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Illuminating poetry since 1959

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Lines / from the current issue

For all it had suffered our body / stayed whole.

MICHAEL KLEBER-DIGGS | After they left

Recent Features

January 15, 2021

Still Loving the World

The "We" Behind the "I" in "Good Bones"—an essay by Kathleen Flenniken

by Staff
January 13, 2021

Against Invisibility and Erasure: Light, Love, and Touch

A Review of Natalie Diaz

by Gabi Graceffo
December 16, 2020

Sanctuary of Shared Selves

A review of Barbara Jane Reyes by Antonio Lopez

by Gabi Graceffo
December 7, 2020

Rip the Wires Out

"I wanted to find a way to write with and about heat in a warming world." –Adam Dickinson

by Staff

poem of the week

LUTHER HUGHES
Death of a Moth

Published by Staff

You know the story before I tell it

January 13, 2021
Poems

JAMES MERENDA
Semantics

Published by Staff

How do I comprise you
and you and you

January 11, 2021
Poems

BLANCA VARELA
[You struck the empty bell . . .]
translation by Lisa Allen Ortiz and Sara Daniele Rivera

Published by Staff

This is not the realm of will or desire. To translate silence is to attempt music without human ear or throat.

January 4, 2021
Poems

TODD KANEKO
David Carradine

Published by Staff

so many ways of talking about the body's grace

January 2, 2021
Poems

HENRIETTA GOODMAN
Antillia

Published by Staff

as though death is a bedroom you're swept into / by a passion so strong you don't care what thread / and buttons you scatter behind

December 16, 2020
Poems

DAVID RODERICK
Three Horses

Published by Staff

I wonder if they'd carry / the sadness of a man like me.

December 8, 2020
Poems

Cinema Poetry NW

Features

Features

On Failure

In which writers investigate the practice of failure.

December 7, 2020
blue blur color dark
Features

The Subvocal Zoo

A podcast featuring readings by and conversations with writers & poets.

November 15, 2020
Features, Recent

DAO STROM
an excerpt from Instrument

[Wading into a new decade (ten miles of jungle, twenty+ river crossings, one night in a cave, chimes at the altar of the Highway of Horror, then lunch by...

October 26, 2020
Features

Visual Poetry

Poets explore the intersection of word and image.

September 13, 2020
Features

Line Cook

In which Editor Keetje Kuipers pairs an episode of a literary podcast with a delicious recipe.

September 10, 2020
Features

Other Rooms

In which our writers examine noteworthy work being published in contemporary poetry journals.

June 29, 2020
Features

Cinema Poetry NW

A series of poetry videos presented by Poetry Northwest.

March 2, 2020
Features

Garrett Hongo: A Tribute

Five essays on Hongo's writing and teaching, an interview with Mark Jarman, and a new poem from Hongo.

February 29, 2020
Features

Native Poets Torchlight Series

In which Guest Editor Jennifer Elise Foerster celebrates contemporary Native American poets.

February 1, 2020

book reviews

January 13, 2021

Against Invisibility and Erasure: Light, Love, and Touch

A Review of Natalie Diaz

by Gabi Graceffo
December 16, 2020

Sanctuary of Shared Selves

A review of Barbara Jane Reyes by Antonio Lopez

by Gabi Graceffo
November 23, 2020

Struck by Lightning

A Review of Rebecca Foust

by Gabi Graceffo
November 16, 2020

Raveling the Unraveled

A Review of Diane Raptosh

by Staff

Essays

Still Loving the World

Published by Staff

The "We" Behind the "I" in "Good Bones"—an essay by Kathleen Flenniken

January 15, 2021
Essays, Recent

Magical Realism and the Sociology of Possibility

Published by Staff

"Magical Realism is not so much about ghosts as possibility." —an essay by Alberto Ríos

November 24, 2020
Essays, Recent

commentary

Interview // When Haptic Touch is Removed: A Conversation with Maryam Monalisa Gharavi

Published by Staff

Conducted by Serena Solin

December 2, 2020
Interviews, Recent

Interview // Other Futures Are Possible: A Conversation with Gina Myers

Published by Staff

Conducted by Alex Gallo-Brown

November 22, 2020
Interviews

Current Issue

Current Issue

Winter & Spring 2021

Alfredo Aguilar, Carrie Fountain, Luther Hughes, W. Todd Kaneko, Ada Limón, Nathan McClain, Kamilah Aisha Moon, Tiana Nobile, Shara Lessley, Robin Meyers, & more

