Jet Fuel Review • April 29 2025

Jet Fuel Review

Ninth Letter • April 29 2025

Featured Writers #55: 2014 Illinois Emerging Writer Award Winners – Ninth Letter

Ninth Letter is proud to present the winners of the 2014 Illinois Emerging Writers Competition, the Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Award. Sponsored by the Illinois Center for the Book and named for the late award-winning poet and Illinois Poet Laureate Gwendolyn Brooks, this award encourages and supports Illinois authors and honors the fine literary tradition of our home state. Special thanks to current Illinois Poet Laureate Kevin Stein, who served as final judge for the award, and to Bonnie Mathias,...

Blackbird • April 29 2025

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Blackbird • April 29 2025

Blackbird

Blackbird • April 29 2025

Blackbird

Blackbird • April 29 2025

Commitment to Privacy

We collect limited information about web visitors and use cookies on our website to provide you with the most optimal experience. These cookies help us provide you with personalized content and improve our website. To learn more about our web site privacy practices, please review VCU's privacy statement. By clicking on "I agree", you agree to this use.
I agree

Consenting to VCU's privacy policy requires the use of Javascript. Please enable Javascript functionality in your browser so you do not...

Tinderbox Poetry Journal • April 21 2025

Loss Mom | Tinderbox Poetry Journal

After my daughter died, I looked


for her life anywhere it could have been


hiding—chocolate coins at the bottom


of my flower vase, a piggy bank tucked


into the movie cabinet. I still find iridescent 


heart-shaped confetti in the carpet, caught along 


the baseboards from a long-ago surprise toy. 


Her socks are under the coffee table. A squishy


toy behind the cedar chest. Her baby doll 


laid to rest in a wash cloth in the laundry 


basket. There’s a juice bottle I find...

Split Lip Magazine • April 17 2025

Two Poems — Split Lip Magazine

Kenneth has his pecker out
again. We can see him
from the window, twisting his hips

in a drunk dance, or maybe
it’s from crack.