REVIEW: ALL THE BLOOD INVOLVED IN LOVE (HAYMAKET BOOKS)
June 29, 2022
Maya Marshall’s debut interrogates the current sociopolitical nature and its threat to reproductive rights, choice, and Blackness. – Caitie L. Young
university of hell
REPLAYS: BREAK MY SOUL BY BEYONCÉ
June 28, 2022
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
REPLAYS: SURPRISE BY CHLÖE BAILEY
June 21, 2022
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)
June 21, 2022
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
June 15, 2022
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
June 14, 2022
Order your copy of A.R. Salandy’s Half-Bred! Only 100 copies available!
SPEAK FREELY: MENTAL HEALTH AND THE POETICS OF COLLECTIVE HEALING
May 25, 2022
Discussing mental health in the classroom can be incredibly daunting, especially as educators face public criticism and accusations of indoctrinating students. – Ronnie K. Stephens
REPLAYS: WAVES – RUSS
May 24, 2022
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)
May 23, 2022
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
SPEAK FREELY: NATIONAL POETRY MONTH EDITION
April 20, 2022
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)
April 12, 2022
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
REPLAYS: LITTLE STORY – KEHLANI
March 1, 2022
The nightmare is when all the magic stops
Boogeyman syndrome, stay away
– Reggie Johnson
REVIEW: BLOODFRESH BY EBONY STEWART (BUTTON POETRY)
February 22, 2022
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
TPQ20: S2EP5 – JAE NICHELLE
February 16, 2022
Join Chris and Courtney in a sit down with @CropTopAssassin, author of The Porch (@yesyesbooks), in a conversation about passions, process, pitfalls, and poetry!
EVERYTHING IS A POEM: SPAM AND SOY SAUCE SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH RICE
January 13, 2022
There’s a deep hurt I feel when I share my food with others and they respond with, “That looks gross!” – Alex Dang
TPQ20: EPISODE 22 – REAGAN MYERS
December 15, 2021
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!
TPQ20: EPISODE 16 – TAYLOR BYAS
November 24, 2021
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
November 17, 2021
“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)
November 12, 2021
“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
REPLAYS: OVER – DRAKE
August 16, 2021
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
August 9, 2021
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.
REVIEW: APPLE SKIN – KELSIE COLCLOUGH (SWORD & KETTLE / CUP & DAGGER).
June 24, 2021
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)
June 23, 2021
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: SEEING GREEN BY NICKI MINAJ, DRAKE, & LIL’ WAYNE
May 18, 2021
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
“MY MFA ONLY MADE MY BLENDER WHIR FASTER”: TALK TO ME: CHRISTINE SLOAN STODDARD
May 13, 2021
I used discarded camera and computer parts to print into clay tablets. I bleached chicken bones, spray-painted various objects, drew large-scale oil pastel scenery, and cut up old books all for art installations.
REPLAYS: “LOVE LINE” – SHIFT K3Y & TINASHE
May 4, 2021
This week’s #REPLAYS takes on “Love Line,” the newest track from British producer Shift K3Y, featuring Tinashe.
REVIEW: GOD’S BOY – ANDREW HAHN (SIBLING RIVALRY PRESS)
May 3, 2021
If this is what it means to be godly, why would anyone stay? And if you are already considered to be straying, why not have some fun with it?
BROWN STUDY: “HOME-GOING CELEBRATION” BY KHALISA RAE
April 29, 2021
“Home-Going Celebration” is a sly poem that bubbles with contradictions. An elegy rooted in mourning, the language pops with the dizzy rush of one sip too many.
“THE READER THINKS THEY’RE IN ON THE JOKE”. – TALK TO ME: SHAWN BERMAN
April 28, 2021
I’m inspired a lot by stand-up comedians, so a lot of my work is me pretending I’m on stage telling a joke, trying to draw the audience in. – Shawn Berman
“TODAY WE ARE A WHITE-WING DOVE, TOMORROW WE ARE A SPIRIT” TALK TO ME: KHALISA RAE
April 22, 2021
Because so many false narratives are being told about Black bodies, it is so crucial to tell the truth about what happens to us and the crimes that are committed against us. I think the true art is sharing the horror in a way that isn’t just trauma porn, but it’s art for a purpose.
