How do we elegize even the smallest of creatures? How do we respond to the “natural order” of their dying? In her poem, Iris Lee gives careful consideration to a box of silkworms; the images and sensations of the speaker’s…
Dalapo Tajudeen’s poem “Still Life” is like a condensed drop of gold. Its minimalism amplifies its power. It starts in a seemingly trivial moment of the speaker asking their father how he wants his coffee. His stillness quickly spirals the…
This month’s “In Retrospect” interview is with Chrysanthemum (Chris) Watkins, whose poem “Prayer (II)” we published in 2024. In this series, we ask renowned poets to look back over their poems and collections, mapping out their poetic processes. We sought…
There are many ways to picture God, as our world’s numerous religions and spiritual practices prove, and Maren Logan’s poem explores several unconventional depictions. God begins “as the boy in geometry everyone has a crush on,” including the speaker and…
This month’s “In Retrospect” interview is with Gbenga Adesina, the Guest Judge of our poetry prize which is open for submissions until March 8th. In this series, we ask renowned poets to look back over their poems and collections, mapping…
Christina Connerton’s poem is a master class in the power of a title to give readers the keys to unlock a poem’s insights. By prescribing (quite literally “writing before”) meaning to the parts of the poem before each comma plus…
Palavi Ahuja’s poem is about far more than “a sleeve of Parle-G biscuits,” although it’s a thoroughly intriguing place to begin the careful weaving the poem accomplishes. The poem’s strands include the watching and relaying the narrative of the movie…
One particular area of genius in Ridwan Fasasi’s poem “Millennials after the banishment” resides in its details — in particular, line breaks and ends of lines. The ending words receive emphasis and, when read in succession, even have a coherence…
Here, Lindsay Li takes the art form of a picture carved on three panels hinged together and applies it to written work. The three condensed, columnar moments hinge upon the hypothetical death of the speaker’s “evil mother.” In the first,…
Home finds itself to be a place of both discord and potential in Blessing Omeiza Ojo’s poem, with the poem’s narrative pieces lying locked within the repetition of the word “slaughterhouse.” The word itself carries both violence — “slaughter” —…