December 15, 2020

New from Poetry NW Editions

THEOREM <br>Elizabeth Bradfield & Antonia Contro
THEOREM
Elizabeth Bradfield & Antonia Contro
THE LACHRYMOSE REPORT <BR>Sierra Nelson
THE LACHRYMOSE REPORT
Sierra Nelson
IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF A THOUSAND GRIEFS <BR>Wei-Wei Lee
IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF A THOUSAND GRIEFS
Wei-Wei Lee

News

James Welch Prize: An award for indigenous poets
November 23, 2020

Announcing the James Welch Prize

Poetry Northwest will be launching a fundraising campaign this December for the inaugural James Welch Prize.

by Staff

Twitter

Anna Ross
Poetry Northwest Retweeted · Anna Ross @annavqross
2 days ago
This was a difficult poem to write and and even harder one to share. Thank you Keetje Kuipers and @poetrynw for supporting it and @cohoesian for help along the way. https://t.co/i72Vay5Mt2
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poetrynw photo
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My middle initial isn't 'X'
Poetry Northwest Retweeted · My middle initial isn't 'X' @lutherxhughes
3 days ago
Here’s my poem, “Death of a Moth” published in @poetrynw today💕 https://t.co/faDCXB2VQW
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poetrynw photo
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Poetry Northwest
In reply to
1 week ago
“Semantics” appears in the Winter & Spring 2021 issue of Poetry Northwest. It is the second in a series, I CALL IT JOY.

Download a FREE printable broadside here: https://t.co/IShbBO8NFX
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Poetry Northwest
Poetry Northwest @poetrynw
1 week ago
—from "Semantics" by James Merenda @james_merenda https://t.co/Re4farHcSp
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poetrynw photo
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“Semantics” by James Merenda @merendathejames “Semantics” by James Merenda @merendathejames appears in the Winter & Spring 2021 issue of Poetry Northwest. It is the second in a series, I CALL IT JOY. Use the link in our bio to download this FREE printable broadside on our website. ⁠ ⁠ Use the digital broadside as a desktop background or phone screensaver. Print and display the broadside on your fridge, in your room or wherever you so choose. Share how you're using your free digital broadside download and tag us for a chance to be featured on our story!⁠ ⁠
ON FAILURE is a series conceived by Keetje Kuipers ON FAILURE is a series conceived by Keetje Kuipers and the editors of Poetry Northwest, featuring essays from a range of poets that investigate the practice of failure, both as poet and citizen. Each writer presents a work of their own R that they see as a failure and offers a look behind the curtain at their creative process. Read essays ON FAILURE by Adam Dickinson, Christopher Kondrich @ChrisKondrich, Nadia Colburn @nadia.colburn, Dora Malech @dorarama81, Oliver De La Paz @odelapaz, Traci Brimhall @our_lady_of_nod, Geffrey Davis @geffrey_davis, and Keetje Kuipers @poemonaboat. Find the series on our website!
We are excited to reveal the cover art of our upco We are excited to reveal the cover art of our upcoming Winter & Spring 2021 Issue by Alison Bremner @caffeinatedraven. Her work is available in Steinbrueck Native Gallery in Seattle, WA and Fazakas Gallery in Vancouver, BC.⁠ ⁠ Contributors include Alfredo Aguilar, Carrie Fountain @carrie.fountain, Luther Hughes @lutherxhughes, W. Todd Kaneko @toddkaneko, Ada Limón @adalimonwriter, Nathan McClain @dragonpunch33, Kamilah Aisha Moon @kamilahaishamoon, Tiana Nobile, Shara Lessley @shara.lessley, Robin Meyers @robin_ep_myers, & more!⁠ ⁠ Learn more about this forthcoming issue & subscribe using the link in bio on our profile.
Congratulations to contributors Duije Tahat @dujie Congratulations to contributors Duije Tahat @dujietahat, Rae Armantrout @raearmantrout, and Destiny O. Birdsong @destinybirdsong on being longlisted for the 2021 PEN Voelcker Award! Best of luck.
We are delighted to welcome Sean Hill to our staff We are delighted to welcome Sean Hill to our staff as a Senior Editor! He is a Visiting Professor at the University of Montana, the director of the Minnesota Northwoods Writers Conference, and the author of two award-winning collections of poetry. Beginning in 2021, Sean will be curating a new series at Poetry Northwest that invites BIPOC poets to contribute poems about birds and birding, along with a reflection on encountering these winged creatures in the wild. Welcome to the team, Sean! @seanhill73⁠ ⁠
CLMP

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Everett Cultural Arts Commission
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Poetry Northwest would like to acknowledge that our publications are made on the traditional homelands of the Coast Salish Peoples—including the Tullalip, Snohomish, Stillaguamish, and Sauk-Suiattle Tribes—whom we wish to honor, past and present, with the deepest respect and gratitude.

Illuminating poetry since 1959

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