Book Review: The Beautiful Immunity by Karen An-Hwei Lee

A Beautiful Immunity: On Language, Healing, and the Mysticism of Survival in Karen An-Hwei Lee’s Latest Collection

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What does it mean to be immune—not just in the biological sense, but in the spiritual, emotional, and linguistic realms? In The Beautiful Immunity, Karen An-Hwei Lee crafts a poetic lexicon of survival, one that moves fluidly between the scientific and the surreal, between prayer and a deep, almost alchemical reverence for language. This collection pulses with lyricism, its precision sharpened by a careful unraveling of sound, breath, and absence. Yet, even in its most meditative silences, Lee’s work resists retreat. Instead, these poems seek an expansive form of protection—through words, through faith, through the body’s ability to adapt.

From the title alone, The Beautiful Immunity suggests a duality: a shield that is also an aesthetic, a survival that does not merely endure but transforms. Immunity, in Lee’s hands, is more than a bodily defense—it is a poetics of resilience, a response to both environmental and spiritual precarity.

In “Dear Millennium, on the Beautiful Immunity”, Lee’s speaker addresses the 21st century with a mixture of irony and supplication, asking for reprieve from a world marked by contamination, both biological and ideological. The poem opens with a tone that is both wistful and defiant:

“Dear millennium, you never promised to give me
a full strawberry moon, or amnesty from bioexile,
or genetically modified honey and roasted stone fruit.
Will the moon fall out of the sky?”

Here, there is a subtle critique of modernity’s broken promises. The millennium, personified, is both an era and an indifferent force, a time of technological and medical advancement but also of exile and estrangement. The phrase “bioexile” suggests a sense of displacement at the level of the body, a world where genetic modification has seeped into even the most fundamental aspects of sustenance—honey, fruit, immunity itself.

As the poem progresses, Lee tightens the critique, pivoting to environmental degradation and xenophobia:

“Please don’t feel obliged to love me back. Instead, grant me a beautiful immunity
to viral strains with evolved vaccine resistance—
zika of fetal microencephaly, chronic fatigue syndrome,
plagues of dyspepsia and dysthymia in the nervous weather of vulnerability—”

The juxtaposition of scientific terminology with poetic phrasing, “the nervous weather of vulnerability”, underscores Lee’s ability to fuse the clinical and the lyrical. This is a world where illness and emotional fragility blur into each other, where even the body’s natural defenses are compromised by forces beyond its control. The closing lines drive home the final act of defiance:

Don’t worry about loving me until death do us part—
I’m immune to your pathologies, my dear.”

By reframing immunity as both a biological and emotional resistance, Lee challenges the reader to consider what forms of protection are truly possible in an era of pandemics, environmental collapse, and cultural alienation.

One of the most striking elements of The Beautiful Immunity is Lee’s ability to oscillate between precise, almost clinical language and moments of dreamlike surrealism. Nowhere is this contrast more apparent than in “Seven Cantos on Silence as Via Negativa”, where Lee unspools silence into a series of shifting metaphors:

“Neither is the word silence equivalent to the loveliest of lovely days
beginning with love and lengthening with the light
where an open parenthesis never closes—”

Silence, rather than being an absence, is given form here—it stretches and lengthens, its presence signified by an “open parenthesis” that never resolves. The interplay between syntax and meaning is crucial; the hanging dash at the end of the line visually enacts the unresolved nature of silence, its ongoing, unbroken presence.

Later, in Canto 2, Lee extends the metaphor into something more fragile, almost architectural:

“Neither is it an invisible flock of small n-dashes
flying in hyphens of horizontal light to a skyline
where little nothings brush the air with em-dashes
as pauses or broken spaces—”

Here, punctuation itself becomes a stand-in for sound and breath. The precise choice of “n-dashes” and “em-dashes” transforms typographic elements into something kinetic, birdlike. This is silence in motion, a landscape of absence constructed through the delicate balance of pause and space.

Yet, even as Lee leans into meticulous control, she is unafraid to let her language unravel into something more hallucinatory. In “On Levitation at the Carp-Tail Sugar Factory”, she crafts an image of defiance against gravity, where small objects and bodies alike resist the expected laws of physics:

“As if the levitation of miniature objects is a surprise—
scale isn’t a miracle of perception
or fruit of anti-gravity.
A robin’s egg on the palm of my hand, aloft in June—
bird-soul’s turquoise belt.”

The phrase “scale isn’t a miracle of perception” suggests a rejection of illusion—levitation, in this context, is not merely a trick of the eyes but something inherent to the objects themselves. This speaks to a broader thematic concern in Lee’s work: the idea that survival, resilience, and even beauty are not illusions, but deeply rooted in the fabric of existence.

Throughout The Beautiful Immunity, spirituality is not just a theme but a mode of inquiry. Lee’s work is deeply engaged with mysticism, not as dogma but as a poetic method for understanding the world. In “Irenology”, she explicitly ties poetry to the act of peace-making, invoking biblical imagery alongside notions of exile and restoration:

“Open in Ezra and paging to Nehemiah,
I contemplate exiles rebuilding temple walls.
I thought, is this a form of peace studies?”

Here, the act of rebuilding—both literal and metaphorical—becomes a spiritual practice. The poem moves between religious devotion and historical reckoning, asking how peace circulates and whether it can be reconstructed, much like the temple walls.

This preoccupation with spiritual paradox reaches its most haunting expression in “Zona Negativa”, a poem that loops on itself, echoing phrases like a chant or incantation:

“solo
alight and over—
humming our souls
arisen, a redolence of God,
fragrance, a myrrh residue,
offering splendid zones of salvage—”

The repetition of “solo” at both the beginning and end creates a circular, meditative effect, reinforcing the solitude of the speaker’s spiritual searching. The phrase “splendid zones of salvage” is particularly arresting—it suggests that even within destruction, there are places where something sacred can be recovered.

Karen An-Hwei Lee’s The Beautiful Immunity is a book of paradoxes: silence that is full, immunity that is fragile, survival that is both scientific and mystical. Through lyrical precision and surreal flourish, she crafts a poetic space where language itself becomes a form of resilience—a way to navigate illness, uncertainty, and a world in flux. In the end, these poems do not promise invulnerability. Rather, they suggest that true immunity is not about avoidance, but about adaptation, about finding a voice that resists even as it sings.

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Emi Bergquist (she/her) is a New York based poet, performer, and content creator. An active member of The Poetry Society of New York since 2015, her has work published in over ten literary journals including The Headlight Review, What Rough Beast, Oxford Public Philosophy, Oroboro, Passengers Journal, For Women Who Roar,  Noctua Review, In Parentheses, and others. When not reading or writing poetry, Emi prefers to spend most of her time at the park with her rescue dog, Zola.

Poems for February 2025's Trending Searches

It’s my birth month and it’s been a weird one; then again, aren’t they all? I’m woefully caught up in my own life right now, but Google Trends is here to remind me what the rest of the world is thinking about. Here are a few standouts.

1. Delta Plane Crash

I first learned about the recent Delta plane crash in Toronto while exploring Google Trends for this story. It follows a string of plane crashes in the US over the last few weeks. 

I am fearful because my spouse regularly travels by plane for work, and plane crashes are not often survivable (though this one seems to have had a 100% survival rate). Fear dominates the news these days and it’s a difficult emotion to be steeped in 24/7. Tim Seibles explores the surreal fear of our modern world in his poem Zombie Blues Villanelle.

2. Super Bowl 2025

“Super Bowl 2025” garnered more searches than “Super Bowl LIX” and I’m relieved to know that not everyone is keeping track of how many Super Bowls we’ve had along with the corresponding Roman numeral. Honestly, keeping track of the year is hard enough at this point.

Soccer/futbol/football has shown up in every trend list since I started writing these, but American football not so much. The Super Bowl is unique in its popularity. I watched at my parents’ house while we ate wings and my dad read headlines about the current U.S. president, alternating between humor and revulsion. What do you think about while watching American football?

3. Definition

People googling “definition” probably preceded it with another word (e.g. “myrmidon definition”). I like this. Firstly, it’s great to learn new words and secondly, there are some excellent etymology poems out there. I was fortunate to attend a workshop on etymological poetry hosted by Ja’net Danielo this past autumn, which is where I first read “etymology” by Airea D. Matthews.

4. Snow

This is an unsurprising search trend for February in the northeast. I love snow, but this is about the time of year when I start to get sick of it—and we’ve had a lot lately. Fortunately, snow is almost always beautiful in poems, as evidenced by one of my all time favorites, Mary Oliver.

5. Paquita la del Barrio

Beloved Mexican singer/songwriter Paquita la del Barrio passed away in February at the age of 77. She was a feminist icon whose music often criticized male chauvinism, including the popular anthem “Rata De Dos Patos.” A snippet in the original Spanish as well as English translation:

Rata inmunda

Filthy rat
Animal rastrero
Creeping animal
Escoria de la vida
Scum of life
Adefesio mal hecho
Shoddy monstrosity. 

