Poetry: “Stars as my soul” by Liz Davis
“I think, Oh my goodness that’s the voice of a god,” writes Liz Davis in “Stars as my soul,” which takes us on a journey from the speaker’s childhood in the 90s all the way to what is presumably present…
Category: Poetry
Poetry: “Lighthouse” by Smriti Bhoker
Smriti Bhoker brings a levity to her poem, which easily could turn dark, as she taps into the well of fear that lives in every writer’s heart—what if we find ourselves suddenly unable to write? It goes beyond writer’s block…
Poetry: “무인도” by Angela Sim
Sim’s use of the characters in the title of her poem are contributing to an ongoing debate in the world of contemporary poetry, and particularly concerning Asian and Asian-American poets. Writers like Cathy Linh Che were some of the first…
Poetry: Interview with Angela Sim, author of “무인도”
New Voices is taking a hiatus this week, since everyone is having the time of their life at AWP. If you’re stuck at home and feeling the FOMO, you’re in luck! Our New Voices contributor Angela Sim (whose poem, “무인도”…
Poetry: “COBRA” by Katie Kemple
In the wake of current political developments, Katie Kemple’s “COBRA,” feels a little too close to home. Kemple describes a scary reality, one a little too close to home for many, making decisions that seem trivial—which kind of beans or…
The 2024 Debut Chapbook Winner and Finalists
It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for. We made a list, we checked it twice. It was the 2024 Debut Chapbook Contest. So we checked it thrice. There were some difficult decisions, and some amazing manuscripts. Our incredible team…
Poetry: “Bedtime Aubade” by Emily Adams-Aucoin
Emily Adams-Aucoin’s “Bedtime Aubade,” is brimming with intimacy as we peek into the terror and beauty of new motherhood. There’s something scary about the way that Adams-Aucoin describes the love she feels for her child, but there’s also something magical,…
Poetry: “ambiguous grief” by Grace Manning
Grace Manning’s “ambiguous grief” swirls with a kind of push-and-pull that feels all too familiar in our current world of identity politics, where it’s too easy to say the wrong thing, or make the wrong post. It’s hard to know…
Poetry: “We Met At Army Cadets” by Carson Wolfe
Carson Wolfe’s poem begins with an almost tender description of this person who, through the course of the poem, becomes a kind of icon for fragile masculinity, the way that women and femmes allow a kind of mutually agreed-upon ignorance…
Hermit Crab Challenge First Place Winner: “ni·loo (a personal definition)” by Joshua Lavender
Warm congratulations to the winner of our Hermit Crab Challenge, Joshua Lavender! “ni·loo (a personal definition)” caught our attention for its unique take on one of the most tried-and-true hermit crab forms, the dictionary entry. While this is a very…
