REVIEW: PIG BY SAM SAX (SCRIBNER)
Sam Sax follows up their award-winning collection Bury It with Pig, a staggeringly layered collection that meditates on the many iterations of the pig, literally and figuratively. – Ronnie K. Stephens
Sam Sax follows up their award-winning collection Bury It with Pig, a staggeringly layered collection that meditates on the many iterations of the pig, literally and figuratively. – Ronnie K. Stephens
“I believe that Yuanming’s words speak to the complex psyche that exists within each and every one of us. This complexity of imagination is not time specific and only allows the reader to empathize further as this collection unfolds.”-A.R. Arthur
“The collection, published posthumously, combines fragments, prose, and traditional verse, all of which give the book competing elements of incompleteness and finality.” – Ronnie K. Stephens
“Flare, Corona is an essential addition to disability poetics, a collection that offers an unashamed and deeply vulnerable window into chronic illness.” – Ronnie K. Stephens
“Soft Apocalypse is a collection of poetry that challenges the desecration of individualized humanity and the rampant ruination of collective humanity throughout this planet.”-A.R. Arthur
“Sealey highlights the potential violence beneath the interaction with deft efficiency.” – Ronnie K. Stephens
“Snakedoctor by Maurice Manning is a sonorous collection that makes use of varying styles and forms that intrigue the reader and tantalize one’s senses.”-A.R. Arthur
Not Quite an Ocean by Elizabeth M. Castillo is a collection of poetry that speaks for the divine feminine and to the vapid undercurrents that constantly threaten. Castillo makes great use of the ocean as a metaphor both to affirm the notion that undercurrents are always there just
“West: A Translation presents the reader with unknown parallels, lived experiences and harsh realities forced onto many during the era of the Chinese Exclusion Act. Rekdal challenges the acceptance of this oppression whilst criticizing the disposability presented by white American legislation and governmental ambition that can only be said to be dangerously propagated by capitalist demands and pressures.” – A.R. Arthur
“Mceldowney makes the reader contend with the stark reality that we often ignore in favor of living freely without fear of that assured ending, that sudden shift into the unknown. For this alone Mceldowney should be commended.” – A.R. Arthur
Holly Mitchell offers one of the most unassuming debuts in recent memory, quietly yet faithfully interrogating life on a Kentucky horse farm and coming of age in the American South. Mare’s Nest is quiet, but never meek, a tone that mirrors the implied strength of every mare that graces its pages. – Ronnie K. Stephens
The Kingdom of Surfaces is a book that will pull readers back again and again, offering new perspectives and insights each time they revisit a poem. Sally Wen Mao reasserts her place among the most celebrated writers of our time with her expansive and philosophical third collection. I, for one, can’t wait to see what she does next. – Ronnie K. Stephens
“The Third Renunciation by Matthew E. Henry is a collection of sonnets that presents the theological in a way in which the reader is made to ruminate on their own faith and understanding of the divine, the religious and the unknown.” – A.R. Arthur
Celebrated author Oliver de la Paz returns with his sixth full-length collection, The Diaspora Sonnets (Liveright Press, 2023), a brilliant follow-up to the cerebral and touching The Boy in the Labyrinth. – Ronnie K. Stephens
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
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
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!
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.
Overdue for a reset
Been climbing mountains and mountains
But I haven’t peaked yet
Still gotta eat yet
– Reggie Johnson
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
Dear God. Dear Bones. Dear Yellow. is the divine feminine’s wrath with no apologies, and yes, you should say thank you. – Lyra Thomas
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
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
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!