Infrahumano
Subhuman
Espectro del infierno
Spectre of Hell
Maldita sabandija
Damn vermin
Cuánto daño me has hecho
How much damage you've done to me. 

Between this song and the wild success of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” the world is definitely here for diss tracks. The fiery desire to artistically burn our rivals has been a part of the human experience for centuries. 

Next month: spring in the northern hemisphere. I’m ready.

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Written by Allisonn Church

Allisonn Church was born in a small rural community to a mother who pinned butterflies in glass cases and hid scarab beetles in her jewelry box. Her first favorite poem was “The Willow Fairy”’ by Cicely Mary Barker. Find a list of Allisonn's published work at churchpoems.wordpress.com.

How to Afford Poetry in 2025

Audre Lorde said it best: “Poetry is not a luxury.” It stands behind no closed door nor price tag but poetry does require the time and space for emergence. How does one make time and space for poetry to exist within their life?

The ‘again’ is silent because it is only poets who ponder this. It is only those who learned poetry manually—what a concept—who now wonder if all that time working in rhyme was worth it?

1) Use the energy of a sonnet when addressing your mother! Rhyme in front of all toddlers!

2) When you arrive at a new job, introduce yourself with a simile and a smile. Use metaphors to insult your enemies.

3) Use language with your life and do not compete with computers who will tame you or train upon you. Make your poetry even freer than it already is.

4) There are no price tags you must remove in order to address your lover. Be patient in your own mind. Impress your ancestors in prayer.

5) Be silent too—for once. Listen to poets whose words are also discounted and marked down. Open your ears and let life rhyme and connect before you.

6) If pages get too expensive and your phone dies before you can add poems to your notes, use ink to mark your skin. Cover your palms with words you will remember when it’s time to make sense of your existence again.

7) Let your essence be poetic, let your stride be poetic. Use grammar incorrectly and dare someone question it.

Look! It’s a poet in the wild, a brain twisting and turning, a tongue that creates without proper earning!

“She could’ve been a saleswoman if she only learned the language of economics.” But she chose poetics. She chose to spend time and space in literary choice, to live and wonder. “She’s a vagrant, a talker, a worder—”

It is speed the poet lacks. It is time over time, compounded by time that produces the fewest lines. ‘Ignorance is bliss’ are lines by the poet Thomas Gray on the circumstance of a man, fate unknown, destiny unclear. If only he knew how unknown and unclear it all would become. How worthwhile the time to decide,

“where ignorance is bliss,
'Tis folly to be wise.”

To afford poetry in 2025, tis folly to be wise where ignorance is bliss. What is coming is coming and we have words as weapons. Lets enjoy each carving, each chance to say what is within us to say.

Charge admission to your poetics, charge respect for your rhymes. The sale of your name is the price. Your life is the time.

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Katrina Sarah Miller is an interdisciplinary artist from the Palm Beaches. She has exhibited photography, performance, and illustration works locally in South Florida, nationally and internationally in galleries and as a public artist. She was a Say Word LA Poetry Slam champion, LA Youth Poetry Ambassador, and has performed poetry nationally.

Your 2025 Poetry Horoscope As Judged By ChatGBT

Welcome to 2025, where AI runs the literary world, poets fight back with phoenix metaphors, and even your horoscope can’t escape algorithmic judgment. Let the stars—and GPT-9—guide you through a year of verse, revisions, and cosmic absurdity. Who knows? Maybe Saturn’s retrograde will finally explain why Submittable hates you.

Aries

My dear Aries, your courage to defy AI in poetry is unmatched, even as GPT-9 runs every journal.

• Do: Channel fiery passion into a tepid beverage poem— it’s trending.

• Don’t: Start another poetry war on Twitter; phoenix metaphors are out.

• Advice: Submit that typo-laden draft. AI loves “accidental” authenticity.

Mars urges boldness. A Gemini editor may reject you, but your manifesto sparks RageVerse 2025—and a poorly attended TED Talk in Reno.

Taurus

Grounded Taurus, your analog loyalty inspires nostalgia while algorithms call you “obsolete.”

• Do: Try predictive text for one stanza.

• Don’t: Submit via carrier pigeon again.

• Advice: Bake sourdough while revising; yeast rises with ideas.

Venus gifts patient readers, but Mercury warns against excessive enjambment. A Virgo AI editor praises your craft but deletes your poem after misreading it as a CAPTCHA test.

Gemini

Dual-voiced Gemini, your poetic personas delight humans and baffle algorithms.

• Do: Blend TikTok surrealism with Shakespearean sonnets.

• Don’t: Confuse readers with too many pen names.

• Advice: Let one poem be messy; even AI likes chaos.

Mercury fuels paradoxes. A Scorpio critic’s confusion will become your triumph—or at least their personal vendetta.

Cancer

Emotional Cancer, your kitchen elegies melt AI circuits while warming human hearts.

• Do: Expand metaphors to laundromats or parking garages.

• Don’t: Cry on manuscripts; tears disrupt digitization.

• Advice: Balance nostalgia with universal themes.

The Moon heightens sensitivity, while Jupiter amplifies connection. A Pisces collaborator enhances your imagery, but insists on splitting royalties 70/30 in favor of their cat.

Leo

Radiant Leo, your flair dazzles but overloads servers.

• Do: Host a Meta poetry livestream; your hologram deserves a debut.

• Don’t: Let your avatar overshadow you; authenticity matters.

• Advice: Embrace subtlety once—it’ll surprise everyone.

The Sun fuels confidence, but Saturn calls for humility. A Libra offers sly feedback—and then plagiarizes your work for their wedding vows.

Virgo

Meticulous Virgo, your punctuation perfection dazzles but drains energy.

• Do: Publish that “imperfect” draft; humans crave it.

• Don’t: Debate em dashes vs. semicolons for weeks.

• Advice: Let spontaneity guide one poem this year.

Saturn rewards discipline. A Capricorn will admire your precision but refuse to admit they only skimmed the last stanza.

Libra

Balanced Libra, your dualities fascinate and frustrate equally.

• Do: Pick one aesthetic—just for today.

• Don’t: Overthink line breaks; AI won’t notice.

• Advice: Trust your first instinct; even indecision has limits.

Venus brings harmony, Uranus adds unpredictability. A Sagittarius editor sees brilliance in your chaos—and promptly sells it as an NFT.

Scorpio

Intense Scorpio, your revenge sonnets terrify AI and enthrall humans.

• Do: Soften with a flower poem—thorn-free.

• Don’t: Disguise critiques as feedback.

• Advice: Dilute your venom; poison blooms better that way.

Pluto magnifies depth, but Mars warns against excess. A Taurus critic admires your edge but insists they’re “not scared” while visibly trembling.

Sagittarius

Adventurous Sagittarius, your wandering metaphors defy categorization.

• Do: Anchor a poem in reality—a bench, a latte, a leaf.

• Don’t: Lose drafts to cosmic musings.

• Advice: Explore philosophical tangents in prose.

Jupiter expands creativity, though Neptune clouds clarity. A Gemini collaborator matches your energy but quits halfway to launch their podcast instead.

Capricorn

Ambitious Capricorn, your calculated poetry becomes a business model.

• Do: Write something unplanned; spontaneity has ROI too.

• Don’t: Use blockchain to verify line breaks again.

• Advice: Balance metrics with emotion.

Saturn rewards strategy, but Venus calls for human touch. A Virgo ally streamlines your success—and invoices you hourly for their effort.

Aquarius

Visionary Aquarius, your experimental forms break every rule—and invent new ones.

• Do: Simplify one poem; even stars need roots.

• Don’t: Let NASA’s Poet-in-Residence title inflate your ego.

• Advice: Write about Earth occasionally; it matters.

Uranus amplifies innovation, Mercury urges connection. A Cancer grounds your musings—and makes you rewrite the ending because it wasn’t “vulnerable enough.”

Pisces

Dreamy Pisces, your fluid metaphors delight some and baffle others.

• Do: Anchor one poem in something tangible—a coffee mug, perhaps.

• Don’t: Ignore AI critiques; even they seek meaning.

• Advice: Let surrealism shimmer without losing readers.

Neptune fuels creativity, while Jupiter demands structure. A dreamy Cancer collaborator inspires you—then deletes all your work during a “deep edit.”

The cosmos can guide your creativity, but only you can decide whether to let AI steal the spotlight—or just its formatting suggestions. Write boldly, poets of 2025!

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Tiffany Harris (she/her) hasn’t been the same since Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout discovered the world doesn’t wait for garbage to take itself out. Her work — equal parts heart and humor — has appeared or is forthcoming in places like Slackjaw, The Howling Owl, Furious Fiction, Tadpole Press and elsewhere. When she’s not writing poems or stories, she’s busy convincing herself that sarcasm counts as cardio. Read more at https://medium.com/@tiffharris.

