The Present of Poetry
By Serrina Zou
“There is never enough bleach to taint our country clean, only enough / body politics to call ourselves a nation.”
Contest Winner
Slipped Stitches
Someone has fake-planted geraniums in a pot down the block from me / and though they are too bright and untextured to be real, they still / sometimes fool me.
Black Madonna
Hunger is a kind of sermon; to see a lonely thing and want to make it a part of yourself.
Winners and Finalists of the 2021 Emerging Poet Prize
We are honored to share with everyone the winners, finalists, and longlist of the 2021 Emerging Poet Prize! This year’s winners were selected by Kelli Russell Agodon.
Aftermath
O hands that wound, / no one sung this song to you, / no one rimmed your neck with shame.
IF I’M CAUGHT BETWEEN A BADGE AND A HARD PLACE THREE HOURS AFTER THE STREET LIGHTS TURN ON
will you stain the sky in black smoke / will you tell ghost stories / over the ashes of this empire /
The Distinguished Thing: A Colloquy
By Diane Kerr
“One part of the fear of being dead is the fear of not being really dead.”
Winners and Finalists of the 2021 Previously Published Prize
We are honored to share with everyone the winners, finalists, and longlist of the 2021 Previously Published Prize, our multimedia contest!
Ma’s Canh Chua Recipe: April – December 1975
By Kevin Park, Channbunmorl Sou, & Mylo Lam
“8. Smash tamarind to a fine pulp (feel free to use same blunt object used to kill snake). / As your boyfriend sits there, realize you’ll probably have his children.”