The three poets below, each finalists, express the spectrum of what is possible in poetry. Chaun Ballard takes us onto our streets, Henderson into our dreams, and Whitehead-Bust into our bodies—enjoy. The final three finalists will arrive tomorrow. apparel…
First, a sincere thank you to all the finalists for partnering with us. All of these poems deserve high praise. For Part 1, we’re sharing work by Rachel Jorgensen, Bola Opaleke, C. Mikal Oness, and Jessica Turney. The pieces are…
“Tim” haunts. The poem measures itself between memory and violence, an obsessive absence performed, absorbed, delivered. Tiana Clark has earned the $5000 prize and OPEN award, because this poem, in language simple and subtle and dangerous, demands it. The rest…
We don’t often publish three poems at once, but once you’ve read and experienced these, you’ll understand. Chelsea Dingman has created a trilogy of poems that develop and interrogate each other, probing her marriage, her body, her memory—all to experience…
Carol Potter, established in her reputation and talent, shares with us two poems that pursue associative motion with such comfortable grace. “Are You Going to Eat That?” may be the first mouth memoir told in a single stanza, and “What…
Nat Myer’s “red shoulderblades” begins with a motorcycle crash and ends in an image of friendship not often seen in popular culture. Filled with bloody cotton swabs, opioids, and alcohol, this hard-edged little poem relaxes in the dare to violence,…
Rachel Bower’s “Light” takes residence in the calm back of the throat between breaths. From her choices around line break and caesura, to the unforgettable image of the “dawn-woman”—who of us is without a dawn-woman inside?—Bower crafts a poem for…
In this double hinged sonnet, Jeff Pearson balances the demands of form with the rebellious and sensitive subject of mental illlness. “the gods of discharge dates” is generous and humorous and terse and just a little sad—we all want to…
After Tyehimba Jess selected his top three, we knew there would be a couple poems that we’d need to share regardless—we had too many good finalists. These two poems, “the neighbor’s house” and “UNDONE”, by Benjamin Hertwig and Brionne Janae,…
When we envision emerging poets to support, Kara Jackson is it—”Love poem with a knife” was selected by guest judge Tyehimba Jess as second place and winner of the $300 prize. The power of language is so comfortably displayed in…