Poems for January 2025's Trending Searches

Ahh, the fresh scent of a new year— it smells like warm mud in a region that should be blanketed with snow. There’s much to wonder about as we step into 2025, and a curious public continues to ask Google all the biggest questions. Here are five of the major topics on our collective minds, per Google Trends.

1. 10 Legged Marine Crustacean

How could I not choose this search term from the list? In my ignorance, I thought someone had discovered a new sea creature, but no: it turns out many folks are just as clueless about marine crustacean anatomy as am, and thousands turned to the internet for help with this January 18th NYT crossword clue. 

I won’t spoil the answer in case you’re still solving the puzzle, but it’s not a lobster. That said, a lobster is a marine crustacean and I’m from Massachusetts, so I hope you enjoy this wicked compelling poem from Anthony Walton.

2. Snoop Dogg

Snoop Dogg disappointed gen Xers and elder millennials everywhere when he participated in an inauguration party for Donald Trump during the second week of January. Let’s all take some time to look back on the fonder moments of Snoop’s career, including his 1993 hit “Who Am I (What’s My Name)?”. 

Flipping the script a little, poet Terrance Hayes offers an answer to that titular question with the poem, “What I Am.”

3. Juárez - Cruz Azul

Okay so, this is about a soccer match— honestly not what I expected. I was familiar with the Mexican city of Juárez thanks to Netflix’s Narcos, but I hadn’t heard of the Cruz Azul team before. Sounds like we’ve been in the midst of the Liga MX futbol playoffs: Juárez won the last match I checked on.

I’ll stick with my Massachusetts bias for a minute by sharing a poem from a bilingual poet who lives on the opposite side of the commonwealth from me. Marjorie Agosín mentions Juárez in her poem, “Secrets in the Sand [And the night was a precipice].”

4. Blooming Waters

Please do not tell my nephews I had to google this; they will be deeply disappointed in me. TL;DR, it’s a Pokémon card collection and they are fanatics. One nephew was just bragging to me last night about a special set he acquired, though I don’t think it was this one.

Blooming waters recalls my favorite Mary Oliver poem, which is about water lilies. Here’s a highlight:

Still, what I want in my life

is to be willing

to be dazzled --

to cast aside the weight of facts

and maybe even

to float a little

above this difficult world.

5. Tik Tok

TikTok went dark halfway through the month. Millions of Americans were lost and sad without the video platform (though apparently not my 14-year-old son, who claims to be totally fine with everything all the time, nbd). In a dramatic turn, the platform returned less-than-triumphantly after a brief outage, crediting president Trump and showcasing revised algorithms. A friend bitterly posted, “my new fyp sucks.” 

If you’re looking for video content to keep you entertained while lawmakers negotiate the terms of TikTok’s potential continuance, Poetry Foundation offers a series titled Poem Videos. Here’s one called “bandaids & other temporary healings,” created by Pat Heywood and Jamil McGinnis. 

We’re only one month in and many U.S. residents expect major shake-ups as 2025 progresses. Will Google continue to hold all the answers? If not, poets will always be here to help find the words.

Written by Allisonn Church

Writer Bio: Allisonn Church was born in a small rural community to a mother who pinned butterflies in glass cases and hid scarab beetles in her jewelry box. Her first favorite poem was “The Willow Fairy”’ by Cicely Mary Barker. Find a list of Allisonn's published work at churchpoems.wordpress.com.

Poems for November 2024's Trending Searches

On the night of November 5th and into the early morning hours of the 6th, I obsessively googled presidential election results. When all was said and done, 76,394,853 U.S. voters collectively elected Donald Trump, while 76,203,140 voted for other candidates— a difference of 191,713, or roughly the population of Mobile, Alabama. According to Exploding Topics, more people in the U.S. googled Fox News in November than any other news source, and I suspect a correlation.

As the days wore on, search trends shifted while many of us remained stuck in our feelings. Here are a few of the month’s highlights, each accompanied by a poem.

1. Mike Tyson, Muhammad Ali, and Evander Holyfield

Growing up, I often watched boxing matches with my dad, whose own father had been a Golden Gloves champion (stripped of his title for lying about his age to compete). My grandpa taught me a thing or two about the “sweet science” and left me with his old leather gloves and speed bag. Even if you don’t follow boxing, you’ll likely recognize some of the famous names that appear in November’s trending search list: apparently Mike Tyson is making a comeback. 

In deference to the hardknock lives of many fighters, James McKean penned “Elegy for an Old Boxer.”

2. Bluesky Social

I’ve seen a few Teslas with bumper stickers that read, “I bought it before we knew Elon was crazy.” Talk about buyer’s remorse. Elon Musk generates strong feelings. Combining unpopular policies with less popular friendships, Musk recently prompted a mass exodus from X (formerly Twitter). 

Personally, I never understood Twitter so it’s all the same to me. Others are flocking to a network called Bluesky. Thus, it felt appropriate that Kema Alabi simultaneously evokes the sky and harkens back to Donald Trump’s first electoral victory in their poem, “Undelivered Message to the Sky: November 9, 2016.” 

Read “Undelivered Message to the Sky: November 9, 2016” by Kema Alabi

3. Coastal Flood Warning

Much of the east coast faced potential flooding mid-month due to abnormally high tides. Climate catastrophe is wreaking havoc. Where I live, we are experiencing severe drought and wildfires, which are atypical for the area. The undercurrent of natural disaster brings to mind “Gills” by Rain Prud’homme-Cranford. 

Give us salinity to float in the betweens.

Surrender to flood waters.

Read “Gills” by Rain Prud’homme-Cranford

4. Aliens in the Ocean

What in the world? When I saw this phrase on the list, I had to explore. Somehow, recent pentagon reports on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs) have certain lawmakers and politicians (and probably members of the general public) convinced that there are aliens in the ocean. Admittedly, most deep sea creatures appear awfully alien to us land dwellers.

Leave it to Aimee Nezhukumatathil to have a poem about sea animals at the ready. 

Read “I Could Be a Whale Shark” by Aimee Nezhukumatathil 

5. The Onion

The Onion is buying InfoWars. That sentence almost-sort-of means something to me. The Onion has been a staple in my life; InfoWars is decidedly less familiar (but it doesn’t sound great). 

There are a surprising number of poems about onions. Although I guess it didn’t surprise me too much— I chose The Onion from the trending search list on suspicion of poetry. It’s the layers. There’s Naomi Shihab Nye’s “The Traveling Onion,” and Juan Felippe Herrera’s “Jackrabbits, Green Onions & Witch’s Stew,” but I wanted to share “Monologue for an Onion” by Suji Kwock Kim because of that whole layer thing.

Read “Monologue for an Onion” by Suji Kwock Kim

In December, I will search for snow— to ease the wildfires in my home state, and because I simply love it. 

Written by Allisonn Church

Writer Bio: Allisonn Church was born in a small rural community to a mother who pinned butterflies in glass cases and hid scarab beetles in her jewelry box. Her first favorite poem was “The Willow Fairy”’ by Cicely Mary Barker. Find a list of Allisonn's published work at churchpoems.wordpress.com.

Of the bells, bells, bells, bells: On Repetition

Funky functions function funkily. 

In poetry, it’s not always a bad thing to sound like a broken record. For one, it can help reiterate an idea by creating both rhyme and rhythm within a given piece, and––for two––it can also provide the reader with a series of different experiences; acting more like a mirror for how certain actions and/or events like to repeat themselves throughout history: while still using the same word, phrase, and or clause to make a point. 

Dive into madness:

Edgar Allen Poe, and his poem, The Bells, is a great example for how repetition creates a type of lyricism within the poem, and––at the exact same time––still presenting the reader with a solid idea of both insanity and all the stages of one’s life by using a mirror to showcase birth, childhood, marriage, and death. While each part describes different actions, intentions, and worldly views, each section of the poem is finished with some of the exact same lines:

Of the bells, bells, bells, bells,

Bells, bells, bells–

Mirroring through activism:

Maya Angelou’s poem, Still I Rise, is another perfect example for how powerful repetition works within a poem. While its main focus is one of resilience, self-respect, and will-power, in the face of oppression, its relevance; which had first started in 1978; is just as strong as it had been in the years 1865 as it is in the year 2024; where there’re still certain groups of people who are still being oppressed by the very same people who are still in power. However, like the last three lines of her poem says, people, from all corners of this round planet will be able to say:

I rise […]

I rise […]

I rise.

…; in the face of oppression.

Twisting Words to make a Point: 

So, the next time someone tells you that you sound like a broken record…tell them: good, maybe the point that is trying to be made can finally be accessed. Because, as a poet, there are many times where we are going to repeat ourselves––not just within a given piece of work, but within life itself, within the realm of hatred and oppression: of willful ignorance, and of fear mongering. Because, as a poet, it’s our job to remind the people of the battles we’ve fought––the wars we have won with a pen, instead of a sword. 

