Read “Firefly Ars Poetica,” a Poem by Aimee Nezhukumatathil  “Firefly Ars Poetica” It’s no secret I’m a summer gal. I adore the bevy & bounty of stone fruit & sun-drenched gardens, pool-plashes from my teen sons, & so much green & bloom & chirp in the thick canopy of

Read “Firefly Ars Poetica,” a Poem by Aimee Nezhukumatathil : “Firefly Ars Poetica” It’s no secret I’m a summer gal. I adore the bevy & bounty of stone fruit & sun-drenched gardens, pool-plashes from my teen sons, & so much green & bloom & chirp in the thick canopy of #Features #FictionandPoetry

“It’s a Steal.” A Poem by Seema Jilani attention investors / fixer upper oasis on the Med / erected _________on remnants of sacred souls / complimentary essential oils / purge the stench of rotting flesh / chef’s kitchen / maqlouba _________still warm / backgammon mid-game savor morning kahva

“It’s a Steal.” A Poem by Seema Jilani: attention investors / fixer upper oasis on the Med / erected _________on remnants of sacred souls / complimentary essential oils / purge the stench of rotting flesh / chef’s kitchen / maqlouba _________still warm / backgammon… #Features #FictionandPoetry

“Talking Dog.” A Poem by Danniel Schoonebeek “Talking Dog” This guy cracks the want-ad digest there it is talking dog ten dollars no questions asked. Why so low the guy asks the dog the two of them finally alone alone in the orchard. I speak in your

“Talking Dog.” A Poem by Danniel Schoonebeek: “Talking Dog” This guy cracks the want-ad digest there it is talking dog ten dollars no questions asked. Why so low the guy asks the dog the two of them finally alone alone in the orchard. I speak in your #Features #FictionandPoetry

Six Books (and One Film) About Bad Fathers I had finished writing the book, Fatherland, a book about a bad father and his daughter, and written “The End,” but it turned out that it wasn’t. True, the book was finished, but it wasn’t as if the problem was

Six Books (and One Film) About Bad Fathers: I had finished writing the book, Fatherland, a book about a bad father and his daughter, and written “The End,” but it turned out that it wasn’t. True, the book was finished, but it wasn’t as if the problem was #Features #FictionandPoetry

For Those Who Have Sacrificed in the Streets of Minneapolis “Your Lifetime is a Knife” –after Mary Oliver on Keats       Your lifetime is a knife. You could eat a plum, peel the darkly sour sun; or brandish it daily just because you can; or hide it each

For Those Who Have Sacrificed in the Streets of Minneapolis: “Your Lifetime is a Knife” –after Mary Oliver on Keats       Your lifetime is a knife. You could eat a plum, peel the darkly sour sun; or brandish it daily just because you can; or hide it each #Features #FictionandPoetry

Letter From Minnesota: A Brief History of ICE in Poems The following poems were written over the last decade, up until and including ICE’s occupation of the Twin Cities. * ________________________________________________________   ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________   ICE Murders Another Legal Observer in Minneapolis (2026) We turn our restaurants into emergency hospitals.

Letter From Minnesota: A Brief History of ICE in Poems: The following poems were written over the last decade, up until and including ICE’s occupation of the Twin Cities. * ________________________________________________________… #Features #FictionandPoetry

“[Speckled Yellow],” a Poem By Simon Armitage Dear universe, I shaved this morning – look at these fine black pinpricks constellated in the white sink. The new moon of this nail clipping proves I’m alive, and once every couple of months I regrow a fringe. Universe, it’s

“[Speckled Yellow],” a Poem By Simon Armitage: Dear universe, I shaved this morning – look at these fine black pinpricks constellated in the white sink. The new moon of this nail clipping proves I’m alive, and once every couple of months I regrow a fringe. Universe, it’s #Features #FictionandPoetry

Submissions are now open for the 2026 Prairie Schooner Raz/Shumaker Book Prize in Fiction and Poetry!

Deadline: March 15, 2026
Details & Submission Guidelines: prairieschooner.unl.edu/book-prize-guidelines/

#BookPrize2026 #PrairieSchooner #LiteraryAwards #FictionAndPoetry #WritersCommunity

“Sylvia,” “Go, Gentle,” and “When It is Time,” Poems by Robert Fanning Sylvia Of course, I’d think of Plathevery time I’d see her—that lanky, black, sweet old cat at New Hope Assisted Living,who’d lie, draped across the couch,or curl like a shadow in a patch of sun, watching residents comeand go, pushing

“Sylvia,” “Go, Gentle,” and “When It is Time,” Poems by Robert Fanning: Sylvia Of course, I’d think of Plathevery time I’d see her—that lanky, black, sweet old cat at New Hope Assisted Living,who’d lie, draped across the couch,or curl like a shadow in a patch of sun,… #Features #FictionandPoetry

“The Thing We Know How to Do for One Another.” Seven Poetry Books to Read This February “What are we doing? . . . No, I mean—what does poetry do?” That’s D__ speaking. He’s a poet, though you might not know it from the title of the novel he’s narrating: The Copywriter, out this month, by the