REPLAYS: MET HIM LAST NIGHT – DEMI LOVATO & ARIANA GRANDE
April 20, 2021
REPLAYS: MET HIM LAST NIGHT – DEMI LOVATO & ARIANA GRANDE
Bogeyman in my mind
Trying to creep into reality
Defeated him in the past
So right now he mad at me
REPLAYS: PinkPantheress – Pain
April 13, 2021
REPLAYS: PinkPantheress – Pain
And I 99.9% mean when I say
I’m glad I washed my hands of any
And everything surrounding the pain
REVIEW: HOW OFTEN I HAVE CHOSEN LOVE – XIAO YUE SHAN (FRONTIER POETRY)
April 12, 2021
REVIEW: HOW OFTEN I HAVE CHOSEN LOVE – XIAO YUE SHAN (FRONTIER POETRY)
Shan’s natural metaphors connect the experiences in this collection to a deep relationship with the physical world, grounding these stories into the earth.
CHAPBOOK CONTEST: SUBMISSIONS OPEN!
April 8, 2021
CHAPBOOK CONTEST: SUBMISSIONS OPEN!
Submit your chapbook manuscripts to The Poetry Question! Guest Judges: Sofia Fey & Chris L. Butler.
“CONFUSION, DESPAIR, OR HOPE” – TALK TO ME: JIYE LEE
April 8, 2021
“CONFUSION, DESPAIR, OR HOPE” – TALK TO ME: JIYE LEE
I hope to get the same emotions across whether that be confusion, despair, or hope to the readers and to enforce that in such a way it leaves them thinking about the poems for a while.
REVIEW: DUNCE – MARY RUEFLE (WAVE POETRY)
April 2, 2021
REVIEW: DUNCE – MARY RUEFLE (WAVE POETRY)
The poem claims to forbid but finds that grief is not powerful enough to truly erase the names of things.
BROWN STUDY: “SELF PORTRAIT AS A MERMAID OR DEAD GIRL” – GAIA RAJAN
April 1, 2021
BROWN STUDY: “SELF PORTRAIT AS A MERMAID OR DEAD GIRL” – GAIA RAJAN
I started thinking about who owns grief, how memory and grief affect the body, and soon enough, the poem turned into an elegy for someone I’ve lost.
REVIEW: STRANGERS – ROB TAYLOR (BIBLIOASIS)
March 31, 2021
REVIEW: STRANGERS – ROB TAYLOR (BIBLIOASIS)
Even if it can be painful, love will not settle down into abstraction. It reaches its fingers into the world, pinches and pulls.
REPLAYS: MY TIME IS NOW – TONE
March 30, 2021
REPLAYS: MY TIME IS NOW – TONE
Whether it’s released during an album’s rollout, planned or unplanned, music listeners ultimately hear that the time is now.
GETTING THE GURLZ W/ SOFIA FEY & KHALISA RAE: AIREA D. MATTHEWS
March 26, 2021
GETTING THE GURLZ W/ SOFIA FEY & KHALISA RAE: AIREA D. MATTHEWS
“…in America, the plight of black womxn is fraught with neglect and abuse, where some who behold both our intellect and beauty can’t seem to assert us as either”.
REPLAYS: PEACHES – JUSTIN BIEBER
March 23, 2021
REPLAYS: PEACHES – JUSTIN BIEBER
We’ll be the one Justin sang about
saying love was until the end of time.
HUSTLE & BUSINESS OF POETRY – KHALISA RAE AND SOFIA FEY
March 12, 2021
HUSTLE & BUSINESS OF POETRY – KHALISA RAE AND SOFIA FEY
Ranging from tips & tricks, to gripes, to gratitude, we have a lot to say! Welcome to the Hustle & Business of Poetry.
REVIEW: MEDUSA RETOLD – SARAH WALLIS (FLY ON THE WALL PRESS)
February 26, 2021
REVIEW: MEDUSA RETOLD – SARAH WALLIS (FLY ON THE WALL PRESS)
The epic sets apart internal and external narratives through the usage of italic sections, but these lines start to blur as the story unfolds, reinforcing that our internal lives are inseparable from the outside world.
“IT’S RIGHT UNDER OUR FEET THE WHOLE TIME” – TALK TO ME: JENI DE LA O
February 24, 2021
“IT’S RIGHT UNDER OUR FEET THE WHOLE TIME” – TALK TO ME: JENI DE LA O
there are thousands of Amanda Gormans submitting poems right now, being read and rejected right now, by readers and editors who simply haven’t the refined palate to discern a truffle from button mushroom.
REVIEW: TRICKS OF LIGHT – THADDEUS RUTKOWSKI (GREAT WEATHER FOR MEDIA)
February 17, 2021
REVIEW: TRICKS OF LIGHT – THADDEUS RUTKOWSKI (GREAT WEATHER FOR MEDIA)
He seems to consider care to be of utmost concern, not just for family, but also for strangers.