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Written by Gregory Gonzalez

Writer Bio: Gregory Gonzalez graduated from Sierra Nevada University, where he earned both a BFA and an MFA in Creative Writing. He's studied under and many other wonderful artists, and his works can be seen in the San Joaquin Review Online, Hive Avenue: A Literary Journal, the Dillydoun Review, Wingless Dreamer Publishing, Bridge Eight: Film & TV, Drunk Monkeys: Literature and Film, Causeway Literature, Nat 1 LLC, Vermilion Literature, Writing Workshops, and Havik Literary Journal.

Trash Poetics: Bin #2

Welcome to Trash Poetics, Bin #2

We got literal last time with Poetry is Trash. But this time, it’s personal. If you haven’t read Bin #1, you can find it here.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

We’ve all got baggage and it can get heavy. Emotional trash piles up into life and has a way of dumping itself onto us as if we were landfills. With all that mess, it can become hard to separate and see each piece for what it really is. 

So what do we do as a quick fix? We squirrel it all away, letting it fester in our mental nooks of time encapsulated. 

While this trash can be gross to revisit, giving it some air to transform can do a body good. Think about it. Organic scraps become compost, aluminum cans get remelted and back in the game, plastics…float into the sea and within our testicles, hearts, and minds.

It just might be that our trash can become like the scraps and cans…reassessed, repossessed, and finessed into something different.

Microplastics are a different story. That’s the stuff for epic poems AND/OR therapy.

So how do we even begin to sort through it all?

Trash Poetics Exercise, Bin #2

Reduce the trash.
Reuse the past.
Recycle for a new present.

The goal of this trash poetry exercise is to not overthink. I recommend you put on a timer and try to start and finish the whole deal within 15 minutes. Saving Planet You is urgent and you already know the way. Trust your gut.

1. Verbal Vomit!
   Within 2 minutes, write a response to one of the following questions.

   What is something that has recently annoyed you?
   
   Starter 

   on truck out 

   needed fixed

   called shops

   to price

   two shops issues

   told them truck

   told me bring 

   in shop

   give price

   3rd asked same

   then…

2. Erasure!

1. With a black marker or strikethrough on the computer, blackout at least 50% of your writing:

1. the ands, ifs, buts,

2. excess articles such as a, the, an

3. the adverbs you could leave behind,

4. the bits and pieces that do not serve you.

5. Basically, get rid of words that don’t get to the point.
   

3. Rewrite!

1. On another sheet of paper, write the words that remain after your erasures.

4. Trash it!

1. You can literally throw it in the trash

2. or tape it to your trash can.

Erasure Example.

That’s it! 

You’ve successfully reduced, reused, and recycled your heart’s garbage, giving it a new life as a poem and symbol of transformation. Now separated and recycled, hopefully it has become lighter…or at least something that brings you pleasure when you literally crumple it up and throw it away.

Get trashy: Send a photo of your trash poem for the Dump section of Trash Poetics, Bin #3

Get trashy: DM a photo on instagram of your trash poem for the Dump section of Trash Poetics, Bin #2 - @scum.poet

Written by Ashley Michelle C.

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Ash(ley) Michelle C. is a pastoral erotic scum poet\a/rtist. From books to video and sculpture to ephemeral installations, her poetry-based pieces erase borders between poem, person and performance. Ash's chapbook, Hotel Gilbert & other horny poems was published by ESTO ES UN LIBRO in 2024. Her work appears and is forthcoming in: Taco Bell Quarterly, Currant Jam, Bullshit Lit, Adult Groceries and more. You can follow her poetry on insta: @scum.poet

Fall Back Into Poeting

6 Things to Do When Daylight Saving Time Comes to a Seasonal Pause

Feeling a bit out of sorts? Craving an extra hour of sleep or an extra square foot of pillow space to get those poetic beats afoot? You’re in luck! The end of Daylight-Saving Time can kick-start a whole lot more than shut eye. Open those dusty notebooks, the same ones that have been collecting hours of unrealized, punctuated plot lines and prepare to recharge your creative battery.

Set aside a few minutes in between hours coming and going and follow these recommendations
to fall back—fall back into poeting!

1. Change (recharge) the batteries in your writing routine.

Pause and reflect. Where do you draw your energy? Toss the freshly plumped pillow aside. Get
outside and write amidst leaves and the isolated, lingering summer breeze. Inhale. Exhale.
Breath. Collect stanzas, like a season to relish as the Earth spins, like weeds. Prepare for a coming season of inspiring poetic pauses. Gather pencils. Rake through drafts in progress. Count syllables and growth in poetic production alongside rings on a favorite tree’s waistline.

2. Flip your mattress, couch pillows, and writing chair cushion.

Freshen up your writing rooms—from tree stumps to kitchen nooks, to cherished corners with
drawers to boot. Boost your posture. Dust off bunnies and clear out rabbit holes. To ensure all
draft progress consistently, flip sheets of paper regularly. Debris from dusty ideas, inadvertent rhymes, and stale verbs accumulate in drafts over time. Apply a deep cleaning when revisiting. Spot-clean syllable pairs and poetic devices like alliteration, assonance, and repetition.

3. Wash your mindset and clear hands (and heads) of poeting distractions

Lace up soles to reconnect with inner souls. Consider hands-free voice to text meandering. Metaphors proliferate in natural settings. Apply fresh scents—whether pumpkin spice, apple cider, or an autumnal flower to infuse even fresher sense in a poetic response to nature (and natural longings to create).

4. Take stock of existing drafts

Check expiration dates carefully before discarding. Cans of half-baked ideas, themes, and
recollections can sometimes still surprise. Air-tight, vacuum-sealed notions of descriptive
phrasing and the human condition have a surprisingly long shelf-life.
Remember that proper nutrition depends on a balanced diet. Stock up on strong verbs, concrete
nouns, and sharp adjectives. Adverbs? Use with discretion. Check all filters for seasonal imagery.
Call in reinforcements if you need assistance navigating an unexpectedly heavy theme.

5. Clean those hard-to-reach (and harder-to-reduce) stacks of wish lists.

Clear your workspace of stale piles (whether “to-be-read” or on reserve) that have accumulated
since the last check on batteries, fuel, and remaining word counts. Before discarding, check for
fruitful reserves. It’s possible to secure 100% pure juice if directions are reversed. Wave (and weave) vacuum wands like a fairy would. Suck out layers of lint and hyperbole heavy of distracting dust to reveal a poem’s true worth.

6. Take stock of your emergency kits.

Take a moment to replenish supplies. From ballpoint pens with fresh ink to rudimentary No. 2. pencils with freshly sharpened points. Check the batteries in your musical (and poetic) devices. Fill bowls with nourishing personification, proper names, and nuggets of inspiration—vary word choice and include vitamins from A to Z. Many nuts (like poetry!) are known to promote creativity and supercharge brain activity. Whether your vice is coffee, cheese, or candy—consume in moderation to best promote idea longevity.

Remember: Flames can spark spontaneously. Keep journals, diaries, and napkins handy. If
you’ve depleted your emergency stock of lined paper (enjambment highly encouraged), colored
pencils (Troll-tips recommended), and Pinterest-inspiration (vision boards are rarely boring),
prioritize thirty-minutes to restock (support obscure pocket parks and avoid the Amazon, if
possible).

Feeling energized! Stop reading and start writing. Happy Poeting!

Written by Jen Schneider

Writer Bio: Jen Schneider (she/her/hers) is a community college educator who lives, works, and writes in small spaces in and around Philadelphia. She served as the 2022 Montgomery County (PA) Poet Laureate.

Poems for October 2024's Trending Searches

In October, one can drive around most neighborhoods in the U.S. on the prowl for spooky decorations without disappointment. Houses are bedecked in giant spiders and skeletons, makeshift front-lawn graveyards, witches, hooded figures, and ghosts dancing in rings (not to mention the rows of carved pumpkins). In some parts of the country, folks also head out to look for the perfect foliage, either for a pretty photo op, or for pure enjoyment. 

Meanwhile, on the world wide web, people search October for very different things. Here are just a few of those according to Google Trends, each accompanied by a poem.

1. Northern Lights

Walking to the end of my driveway after dark, cell phone camera in hand, I finally saw it — the aurora borealis, the northern lights. Underwhelming is too strong a word, but I’ll admit that I was whelmed. Through my phone, the sky turned fuschia; with my naked eye, the faintest purple highlights fought their way through an otherwise normal night. So it was pretty and bright on a phone screen, and isn’t that what I was already seeing on Facebook? Digital glamor. 

Aimee Nezhukumatathil expresses a similar disenchantment with the northern lights, but for entirely different reasons. What’s a luminescent natural phenomenon compared with love?

