book’s monthly Chapbook club, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: STEPHEN FURLONG
What will Stephen Furlong, author of What Loss Taught Me (Nostrovia! Press), include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: K WEBER
What will K Weber, whose been featured in Moonchild Magazine, Writer’s Digest, Black Bough Poetry, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
REVIEW: UPTALK – KIMMY WALTERS (BOTTLECAP PRESS)
The poems are pacy, well-timed vignettes where the protagonist tries to bottle steam from the shower to throw at a lover…
#TPQ5: JACQUELINE SAPHRA
What will Jacqueline Saphra’s, whose second collection, All My Mad Mothers (Nine Arches Press) was shortlisted for the TS Eliot Prize, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: MANAHIL BANDUKWALA
What will Manahil Bandukwala, a Pakistani writer and artist, and the author of Paper Doll (Anstruther Press, 2019), include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
But when someone nails it you can feel that sweet spot where they’ve balanced the raw emotion and nostalgia. Adrienne Novy hits this balance in Crowd Surfing with God.
#TPQ5: EMMA BOLDEN
What will Emma Bolden, Associate Editor-in-Chief for Tupelo Quarterly, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: MATTHEW WALSH
What will Matthew Walsh, who released their debut poetry collection, These are not the potatoes of my youth, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside?
#TPQ5: CHLOE N. CLARK
What will Chloe N. Clark, author of The Science of Unvanishing Objects and Your Strange Fortune, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: JEFFREY THOMSON
What will Jeffrey Thomson, author of Half/Life: New and Selected Poems (Alice James Books), include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: SAMUEL J FOX
What will Samuel J Fox, a queer writer of essays, poetry, and poetry editor for Bending Genres LLC, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
Life is built on how we deal with our trauma, and Alexus Erin reminds us that it will actually be okay. That we can thrive in a world where survival might be the only option.
#TPQ5: KARI FLICKINGER
What will Kari Flickinger, a 2019 nominee for Best of the Net and the Rhysling Award, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: TAMARA BURROSS GRISANTI
What will Tamara Burross Grisanti, founder and editor-in-chief of Coffin Bell Journal, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
POETRY’S DEAD (UNDEAD UNDEAD UNDEAD) – JESSIE LYNN McMAINS
All poems are about ghosts, even if they’re not about ghosts. They’re all haunted by the traces of memory (the poet’s own memory, but also the ghosts of history that each word carries with it).
#TPQ5: ANGELO COLAVITA
What will Angelo Colavita, the Founding Editor of Empty Set Press and Associate Editor at Occulum Journal, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: TRISTA MATEER
What will Trista Mateer, author of multiple collections of poetry, including Honeybee and The Dogs I Have Kissed, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: MATT MITCHELL
What will Matt Mitchell, a writer from Northeast Ohio, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
Review: Last Stop to Saskatoon, Tony Nesca (Screaming Skull Press):
It’s a world apart – both past and present, angry and sardonic; laughing to keep from crying.
#TPQ5: ELLORA SUTTON
What will Ellora Sutton, whose debut chapbook, All the Shades of Grief, is forthcoming from Nightingale & Sparrow, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
What will Matty Layne Glasgow, author of deciduous qween (Red Hen Press, 2019), selected by Richard Blanco for the Benjamin Saltman Award, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
POWER OF POETRY #70: KASHIANA SINGH
Poetry was the heirloom; I took along with me as I walked into a marriage arranged by my parents.
POETRY IS A SEANCE – KRISTIN GARTH:
Poetry is a ritual to welcome ghosts. Invite them in again. Give them a voice and a space in the physical world. Allow ourselves to be empowered and stronger for their presence than we are alone.
#TPQ5: STEVE DENEHAM
What will Steve Denehan, an award winning poet who lives in Kildare, Ireland, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: DEONTE OSAYANDE
What will Deonte Osayande, nominated for the Best of the Net Anthology, and the Pushcart Prize, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: ALINA STEFANESCU
What will Alina Stefanescu, winner of the 2019 River Heron Poetry Prize, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: Bänoo Zan
What will Bänoo Zan, a poet, librettist, translator, teacher, editor and poetry curator, include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
What will Kate Gaskin, winner of the Pamet Award for Forever War (YesYes Books 2020), include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: JANE FLEMING
What will Jane Fleming, author of Ocotillo Worship (APEP Publications, 2019), include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
#TPQ5: Esteban Rodriguez
What will Esteban Rodriguez, author of Dusk & Dust (Hub City Press 2019), and Crash Course (Saddle Road Press 2019), include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
Matvejeva writes this rise and fall of love with stark honesty, making it hard to look away from. It’s arresting and engaging and makes the reader yearn to find a connection of their own that elicits such a strong and introspective emotions.