“The Thing We Know How to Do for One Another.” Seven Poetry Books to Read This February: “What are we doing? . . . No, I mean—what does poetry do?” That’s D__ speaking. He’s a poet, though you might not know it from the title of the novel he’s narrating: The Copywriter,… #Features #FictionandPoetry

Letter From Minnesota: On Living in the Hour of Cities Under Siege “On Living in the Hour of Cities Under Siege” It is a time of being sorted by skin and hair, by mother tongue, as being from here or there, as pepper spray fills in the air until the whole city

Letter From Minnesota: On Living in the Hour of Cities Under Siege: “On Living in the Hour of Cities Under Siege” It is a time of being sorted by skin and hair, by mother tongue, as being from here or there, as pepper spray fills in the air until the whole city #FictionandPoetry #Poem

Read Three Poems by Molly Ledbetter The following poems are from Molly Ledbetter’s new collection, Air Ball, available now from After Hours Editions. * “Cabana” The Kinky Prepster is a member of an exclusive beach club. Every afternoon, he has lunch at the beach club before

Read Three Poems by Molly Ledbetter: The following poems are from Molly Ledbetter’s new collection, Air Ball, available now from After Hours Editions. * “Cabana” The Kinky Prepster is a member of an exclusive beach club. Every afternoon, he has lunch at the beach club… #Features #FictionandPoetry

“borrowed image,” a Poem By S*an D. Henry-Smith Talk the stories of night. That fella there was a dense kiss. Associate ofliminals, name another such intimacy. Galaxy, I showed you my bad side.So then, was it not worth throatedness? Grant me ruthless access to thepsychological image, discomfortable mercy.

“borrowed image,” a Poem By S*an D. Henry-Smith: Talk the stories of night. That fella there was a dense kiss. Associate ofliminals, name another such intimacy. Galaxy, I showed you my bad side.So then, was it not worth throatedness? Grant me ruthless access to… #Features #FictionandPoetry

“Poem in Which I Should Write About Cain, but I’m Tired of Writing About Death,” a Poem By Diamond Forde O instead, a houseplant arching a trellisof its own strong stems, elephant ear,Colocasia, what my Aunt Cee called Alice,ready for the sure motheringof her own mother. She tended Alicewith the surgical heed of a womanseaming silver to the sharp endsof

“Poem in Which I Should Write About Cain, but I’m Tired of Writing About Death,” a Poem By Diamond Forde: O instead, a houseplant arching a trellisof its own strong stems, elephant ear,Colocasia, what my Aunt Cee called Alice,ready for the sure motheringof her own… #Features #FictionandPoetry

“Entropy” by Arthur Sze Nickel, mercury, and chromium particulates wash off roofs—he drove to Las Vegas in a Cadillac and left as a hitchhiker— a park ranger smokes weed and riffs to visitors about the Anasazi—as the sky brightens over this ridge, it darkens

“Entropy” by Arthur Sze: Nickel, mercury, and chromium particulates wash off roofs—he drove to Las Vegas in a Cadillac and left as a hitchhiker— a park ranger smokes weed and riffs to visitors about the Anasazi—as the sky brightens over this ridge, it darkens #Features #FictionandPoetry

“The Devil’s Wife remembers the good times.” A Poem by Patricia Spears Jones He was handsome. He talked to me. To me. To me. He talked to me. He didn’t say stupid stuff about my breasts or my ass, he asked me “What do you read?” I was reading magazines & romance novels

“The Devil’s Wife remembers the good times.” A Poem by Patricia Spears Jones: He was handsome. He talked to me. To me. To me. He talked to me. He didn’t say stupid stuff about my breasts or my ass, he asked me “What do you read?” I was reading magazines & romance novels #Features #FictionandPoetry

Two Poems by Devon Walker-Figueroa “Lazarus Species” You don’t even need to be born again in order to be born against this riddled wall, each bayonet in love with your bare, stigmatic neck. Strange, the worst part is the waiting to survive. Stranger, let’s wait

Two Poems by Devon Walker-Figueroa: “Lazarus Species” You don’t even need to be born again in order to be born against this riddled wall, each bayonet in love with your bare, stigmatic neck. Strange, the worst part is the waiting to survive. Stranger, let’s wait #Features #FictionandPoetry

“Le Chien,” a Poem by Billy Collins I remember late one night in Paris speaking at length to a dog in English about the future of American culture. No wonder she kept cocking her head as I went on about “summer movies” and the intolerable poetry of

“Le Chien,” a Poem by Billy Collins: I remember late one night in Paris speaking at length to a dog in English about the future of American culture. No wonder she kept cocking her head as I went on about “summer movies” and the intolerable poetry of #Features #FictionandPoetry

“they descend upon us,” a Poem by Selma Asotić “they descend upon us” the American PhDs, eager to investigate this part of the world so often plagued by bursts of inter-ethnic violence. Before they arrived we never knew murder was indigenous to our hands, a thing that blooms at