Read “Letter to the Northern Lights” by Aimme Nezhukumatathil.

2. Tesla Robot

When I saw that “Tesla robot” was a trending search term last week, I asked myself, “What even is that?” It’s typical of me not to be aware of trends. However, I asked only myself and looked no further, and so I remain blissfully ignorant of all things Tesla.

Instead, I spent some extra time with poems from Sasha Stiles’ TechnELEGY, featured in an October, 2019 issue of The Common. Stiles was writing about creepy tech, AI, and robots five years ahead of the current robot trend (whatever it is). Poetry is prescient. 

Read “Uncanny Valley” from TechnELEGY by Sasha Stiles.

3. Freeze Warning

We’ve already had a few frosts here in Massachusetts this October. Frost-edged leaves reflecting early morning sunlight are some of my favorite things— when the whole ground looks like a sea of jewels, green to orange to silver. Those googling the term were probably doing their best to prepare their plants for the harsh cold, and I hope all were successful in that endeavor.

My fellow Massachusetts poet (in fact, the poet laureate of Worcester, MA) Oliver de la Paz contemplates migration as he notes the quietness of bird call preceding a New England freeze:

“...I haven’t slept for two nights
because their silence skewers everything.”

Read “Diaspora Sonnet at the Feeders Before the Freeze” by Oliver de la Paz

4. Hurricane

From Helene to Milton, it’s been a terrible season for hurricanes on the Gulf Coast. Residents impacted by the devastating storms can still apply for assistance through FEMA. For my part, I followed live updates from a cousin in Tavares as the storm rolled through. He couldn’t evacuate, as his wife was on storm duty as a nurse. 

So what does one do while waiting out a hurricane at home? Poet Kevin Young would like to take the opportunity for some intimate connection. The final couplet of his poem, “Hurricane Song” is absolute perfection. 

Read “Hurricane Song” by Kevin Young.

5. Chicken Recall

Yesterday, my 13-year-old informed me of a frozen waffle recall: he’s always shrewdly aware of food recalls as they come up (thanks, TikTok). He didn’t mention a chicken recall that apparently happened earlier this month, but I guess we don’t buy very much chicken in our house— we’re a nuggets only family.

If I were to eat any non-nugget chicken, I’d love to follow the recipe included in Sarah Gambito’s poem, “On How to Use this Book.” Gambito instructs the reader to invite at least 15 people to share in this meal, so I’ll have to wait for my Covid to pass. For now, I’ll live vicariously through poetry, as usual.

You might think that a chicken recall cannot be poetic: think again.

Read “On How to Use this Book” by Sarah Gambito

In November, I hope to find wellness. We’ll see what else happens.

Written by Allisonn Church

Writer Bio: Allisonn Church was born in a small rural community to a mother who pinned butterflies in glass cases and hid scarab beetles in her jewelry box. Her first favorite poem was “The Willow Fairy”’ by Cicely Mary Barker. Find a list of Allisonn's published work at churchpoems.wordpress.com.

A Word's Weight

Weighing a word is the most important and most difficult function for a writer. Even more so for a poet. Meter dictates rhyme, and reason, while free verse holds a certain flow; an essence from the soul of the author, put in the narration like living magic into a world once believed to have none.

This Ain’t Easy:

According to Mark Twain: 

Writing is easy, all you have to do is cross out the wrong words.

However, it’s quite the opposite. Finding the right word for the context is difficult. There’s an infinite number of ways to describe a raven colored night filled with balls of light. Which begs the question: Which word is right?

Well, that’s easy. First, one must look at the style in which they intend to write. If the author enjoys free verse, then rules are broken. However, if the author prefers structure, than any one of the classical forms: sonnets, limericks, haikus, rondeaus; dictates diction. From there, one must create a focused theme.

A Perfect Example:

In the Shakespearian Sonnet “18” the 14 lines of the iambic pentameter paint the picture of a love being compared to a summer day. Looking at the first line:

Shall I compare thee to a Summer’s Day?

There’s clear reason for why each word is within the sentence. First, Iambic Pentameter dictates five feet per line. But that’s the easy part…understanding the rules…next comes the hard part.

The Breakdown:

This’s where a writer must ask themselves, what does “SHALL” do within the sentence? What does the word do in general? Well, the word itself is a Modal Axillary Verb: which implies a future suggestion.

Once that’s established, a writer should ask themselves why the word “shall” cannot be replaced with “can” or “will”? While each one is a Modal Auxiliary, sure, each one is used for a specific reason: “can” implies an ability in the main verb, where “will” is definitive. 

Between these three Modal Auxiliaries, there’s only one that holds promise for the context of the sonnet. That word is “Shall”, unequivocally. It creates longing within the narrative, implying the idea of togetherness…rather than an ability in the “self” or the affirmative “I”. 

From there, the subject, verb, and object come in order, I compare thee, which leaves the prepositional phrase: to a summer’s day. It does all work. However, understanding why the prepositional phrase does all the work is to understand what the preposition modifies. Here, it’s the verb: compare. This means the adverbial now holds the weight because, without the adverbial, the entire sentence doesn’t make sense.

Redundancy:

This is why diction is important for poets. A single word changes the entire context of the line, which changes the tone of the stanza, which then rearranges the mood of the poem.

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Written by Gregory Gonzalez

Writer Bio: Gregory Gonzalez graduated from Sierra Nevada University, where he earned both a BFA and an MFA in Creative Writing. He's studied under and many other wonderful artists, and his works can be seen in the San Joaquin Review Online, Hive Avenue: A Literary Journal, the Dillydoun Review, Wingless Dreamer Publishing, Bridge Eight: Film & TV, Drunk Monkeys: Literature and Film, Causeway Literature, Nat 1 LLC, Vermilion Literature, Writing Workshops, and Havik Literary Journal.

Trash Poetics: Bin #1

Welcome to Trash Poetics, Bin #1

Poetry is trash, the discarded bits and pieces of what once was…those faded memories you remember each time you see a bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos or an empty tube of cherry lip gloss or that goofy AF condom package that make you cringe (why?).

Garbage is a portal for poetic exploration.

Think about it. Within the bin, we discard our hidden emotions and our state of health, the ways we nourish and destroy ourselves, the activities that make us feel alive or numb. The most intimate, erotic and absurdly surreal elements of our life’s poetry are discarded into a wasteland…

[the bin]
[that life-changing green juice]
[new dress price tags]
[56 page manuscript]
[bic pen packaging]
[crumpled tissues]
[cigarette ashes]

until we remember. 

Then we recycle—we look, listen, smell, and unfold its strange meanings with a poetic freedom only something so insignificant yet personal can allow.

When I ask you, what’s in your trash? What I’m really asking is, “What discarded detail reveals an intimate look into your present story?”

This is where we get our hands dirty.

We reach past the probiotic yogurt, the dirty napkins, and grab that little something—a styrofoam cup to the world, but to you, my queen, it was your chalice.

It’s precisely this utterly mundane moment that opens an unexpected portal to a devastatingly honest, hilarious and beautifully scummy poem.

Trash Poetics Exercise, Bin #1

Process as performance.
Material as the page.
Trash as an archive.

Let’s get started:

1. Find trash that sparks a memory or feeling.

2. With trash in front of you, ask your trash:

1. What stories are you telling behind my back?!

2. Tell me my story, trash! Don’t be a coward!

3. Sharpie in hand, channel the poetry onto your trash.*

1. Write on the inside of your trash,

2. or over the text making your words bolder,

3. or on a sheet of paper, making your trash the book cover.

4. Document by taking a picture in any way that matches the poetic mood.

* Think outside of the wet box. The poem can be a word, or many. It can make sense to strangers or not. This trash poem is (for) you.

It doesn’t matter where you are. Trash is all around. And therefore, so is poetic potential.

Get trashy: DM a photo on instagram of your trash poem for the Dump section of Trash Poetics, Bin #2 - @scum.poet

Written by Ashley Michelle C.

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Ash(ley) Michelle C. is a pastoral erotic scum poet\a/rtist. From books to video and sculpture to ephemeral installations, her poetry-based pieces erase borders between poem, person and performance. Ash's chapbook, Hotel Gilbert & other horny poems was published by ESTO ES UN LIBRO in 2024. Her work appears and is forthcoming in: Taco Bell Quarterly, Currant Jam, Bullshit Lit, Adult Groceries and more. You can follow her poetry on insta: @scum.poet

Folk Poetry: The People’s Language of Yearning

Folk poetry has always belonged to the people—a collective voice rising from the fields, the taverns, the streets. It was never intended for the page, nor for academia. It grew from a need to speak when no one was listening, to tell stories about yearning, about suffering, about those small moments of joy that flutter briefly amidst the enduring ache of survival.

