Angels, however crude, fear a few places, according to E. M. Foster, but the same cannot be said of poets. Boundlessly curious, no subject is off limits for bards like Suzanne Cleary to tread. New Yorker Cleary earned her Pushcart Prize... Read More

All anthologists should be so lucky: “Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to gather the best erotic work by top female poets.” Off Enid Shomer went, wherever the trail led—to poems by Denise Levertov, Sharon Olds,... Read More

Luisa Muradyan comes to America from Ukraine as a child. She grows up to study poetry at the doctorate level; meanwhile, her poems are published in Paris-American, Blackbird, Los Angeles Review, and Poetry International, among other... Read More

In the Iraq edition of wartime for American soldiers, fear of being blown to pieces by hidden explosives frequently loses out to the wiliest enemy of all—boredom. This is the wartime footing—six years in an M1A1 Abrams tank—that... Read More

With carefully planned havoc, Rae Armantrout takes a page from the jesters of old—mocking the universe’s solidity without fear of retribution. Her talent will protect her. Recently longlisted for the National Book Award, she is the... Read More

Ah, footnotes. Nothing endearing or sexy about them—unless you’re such a geek of letters, language, history, and research that you’ve developed a fetish for their unique supporting role. But the humble footnote also knows how to... Read More

While politicians and civil rights groups have their day regarding the border between the US and Mexico, it’s worth remembering the ordinary human beings who escape the news cycle’s notice. "Cutting the Wire", a timely compilation of... Read More

In "Rods and Koans", all matter becomes something that matters—the confluence exacting and broad. Irena Praitis’s "Rods and Koans" begins with the enigmatic inscription, “This is about saving the cat … or not.” Borrowing the... Read More