“they descend upon us,” a Poem by Selma Asotić: “they descend upon us” the American PhDs, eager to investigate this part of the world so often plagued by bursts of inter-ethnic violence. Before they arrived we never knew murder was indigenous to our hands, a thing that… #Features #FictionandPoetry

“Tremor,” a Poem by Fatema Abdoolcarim I hear him before I see him. An underbelly of bright white light a ghost in the shadows. With pitch black eyes he sees into pitch blackness. Swooping softly in figure ∞’s— immensity held open in his wings held almost

“Tremor,” a Poem by Fatema Abdoolcarim: I hear him before I see him. An underbelly of bright white light a ghost in the shadows. With pitch black eyes he sees into pitch blackness. Swooping softly in figure ∞’s— immensity held open in his wings held almost #Features #FictionandPoetry

“The Beer Drinker,” a Poem by Jean Follain, Translated by Andrew Seguin “The Beer Drinker” It’s the reader of detective novels who also translated the Homeric epics; he watches his glass redden in the great sundown of Europe. There are vapors wandering everywhere which must be untangled; there are men with organs

“The Beer Drinker,” a Poem by Jean Follain, Translated by Andrew Seguin: “The Beer Drinker” It’s the reader of detective novels who also translated the Homeric epics; he watches his glass redden in the great sundown of Europe. There are vapors wandering everywhere which… #Features #FictionandPoetry

“Sixty Days,” a poem by Layla Faraj Author’s note: Before Trump’s current term as president, citizens from sixteen countries were offered Temporary Protective Status, or TPS. As of September 2025, only eight remain: TPS has now been revoked for citizens of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Syria, and

“Sixty Days,” a poem by Layla Faraj: Author’s note: Before Trump’s current term as president, citizens from sixteen countries were offered Temporary Protective Status, or TPS. As of September 2025, only eight remain: TPS has now been revoked for citizens of Afghanistan,… #Features #FictionandPoetry

Happy to announce the launch of my new short story/poetry collection, Catch Her, and this book giveaway! Visit www.kathleenpvermaelen.com/connect and sign up for my email list for a chance to win a free copy! #womenwriters #womensfiction #bookgiveaway #fictionandpoetry

“The Body of Grief as Rice and Butter,” a Poem by Alison Lubar A body, from a body, from a body, from a body. Trans-generational grief engenders both tenderness and bitterness. Since their incarceration during the Japanese Internment, my grandfather, his sister, and their mother have processed this trauma in ways that have affected my mother and me. Each of us have broken some cycle; all of these […]

“The Body of Grief as Rice and Butter,” a Poem by Alison Lubar: A body, from a body, from a body, from a body. Trans-generational grief engenders both tenderness and bitterness. Since their incarceration during the Japanese Internment, my grandfather, his sister, and… #Features #FictionandPoetry

Read the Winners of American Short Fiction’s 2025 Insider Prize Whose voices are these, I wonder each fall as submissions for the Insider Prize begin accumulating in my office. Four years on as director of Texas’s annual literary award for incarcerated writers, some of the names written across the bloated white and manila envelopes have grown familiar—essayists, short story writers, and the places they are […]

Read the Winners of American Short Fiction’s 2025 Insider Prize: Whose voices are these, I wonder each fall as submissions for the Insider Prize begin accumulating in my office. Four years on as director of Texas’s annual literary award for incarcerated writers, some of… #Features #FictionandPoetry

“Night Terrors,” a Poem by Sharon Olds She has so strongly this sense of someone coming after her, someone dark or dressed in dark clothes, some man so angry, so clever, there is no chance of survival. Every night she tries to think of something that would get him to spare the children. Every night she feels him outside the house, eyeing […]

“Night Terrors,” a Poem by Sharon Olds: She has so strongly this sense of someone coming after her, someone dark or dressed in dark clothes, some man so angry, so clever, there is no chance of survival. Every night she tries to think of something that would get him to… #Features #FictionandPoetry

An Excerpt From “All Souls,” by Kevin Young Monk moon. Alone in a sky studying itself. God’s many guises— dervishes, darkened ballparks. Artificial hearts. __________________________________ Excerpted from Night Watch: Poems by Kevin Young. Copyright © 2025 by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved.

An Excerpt From “All Souls,” by Kevin Young: Monk moon. Alone in a sky studying itself. God’s many guises— dervishes, darkened ballparks. Artificial hearts. __________________________________ Excerpted from Night Watch: Poems by Kevin Young. Copyright © 2025 by Alfred… #Features #FictionandPoetry

“Intercom,” a Prose Poem by Richard Siken “Intercom” My mother came back. Which was good, since my father was about done with me. He had a new house and a new wife. She wanted to install a hot tub. He suggested that my mother might like it if I stayed with her part of the week. She wasn’t happy about it but […]

“Intercom,” a Prose Poem by Richard Siken: “Intercom” My mother came back. Which was good, since my father was about done with me. He had a new house and a new wife. She wanted to install a hot tub. He suggested that my mother might like it if I stayed with her part of… #Features #FictionandPoetry