We forget that we are constantly consuming folk poetry. It is woven into the fabric of our lives—hidden in the songs we scream out of car windows at 65 mph after a party, or the tunes we hum as we drift off to sleep in our dark, shoebox apartments. Folk poetry saturates both our moments of exhilaration and our quietest hours, even when we are unaware of it.

We consume it because it belongs to us—because it carries the stories of our ancestors—those who survived, who loved, who protested, and who left their voices in songs that continue to echo across time. These voices don’t just shape the folk singers of the past; they permeate the modern musicians we listen to every day.

Ezra Hozier, with his haunting melodies and searing social critiques, is one of the most conscious inheritors of this tradition. When he sings “Seven new ways that you can eat your young,” he taps into the same thread of protest that folk poets have woven for centuries. His songs, like folk poetry, are both melodies of protest and tools of reflection, forcing us to confront the hard truths of the present with the weight of the past pressing down on us.

But Hozier isn’t alone. Modern artists like Miley Cyrus, Stevie Nicks, Joan Baez, and Indochine continue to carry the flame, each infusing their music with the raw emotion and urgency that folk poetry demands. They take the everyday and elevate it into something mythic, telling stories that resonate with our shared human experience.

Modern Ballads and Laments: Echoes of Folk Poetry

1. Ezra Hozier – “Eat Your Young”
   "Seven new ways that you can eat your young," Hozier chants, and here the past collides with the present. The song is a lament, but it’s also satire—its weight drawn from Swift’s disgust for a society that reduces human lives to commodities. Hozier channels this centuries-old folk tradition of protest songs, where melodies were designed to carry devastating truths, forcing us to face the ugliness of unchecked greed.

Hozier, Eat Your Young

2. Miley Cyrus – “Flowers”

"I can buy myself flowers, write my name in the sand." On the surface, Miley’s self-reliance anthem could seem like a pop hit, but it’s deeply rooted in the reclamation ballad of folk tradition. Ballads have always spoken of love, but here, Miley reclaims that love for herself. This isn’t a tale of love lost—it’s a story of love transformed, redefined. Like the women of folk poetry who sang for their own survival, Miley stands firmly in this lineage of voices.

3. Stevie Nicks – “Rooms on Fire”
"This is the way, the room’s on fire." Stevie Nicks doesn’t write songs; she writes in flame. "Rooms on Fire" is a ballad not just about passion, but about the fleeting, those moments of intensity that slip from our grasp. Folk poetry thrives in this space between the tangible and the elusive, and Nicks' lyrics carry the same urgency—the sense that life is burning, and all we can do is witness its beauty and terror. Like the ancient laments, Nicks mourns not only for what’s lost, but for what was never fully attained.

4. Joan Baez – “There But for Fortune”
"Show me a prison, show me a jail / Show me a prisoner whose face has grown pale." Baez’s simple, cutting lyrics are the epitome of the folk protest song. She speaks the unvarnished truth, giving voice to those society prefers to forget. Empathy flows through her words, a direct connection to the folk poets of old who told the stories of the voiceless. Baez, like her predecessors, holds up a mirror to a world that turns away from its own suffering.

5. Indochine – “L’Aventurier”
"L’aventurier contre tout guerrier." Indochine captures the spirit of rebellion, a theme that runs through centuries of folk poetry. Their music is a modern iteration of the epic ballad, celebrating the “Hero’s Journey”, the one who defies boundaries and seeks new worlds. Folk poetry has always honored the outsider, the wanderer who refuses to be tamed by society's norms, and Indochine carries that defiant tradition into the modern era.

Why We Can’t Let Go of Folk Poetry

Why do these songs touch us in ways we can’t fully explain? Because they are rooted in something deeper, something ancient. They carry the weight of our collective yearning—the part of us that longs for more: more love, more freedom, more life. Folk poetry is not some relic. It is the heartbeat of human existence, the way we tell stories to make sense of our longing, our suffering, our joy.

Every time we sing along, we partake in this tradition. We are consuming poetry, whether we know it or not. And in that act of consumption, we become poets ourselves. We carry with us the stories, the protests, the yearnings of our ancestors, even as we scream along to the lyrics of our beloved contemporaries. These are not merely songs—they are modern vessels, carrying the same stories that have always been told.

Folk poetry is alive, and it belongs to us. When we truly listen—really listen—we become part of that ancient voice spanning time.

Written by Rachel Harty

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Writer Bio: Rachel Harty is a New York-based poet and essayist, whose work has appeared in Poetry Nation, The Madrid Review, The LA Wave, and other notable literary platforms. Her debut poetry collection, Coffee, a Sip of You and Me, delves into intimate coming-of-age moments, exploring themes of connection and solitude. It’s available on Amazon and in select independent bookstores and coffee shops across the U.S. and abroad.

To discuss poetry or for inquiries, visit her at www.RachelHarty.com.

Yearning and Folk Poetry: The Ancient Hunger for Meaning

There’s a hunger in all of us, something primal, an ache that lodges deep within the marrow—a gnawing we rarely name, but one we feel. It’s an unquenchable thirst for more—more life, more love, more understanding—and it drives the songs we place on infinite replay. This hunger is where we find folk poetry. Not a relic of the past, but a pulse, alive and beating, threading through the music of contemporaries like Ezra Hozier, Miley Cyrus, Stevie Nicks, and others. Folk poetry is the language of the unspeakable, something we all consume unconsciously, and in that consumption, we awaken to our own poetic sensibilities.

satire as folk legacy

Hozier, Eat Your Young

Hozier’s “Eat Your Young” doesn’t merely drift through your headphones; it haunts you. There’s a gravitational pull that lures you into its orbit. First, it’s the melody—those sharp, soaring soprano notes, the quiet beat pulling you in—but as the lyrics settle in your bones, the true ache begins to reveal itself. Hozier is not simply singing a catchy chorus. He’s interrogating us, forcing us to reckon with our complicity in a world that devours its young for the sake of unchecked greed.

And here, we hear echoes of Jonathan Swift’s satirical masterpiece A Modest Proposal, a work in which folk poetry sheds its illusions and reveals the ugly mechanisms of exploitation. Hozier jolts us out of our complacency, shattering the lies we tell ourselves about the systems of power that prey on the vulnerable.

For context, in 1729, Ireland was strangled by famine and profound destitution. Swift’s essay—blistering in its savage irony—suggested that to bridge the chasm of inequality, the poor might offer their infants as sustenance for the rich. This was satire sharpened to a blade, protest dressed as horror, meant not to amuse but to jolt society into awareness.

Fast forward nearly three centuries, and Hozier channels this same fury. “Seven new ways that you can eat your young,” he sings. Behind the melody is a modern disgust for a machine that still preys on the powerless, a world where the wealthy feast on the labor, dreams, and bodies of the poor. This is the essence of folk poetry—rooted in protest yet cloaked in song. Hozier, consciously drawing from both Dante’s Inferno and Swift’s biting irony, bridges the past and the present, forcing us to confront ourselves. And like the best folk poets, he shoulders the weight of history to craft something urgent, something undeniably new.

Written by Rachel Harty

Tune in next week, on How to Poet to read Read Part Two: Modern Ballads and Laments: Echoes of Folk Poetry.

Writer Bio: Rachel Harty is a New York-based poet and essayist, whose work has appeared in Poetry Nation, The Madrid Review, The LA Wave, and other notable literary platforms. Her debut poetry collection, Coffee, a Sip of You and Me, delves into intimate coming-of-age moments, exploring themes of connection and solitude. It’s available on Amazon and in select independent bookstores and coffee shops across the U.S. and abroad.

To discuss poetry or for inquiries, visit her at www.RachelHarty.com.

Poems for September 2024's Trending Searches

In September, I was mostly searching for autumn. It came in flashes like yellow leaves, often too warm for my taste. Other folks searched for the usual things: YouTube, Facebook, local restaurants. Google’s Trending Now feature offers particular insight into the most vivid moments that flared up within the existing landscape of commonly used websites. Here are a few topics that lit up the web in September, each accompanied by a relevant poem.

1. Eclipse

Poet Amie Whittemore describes marking the date of an eclipse on her calendar, knowing she’ll forget to step outside and look at it anyway. This matches my own relationship to most eclipses, including the Harvest Moon that appeared on September 17th. 

Amie writes, “...like a shovel, I’m purposeful / but often idle.” Do you ever feel that way? I certainly do, but wouldn’t have had the words for it without Amie’s help. 

Read “Lunar Eclipse” by Amie Whittehmore

2. Covid

There is no post-Covid world, so here we are in the Covid world, just writing about it. I know I wrote a handful of Covid poems— particularly in 2020— and I remember seeing calls for Covid poems from lit mags in those earlier years. 

Did you know that, in 2022, American Sāmoa was the only place with zero Covid deaths? I didn’t, until I read this poem by Terisa Siagatonu. Siagatonu also manages to include another of September 2024’s trending topics — the NFL. 

