Josiane Kouagheu is the undisputed master of implication. In this brief poem, she reveals a powerhouse indictment and accuses the centuries of colonialism which have led to the dominance of English as a global language—and the Western world at large,…
Noreen Ocampo’s “First Notes on Tennis,” is intimidating, plain and simple. The structure of the poem is a little scary. But when you look closer, the poem, which mimics a tennis court, is full of lyrical and inventive moments of…
New Voices opens the year with Robert Pearson’s “What the Fuck,” which is a poem that expresses more than meets the eye. At first glance, the poem is almost too simple, absent of the kinds of elements we talk about…
“People / from the Bay always say they’re like upper-middle-lower-class / when they’re actually a South Park punchline. But we like to believe / we’re funny. I want to believe that I’m in on the joke.” Here is a fresh…
Welcome to LINE LEVEL: Craft Lessons from Poets of Color, a monthly column in which writer, editor, and educator Joanna Acevedo zooms in on an element of craft from the work of BIPOC poets. LINE LEVEL unfolds in three parts:…
As New Voices wind down for the year, Christy Ku brings us “Hi Everyone!” which is an exercise in irreverence. We see her repetitive in form, which at first feels like a comic trick, but rises into a fever pitch…
Our last installment of finalist bring us three poets intimately engaging with language, but not always in the ways you’d expect. Starting with Chennelle Channer’s poem, “Talkin With My Hands These Ain’t Gang Signs,” we find ourselves thrust into Channer’s…
Angela Cao is ambitious with “Against letting sleeping dogs lie,” and she delivers—in just a short grouping of lines she is able to demonstrate with lyrical precision a coming-of-age narrative turned on its head, a story that all too many…
Part two of our installment of poems chosen as finalists brings poems from Nicole Santalucia, Kate DeLay, and Robin Wang. Another diverse group, Santalucia’s explorations with form take us immediately into the female body, shifting into and out of fantasy…
Hero Jason has the remarkable ability to cut through the noise. He brings a refreshing honesty to spiritual practice, and even as his speaker struggles with their faith, it’s clear that Jason has tapped into a well of essential human…
