2021 Love & Eros Prize: Winners & Finalists
We are honored to share with everyone the winners and finalists of the 2021 Love & Eros Prize! Please join us in congratulating these remarkable poets. Winners were selected by Kaveh Akbar.
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(patos y mojados)
“we studied flight patterns in endless, borderless skies / the way travelers study maps.”
If These Covers Could Talk #1
By Alan Chazaro
In If These Covers Could Talk, poets interview the visual artists whose works grace their book covers. The result is an engaging discussion of process, vision, and projects. If These Covers Could Talk is a celebration of collaboration—here, we champion the fruitful conversations taking place both on and behind the cover.
this our reckless exhibition:
“all alone & darkening, the lens / is nothing without its ambient light”
Poetry We Admire: Blueprints
“Anna Atkins, rock climbing videos, victims of expectation.”
Abecedarian on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
By Tan Tzy Jiun
“in murky waters, lotus plants / unbosom their hearts. pink capsules floating in clear waters.”
Knee Length #7
By Khalisa Rae
In Knee Length, poet and journalist Khalisa Rae navigates the nuances of an inherited conservative legacy. Pulling from memories of her religious upbringing and education, family history, and matrilineal teachings, Knee Length is a history reimagined and excavated—a rebellious relearning of desire and respectability, family and faith.
PRAYER TO THE GOD OF MERCY
“We wait for a sign — I see each inhale and exhale / become all the moon phases she has witnessed.”
AFRICANAMERICAN’T SONNET
“Perhaps it is true what the poet said of love: how / My mouth a sheath, love & betrayal both are swords.”