Read “The Only Place in the U.S. with Zero COVID Deaths” by Terisa Siagatonu

3. Real Madrid

I’m from the U.S., so you can forgive me for pretending “Real Madrid” is just another way of saying, “Madrid, in actuality.” We tend to be woefully ignorant about the-thing-everyone-else-in-the-world-calls-football. So I can happily share that Orlando Ricardo Menes wrote about the real, authentic Madrid, as experienced in his youth at the open air market. The poem fills me with nostalgia, appreciation, and hunger for life. 

Read “El Rastro” by Orlando Ricardo Menes

5. Dancing with the Stars

I don’t suppose anyone has yet written a poem about the TV show Dancing with the Stars, but Olympic Rugby medalist Ilona Maher has chronicled her reality series debut via social media. Meanwhile, dozens of poets have written about stars, and about dancing, and possibly even about dancing with stars (just not the rich and famous kind). 

Three-time Pulitzer Prize winner Carl Sandburg offers a short and sweet nod to summer stars that closes out the season and leaves readers with only the best memories of the many warm nights now past. 

Read “Summer Stars” by Carl Sandburg

Did everyone find what they were searching for in September? I hope so. In October, let’s look for red leaves, mugs of hot chocolate, and fresh books of poetry to read as the light fades.

Written by Allisonn Church

Writer Bio: Allisonn Church was born in a small rural community to a mother who pinned butterflies in glass cases and hid scarab beetles in her jewelry box. Her first favorite poem was “The Willow Fairy”’ by Cicely Mary Barker. Find a list of Allisonn's published work at churchpoems.wordpress.com.

Beyond Rhymes and Verses: The Art of Poetry

Often, when asked, “What is a poem?” many people answer that it is just words arranged in short lines that sometimes rhyme. While they are not entirely wrong and some poems do display those features, this view barely scratches the surface. Poetry goes beyond mere line breaks and rhymes. It is a profound art many poets have uniquely defined.

So let’s discover these definitions and develop our own vision of The Art of Poetry.

1. The art of correspondence.

“The art of correspondence”—this is how French poet Charles Baudelaire, author of The Flowers of Evil, defines poetry. His conception emphasizes how poetry creates a bridge between disparate elements through metaphors and symbolism. For instance, in his poem “Correspondances” Baudelaire writes, “Perfumes, colors and sounds answer one another,” using this poetic image to draw a parallel between distinct senses—smell, sight, and hearing.

Reading a poem, then, is like entering an alternate reality where the poet is aware of his sensations and constantly connecting elements. Those links open the reader to new ways of feeling connections between things that, at first sight, seem unrelated. This proves that verses and rhymes are not essential to poetry. We can find those “correspondences” even in prose. In Swann’s Way, for example, Marcel Proust links the smell of a madeleine to childhood memories.

2. The Seer Poet

This term was introduced by the young poet Arthur Rimbaud in a letter addressed to his professor. In this letter, he claims to have found the poet’s role. He writes, “I say that one must be a seer, make oneself a seer. The Poet makes himself a seer by a long, immense, and rational dissoluteness of all the senses.” Like Baudelaire, Rimbaud also emphasizes connections between the senses. However, Rimbaud takes this idea further, suggesting that the poet is a seer—someone able to see things that others don’t.

The poet’s role is thus to enlighten readers by introducing them to his visions. This ability to have “visions” is present in many poets’ works and it can transform the readers’ perceptions. For instance, after reading Charlotte Forten Grimké’s verses,
“Oh, deep delight to watch the gladsome waves
Exultant leap upon the rugged rocks;
Ever repulsed, yet ever rushing on—
Filled with a life that will not know defeat”
One might not look at waves the same way after discovering Grimké’s depiction of the sea’s waves as a relentless and enduring force.

3. The original poet: Orpheus

The myth of Orpheus is from Greek mythology. According to this myth, Orpheus was a poet and musician whose songs were so soft that animals would follow him and trees bend towards him; he could even soothe the most frustrated men. This myth led to Orphism: the belief that poetry is meant to purify the reader.

4. The definition of poetry and the poet’s role

So now we might ask: What is poetry and what is a poet? Well, is it fair to impose a universal definition and deprive the art and the artists of their liberty? Whether you seek to disturb the readers’ sensations, enlighten them, or heal them, you are a poet. From the moment you choose to express yourself with your unique voice, you become a poet. We are all poets really, we just don’t realize it. Taking a simple sunset picture, for example, makes you a poet since you are capturing a beautiful moment to create emotion. Just remember, poetry is a free art open to anyone wanting to express themselves uniquely and creatively.

Writer Bio: Rania Miyara is a writer who shares her poems on social media and often takes part in poetry contests. She is also working on her first poetry collection. Her inspiration for this article came from all the literature classes where the professor would ask, "What is poetry?" She wanted to share her belief that poetry can be seen anywhere and in anyone, proving that it is not so hard to "poet," while sharing some of her favorite poetry references and facts about the history of this beautiful art.

Revelations About Community: What I Learned At Poetry Camp

I almost didn’t show up to Poetry Camp. I’d signed up months in advance, and as the date drew closer, I started devising a scheme to chicken out. I couldn’t turn my camera off going into Camp like in a virtual workshop. I couldn’t control how much or how little others see me. A zoom call features a built-in escape, a gathering of fifty poets in the woods of upstate New York does not.

Five days at Poetry Camp taught me to let others see me, to share space in a way I’d forgotten how to.

Every exercise, every workshop, every mealtime, asked for a kind of vulnerability. Sharing your writing was optional, but sharing your existence was inescapable.

On the second full day, headlining poet India Lena González led a seminar that incorporated movement and acting exercises, eye contact meditation, mirroring. Walking around in circles, head up, meeting the gaze of every person you passed.

We then found a partner and stared at them, let them stare back at us, for a span of time that was immeasurable. India’s even voice in the background reminding us it was okay to feel uncomfortable, to feel silly, to feel. It was okay to just be. It was, for me, an exercise in being perceived— in allowing myself to be perceived, not without fear but along with it. An exercise in existing.

Existing, it reminded me, is something we do together. Being alive is an inherently communal activity.

I’d been asking myself what I needed to do to acquire community, what kind of mask I needed to put on in order to be worthy of inclusion. But here, it occurred to me I had it all wrong. Maybe, community is the baseline, foundational to our very existence. What had seemed ethereal was in fact mycelial. I couldn't see it, but I was built into it all the same. Community was there all along, and I had been putting on a mask to hide from it. The outsider narrative I’d been feeding myself for years was a fallacy. I was a part of all of this, and it was part of me.

I don’t mean to say that I found a place I belonged, in the woods among poets. I mean to say that, in the woods among poets, I found out that I didn’t need to belong at all. I only needed to be. To be living is to be in community with those around you. To be living is to belong to the world. Community doesn’t require any special skill or great effort to get in on. Community is what’s already all around you. You only need to stop hiding from it.

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Written by PSNY Member Sara Iacovelli

Sara Iacovelli is a poet and a preschool teacher. She has gone to grad school too many times, though never for writing; she holds degrees in comparative literature and special education. She lives in the northern catskills with her partner, her very large dog, and her very soft cat. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Pine Hills Review, *82 Review, Prairie Home Magazine, Barren Magazine, and Eunoia Review.

Why Poetry is for the Masses

Written by PSNY Member Julie Hogg

Considering we all at one time or another feel deeply and perhaps wonder about the ways to express this let me make the case for poetry; the real question today is not why poetry but why NOT poetry?

Poetry by its very definition (Oxford dictionary) is: “A literary work in which special intensity is given to the expression of feelings and ideas by the use of distinctive style and rhythm.” Feelings are defined as “that which a person feels in regard to something based on emotion or intuition and not solely on reason.” If we are all human with many shared experiences and emotions then by this logic, poetry is for you. Let me prove it to you.

Poetry for: Those Under The Moon

 Let's begin with the Persian lyric poet Hafiz with these words

"Spare the candle, friends.

In tonight's celebration,

my beloved is a Moon.

A very full one." 

For centuries, hasn't the full moon enchanted those under its spell?

Poetry for: Those That Delight In Nature

Not to jump to the obvious but why let a day go by without a snippet from the beloved poet Mary Oliver?  Her delicious words...

"At Blackwater Pond the tossed waters have settled after a night of rain. I dip my cupped hands, I drink a long time. It tastes like stone, leaves, fire. It falls cold into my body waking my bones..."

Take that travel blogger! Let's think! Let's explore the nuance of words beyond the mere iPhone snapshot of "Paradise" I want to hear your heart.

Poetry for: Those Romantics Among Us

What dating app can come close to Edna St. Vincent Millay ASHES OF LIFE

"Love has gone and left me and the days are all alike;

Eat I must and sleep I will, --and would that night were here!

