Guests

I’m going to use this page to link to guest poets and writers. Click on the name to go to that post. You can also use the “search” feature.

Blog

Jane Alynn, NECESSITY OF FLIGHTApril 17, 2026 - 7:41 pm
NECESSITY OF FLIGHT, Jane Alynn, Cherry Grove Collections, 2011. As planned, I am spending my April reading poetry, though some mornings a blogpost feels out of reach. This book, not new, but a fairly recent addition to my book hoard, is one I definitely want to share. Necessity of Flight is a showcase for its […]
Paula Becker, A LITTLE BOOK OF SELF-CARE FOR THOSE WHO GRIEVEApril 16, 2026 - 3:42 pm
A LITTLE BOOK OF SELF-CARE FOR THOSE WHO GRIEVE, Paula Becker, Girl Friday Productions, 2021. I want to share this book with you. It’s not poetry, but it’s a lot like poetry, and recommends it: “Poetry can crack grief open and smooth it down, howl its depths…” The book combines beautiful illustrations by Rebekah Nichols. […]
Elaina M. Ellis, WRITE ABOUT AN EMPTY BIRDCAGEApril 14, 2026 - 4:09 pm
WRITE ABOUT AN EMPTY BIRD CAGE, Elaina M. Ellis, Write Bloody Publishing, 2011. I bought this odd collection of poems by Elaina M. Ellis a few years ago, at the Chuckanut Writers Conference. Every so often I pick it up and am inspired by its bravery, its sexual bravado, and its writing prompts. The poems […]
Neile Graham, THE WALK SHE TAKESApril 13, 2026 - 6:43 pm
THE WALK SHE TAKES, Neile Graham, MoonPath Press, 2019. This morning I took a walk across Scotland—and across several centuries—with Neile Graham. She reminded me of something I was told when I visited Chartres Catheral: don’t travel as a tourist, but as a pilgrim. “Why did I leave my shore for another?,” Graham asks in […]
Christopher Howell, THE GRIEF OF A HAPPY LIFEApril 12, 2026 - 2:52 pm
THE GRIEF OF A HAPPY LIFE, Christopher Howell, Pacific Northwest Poetry Series, University of Washington Press, 2019. On the back cover, Kathy Fagan writes: “Howell has been for many years my go-to poet of choice when I need to be reminded of what a poem can do, what a poetry collection can do…” I can […]
A few offerings to lift your thoughtsApril 11, 2026 - 5:03 pm
This morning I cracked open another poetry book that proves resistant to being read quickly. But I also found a new post from blogger Deborah Brasket, waiting patiently for me in my voluminous gmail. Brasket turns to the poetry of Czeslaw Milocz to find direction and comfort in our difficult times. Days After the World […]
Leah Naomi Green, THE MORE EXTRAVAGANT FEASTApril 10, 2026 - 3:39 pm
THE MORE EXTRAVAGANT FEAST, Leah Naomi Green, Graywolf Press, 2020. Winner of the Walt Whitman Award, 2019, selected by Li-Young Lee. Because I have skipped a couple Aprils of my poetry-book-a-day in celebration of National Poetry Month, there’s a huge stack of poetry books waiting for my close attention. Where do all these books come […]
Matthew Murrey, LITTLE JOYApril 8, 2026 - 7:06 pm
I’m really phoning it in today—my apologies. It’s been one of those days (2 days) with a thousand interruptions. Much of it good: carpet edge is reset; electrician has rewired for the new stove and installed the light fixture over the sink; faucet and garbage disposal going in today; appliances, soon. (It looks as though […]
Priscilla Long, CARTOGRAPHIES OF HOMEApril 7, 2026 - 6:54 pm
CARTOGRAPHIES OF HOME, Priscilla Long, MoonPath Press, 2026. Cartographies of Home, the latest collection of poems from Priscilla Long, divides the poems and her life into three sections, beginning with her childhood on the Eastern Shore of Maryland: turkey buzzards, garter snakes, molasses milk, honeysuckle. In the middle section, the poems escort us through college, […]
Two books by Lillo WayApril 6, 2026 - 4:10 pm
LEND ME YOUR WINGS, Lillo Way, Shanti Arts Publishing, 2021. FLYING, TRAPEZE POEMS, Lillo Way, Redbird Chapbooks, 2024. Before Lisa Ashley invited me to read with her and Lillo Way, last fall at Eagle Harbor Books, I had heard of Lillo, but had not had the privilege of meeting her or reading her work. Lillo […]