#TPQ5: EVAN WILLIAMS
February 16, 2021
#TPQ5: EVAN WILLIAMS
What will Evan Williams include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
POWER OF POETRY #128: JANE ROSENBERG LAFORGE
February 12, 2021
POWER OF POETRY #128: JANE ROSENBERG LAFORGE
Our classmates were the children of rock stars, writers, critics,visual artists, film editors and movie executives. But everyone in the neighborhood seemed famous to us, just for having been there.
#TPQ5: MIKE HICKMAN
February 12, 2021
#TPQ5: MIKE HICKMAN
What will Mike Hickman include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
REVIEW: WISCONSIN DEATH TRIP – JESSIE LYNN McMAINS (BONE & INK PRESS)
February 11, 2021
REVIEW: WISCONSIN DEATH TRIP – JESSIE LYNN McMAINS (BONE & INK PRESS)
They are unafraid to show the awfulness and bitterness, old beliefs and traditions, terrible acts inflicted by the people who inhabit the snowy state.
REVIEW: WORN – ADRIENNE CHRISTIAN (SANTA FE WRITERS PROJECT)
February 9, 2021
Review of Worn by Adrienne Christian (Santa Fe Writers Project, 2020)
And when she writes of family, it’s of more exclusion – the striking disconnect from those with whom we are supposed to be connected.
REPLAYS: Streets by Doja Cat
February 2, 2021
REPLAYS: Streets by Doja Cat
Whether it’s released during an album’s rollout, planned or unplanned, music listeners ultimately choose the success as we see in Doja Cat’s single, ‘Streets’.
POETRY IN CINEMA: WE DON’T TRUST THE NATURE INSIDE US
February 1, 2021
POETRY IN CINEMA: WE DON’T TRUST THE NATURE INSIDE US
Spoken over the shots of a child spilling milk and a mother in tears, the poem reminds that we are made by moments that can not be undone.
REVIEW: THE SAMURAI – LINDA M. CRATE (YELLOW ARROW PUBLISHING)
January 29, 2021
REVIEW: THE SAMURAI – LINDA M. CRATE (YELLOW ARROW PUBLISHING)
Or perhaps she felt this unfamiliarity with her body all along and only made sense of the reason why after her discovery of the reincarnation. – Robin D. Hendricks
REVIEW: SENTIMENTAL VIOLENCE — GABRIELLE HOGAN (GHOST CITY PRESS)
January 27, 2021
REVIEW: SENTIMENTAL VIOLENCE — GABRIELLE HOGAN (GHOST CITY PRESS)
As we all know, though, joy does not exist without violence — not for Tonya, and not for any of us.
REPLAYS: ESCOBAR – Xponentbeatz featuring Kriiispy & Halfofyou
January 26, 2021
REPLAYS: ESCOBAR – Xponentbeatz featuring Kriiispy & Halfofyou
This column will take a look at songs from week of which I can’t get enough, and deep dive into my own thoughts in regards to them.
#TPQ5: SAMUEL ADEYEMI
January 25, 2021
#TPQ5: SAMUEL ADEYEMI
What will Samuel Adeyemi include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
“WHICH REQUIRES ME TO BEND LANGUAGE TO MY WILL” – TALK TO ME: TAYLOR BYAS
January 21, 2021
“WHICH REQUIRES ME TO BEND LANGUAGE TO MY WILL” – TALK TO ME: TAYLOR BYAS
I absolutely code switch because there isn’t an aspect of my life that doesn’t request that sort of labor from me. It’s built into my life, and therefore it manifests in my poetry. – Taylor Byas
#TPQ5: GAIA RAJAN
January 20, 2021
#TPQ5: GAIA RAJAN
What will Gaia Rajan include in today’s #TPQ5? Find out inside!
@gaia_writes @Nic_Sealey @fannychoir @carmenmmachado @mfernandespoet
POETRY IN CINEMA: A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH – JESSICA MOOKHERJEE
January 11, 2021
POETRY IN CINEMA: A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH – JESSICA MOOKHERJEE
The long drawn out arguments over life and death, over decisions of who to love – are almost meaningless in the ‘heat of the moment’ and when faced with imminent destruction.
POWER OF POETRY #125: THE POWER & RISE OF UNDERGROUND VOICES – Mbizo CHIRASHA
December 2, 2020
POWER OF POETRY #125: THE POWER & RISE OF UNDERGROUND VOICES – Mbizo CHIRASHA
“From the time of our birthing to these days of maturation, we are all shaped, serenaded and entertained by sweet ancient lullabies, drum beat throbs and early morning birdsongs.”
POWER OF POETRY #104: MARTHA WARREN
May 7, 2020
POWER OF POETRY #104: MARTHA WARREN
“But instead of giving up, I think of this: My most successful poem ever, in my opinion, was so because it provided comfort.”