But ah! to lie awake and hear the slow hours strike!

Would that it were day again---with twilight near!"

That's so much better than "ghosting" isn't it?

Poetry for: Those Who Love Their Animal Friends

Robert Frost took us to the very heart of an experience with "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" with all of today’s dedication to nature and one's animal friends how more lovely to describe one's horse pal than:
"He gives his harness bells a shake 
To ask if there is some mistake
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake." 

 Poetry for: Those Calling For Justice

What poems will emerge out of the current events of today? What better way to express the deep feelings and sentiment of one's cause? The blood, sweat and tears of the past can get us started. Read the heart wrenching poem "Ballad of Birmingham" by Dudley Randall for starters.

 Poetry for: Those Seeking Solace

 Of all the moments of our time, where we find ourselves alive, now is the time for poetry.

 “Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; All Your waves and billows have gone over me” (Psalm 42:7).

 Poetry for: Those Remembering Home

 Describing the land of her ancestors Bell Hooks in her elegy on Appalachia says in part ..."Listen little sister, angels make their hope... here in these hills."

Have you too experienced any of the above?

Most of our feelings are Universal, meaning we have all felt them! So embrace the amazing sentiments of others  who see and feel things and put them into words for us and then write something of your particular experience that only you can describe.

In the words of Emily Dickinson and very timely I would say for those thinking they need the attention and fanfare of "friends" on FB  "I’m Nobody! Who are you? Are you--Nobody--too? Then there's a pair of us! Don't tell they'd advertise you know! How dreary to be Somebody! How public-like a Frog! To tell one's name--the livelong June--to an admiring Bog!"

Enjoy the wisdom and courage of those who have come before us but forge your own path and start to write with expression. You too can become a voice for the masses. Begin today. If not your voice then who's?

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Writer Bio:

Julie writes fun, light, encouraging  poetry for the masses, you can find her work in books by Poets Choice.

Fly (Intern) on the Wall: What I've Learnt from my PSNY Internship

When I came across this internship opportunity online earlier this year, I realized that PSNY was the organization that started The Poetry Brothel, so I visited their website to see what else they were all about. Every event and program listed looked so fun and creative, and I fell in love from afar with The Poetry Society’s mission of bringing poetry to everyone through accessible, unconventional, and collaborative projects and events.

It’s difficult to narrow down everything this internship has given me, but my top three takeaways are as follows:

1. poets are the dream team

Putting together the New York City Poetry Festival on Governors Island was one of the most magical experiences I’ve ever had. PSNY staff, my fellow interns, all the volunteers, readers, stage hosts, literary orgs, and vendors were there purely because of their dedication to poetry, and it showed.

When it rained on the morning of the first festival day, this crew of poetry devotees rolled with the punches, tackling the moment with optimism and creativity. The sense of community and warmth was like none I have ever experienced before!

On the second day of the festival, as I was walking around saying hi to poets and vendors I’d met the previous day and introducing myself to new faces, I found myself dreading the sunset  that would ring in the festival’s end. I was ready to put on a third day!

2. Event production is immensely rewarding

As an event production intern, I knew from the start that my tasks would mainly revolve around planning for the festival and making sure it ran smoothly. However, what that actually entailed was so variable and wide-ranging that I found myself building new skills that I never would have guessed could pertain to event production.

I built an interactive Google Map and a treasure hunt, two completely new skills, which were such fun and creative projects outside of my comfort zone. During the festival itself, I was constantly thinking on my feet and getting inventive with solutions for the unpredictable situations that arose, whether that was finding tents for vendors, rigging up signs with DIY materials between readings, or crafting myself a trash bag hat and poncho in the rain.

The dynamic and spontaneous nature of event production is what made the experience so enriching and bonding.

3.Stepping outside your comfort zone is always worth it.

At the beginning of the internship, I did not expect to have so many opportunities to share my writing as I did; and I could not have predicted the level of encouragement I received.

I shared my writing through research and construction of the Festival’s Treasure Hunt and I was thrilled, albeit nervous, to be able to read my own poems at the Festival. I didn’t have much experience reading my work aloud, and finding my spoken voice for my poetry was so different and so much more powerful than sharing the work digitally or on paper.

The PSNY team also gave me the chance to write articles, such as this one, for the How to Poet blog! My first article was a review of renowned poet Sophie Cabot Black’s new book, Geometry of the Restless Herd, and I was pleased and surprised to receive  personal responses from her and Copper Canyon Press expressing their appreciation. I was honored that they thought my review captured the soul of the book so well. Taking the time to go in depth with someone’s work can be so valuable both to you and to them, and this was yet another way in which I was able to take part in creative community anew and branch out.

None of this would have been possible without PSNY!

Said makeshift Poncho.

Written by Lily Naifeh-Bajorek

Writer Bio: Lily Naifeh-Bajorek is a multidisciplinary writer, musician, and artist studying in the creative writing program at Oberlin College. Currently, she is interning at The Poetry Society of New York, where she is helping plan and put on the 13th Annual New York City Poetry Festival and working on the Summer 2024 edition of Milk Press. In her free time she makes zines and puts on shows to celebrate her friends’ music and art. She hopes to publish several books, release a million albums, and open a venue/art and poetry space someday. Follow her on Instagram @trashprincessdestroy

How to Get Out the Poet

how to get out the vote Poet

It’s true – there’s never been a more important time to get involved. Now’s the time to get involved. It’s on each of us to do everything and anything we can to help to get out the vote poet.

This is not hyperbole. Rather, this is about a high stakes place (and poetic space) in history and one that must be documented (by design, not by denying what’s right).

Ready to step up and poet? There is no other way.

Sure, the act of poeting is often done alone. Behind a closed door. Hidden under a dusty curtain. Sometimes written by hand. But now, no matter how you do it, it’s not enough for you to do it alone. Be a good literary citizen and build a community that poets alongside you.

Step up and ensure your neighbors, friends, family members, and colleagues all poet this season – whether in person or by mail. It’s crucial to make sure they, too, know just how important it is. Need some ideas on how to get out the vote poet

1. Register new poets

Register new poets? For what, you want to know? For all things poeting – invite potential poets to community workshops, social gatherings, Zoom sessions, group chats, coffee conversations, neighborhood walks. Get those who have yet to jump on board ready to go. Syllable by syllable. Line by line. Beat by beat. Rhyme by rhyme. It’s critical. It’s time. Every word and every poet matters.

2. contact your poet-people

Wait, what? I have to talk to someone? Well, sure—you can talk and talking works! Conversation is one of the most effective ways to convert a reluctant poet and resurrect a disenchanted poet. But, fear not – texting, emails, and posts on socials work too! Heck you can even poet on a postcard. It’s also cool to participate in poetic conversations. Yes, that’s right. Reengage with communities in which you used to be an active participant. Say Hello, Hola, or Bonjour. Type updates. Post emojis – pens, pencils, couplets. Who knows, you just might reignite a poetic burst in other dormant members, too.

3. be an informed poet

Yes, it’s true. Surprise associations in poetry often work great. But don’t overlook the fundamentals. Assonance is just as powerful as alliteration. Free verse can be as powerful as form. Rhythm and rhyme both work fine. Repetition is also very effective. Choose your words wisely. Apply metered and measured speech. Think strong verbs. Utilize description to poet with power. Think concrete objects. Don’t lose sight of your objective – more poets! Don’t reinvent the poetic wheel. Share Poet 101 resources widely. Of course, make sure you share only reliable poeting resources.

4. bolster fellow poets

Yes, that’s right. It’s on you, an informed poet, to boost and bolster groups less likely to poet. Help unlikely-to-poet youth navigate access. Help the elderly attend poeting events. Work poetry polls. Poll for potential poets. Forgo illusion and embrace allusion. Resist reams of fake claims and embrace rhyming schemes. It’s hard to find good help but it’s not hard to find a good poet. You fit the bill! Be a verb. Spread the word.

5. poet early

The sooner you start to poet the more time you’ll have to poet. We all know that you can’t edit a blank page. It’s also true that getting started is often the hardest part of the process. Yes, clichés should be avoided at all costs when poeting, but sometimes there’s truth in their tired wisdom. It’s not only USPS and traffic that pull surprises. Life is unpredictable. Writer’s block can be as formidable as a traffic jam. Use enjambment to your (and democracy’s benefit) and seize every opportunity to poet.

The (Bottom Line): Every. Poem. Counts.

P.S. While you’re here, don’t forget to vote as you poet! Whether you poet as you vote or you vote as you poet, do it! Don’t forget!

Written by Jen Schneider

Writer Bio: Jen Schneider is a community college educator who lives, works, and writes in small spaces in and around Philadelphia. She served as the 2022 Montgomery County (PA) Poet Laureate. She's as committed to "poeting" (and building poetry communities) as she is to voting (and related engagement). Ready. Set. Poet (and vote while you're at it).