POWER OF POETRY #102: KAYLEIGH CAMPBELL
April 21, 2020
“Poetry, I feel, is a tyrannical discipline. You’ve got to go so far so fast in such a small space; you’ve got to burn away all the peripherals.” — Sylvia Plath Poetry has always, and will continue doing I hope, held a special potency. In what are often very short
POWER OF POETRY #101: CHRISTOPHER MIGUEL FLAKUS
April 15, 2020
POWER OF POETRY #101: CHRISTOPHER MIGUEL FLAKUS
“Through poetry we can reduce the mythic to the mundane and elevate the ordinary to the sublime. We can understand ourselves, and each other, in a deeply necessary and fundamental way.”
POWER OF POETRY #100: BRIAN S. ELLIS
April 13, 2020
POWER OF POETRY #100: BRIAN S. ELLIS
“These poems are seeds that will one day grow into religions, cultures, planets, multiverses. Snowballs that become avalanches.”
POWER OF POETRY #99: MATÉ JARAI
April 8, 2020
POWER OF POETRY #99: MATÉ JARAI
“Poetry is confession for the Godless. If my mind is a fury, if I can’t make sense of my own feelings, I scribble or I type, and whatever comes out, ‘quality’ doesn’t matter, it’s real and it’s there.”
POWER OF POETRY #98: SK GROUT
April 6, 2020
POWER OF POETRY #98: SK GROUT
“It seems I cannot escape poetry, even if the thought fleetingly crosses my mind.”
WE HAVE THE GREATEST COMMUNITY
March 17, 2020
WE HAVE THE GREATEST COMMUNITY
This is not a post about poetry. This is a post about reaching out to the community for help in a time of need. The outpouring of love and help thus far has been beyond overwhelming. We are humbled and grateful.
OPEN SUBMISSION: TPQ POETRY PAMPHLET SERIES #1
February 27, 2020
OPEN SUBMISSION: TPQ POETRY PAMPHLET SERIES #1
Submit your manuscript today!
POWER OF POETRY: EDITOR’S EDITION – CHRIS MARGOLIN
December 27, 2019
Paying for it again felt dirty. I didn’t want to. Didn’t mean to. Tried so hard to just move along, but my fingers edged in that direction, teased at where they wanted to be. And I gave in. Closed my eyes, relaxed. Took out my debit card, and gave into the demons.
POWER OF POETRY #44: GREG GERDING, EiC OF UNIVERSITY OF HELL PRESS
June 4, 2019
The whole time, I thought I was alone. But there were people just as pained and confused as I was. I found my community. I found my church. I kept returning every Sunday, sharing work I had written during the week.
POWER OF POETRY #39: JOSEPH HAEGER
April 30, 2019
I don’t only want people to be entertained, but also for them to feel something. And the fastest way to do that is through poetry; you are framing a feeling and passing it on, even if it’s only for a brief moment.
REVIEW: Most of My Heroes Don’t Appear on No Stamps – Ran Walker (University of Hell Press)
March 27, 2019
REVIEW: Most of My Heroes Don’t Appear on No Stamps
Walker gives us our “Window Seat” to the world, as we consider why we are where we are – the good and the bad, the understood and ignorant, the anger and excitement, the love and passion of the way the world is today.
THE POWER OF POETRY #30: LAUREN GILMORE
September 3, 2015
Two years ago, as part of my hometown’s annual literary festival, I competed in a teen poetry slam. For winning, I was given the opportunity to open for two of the headliners, Major Jackson and Robert Wrigley. It was a poem about my father dying. I read it from
THE POWER OF POETRY #29: A.M. O’MALLEY
September 1, 2015
THE POWER OF POETRY — A.M. O’Malley I first found poetry when I was nine years old in a beat up paperback copy of Alfred Tennyson’s collected poems that my father had. One Saturday, when no one was around, I stole the book away to my corner of the back
POWER OF POETRY #22: “I WANT TO KEEP HAPPENING” – SARAH XERTA
August 6, 2015
“The Power of Poetry: I Want to Keep Happening” Sarah Xerta I’m hesitant to write about the power of poetry because I don’t want to romanticize anything. Anne Sexton said “It’s the poetry that seems to be saving me” and she still eventually killed herself. I can’t forget this.
REVIEW: HERE COMES THE NEW JOY – JOHN BARRIOS (UNIVERSITY OF HELL PRESS)
June 11, 2015
I am hesitant to include quotes from the book in this review. Not that it is a bad book, completely the opposite actually. I had such fun reading the book that I feel like any lines or poems I could use would be short changing the book as a