Cover artwork courtesy of Lauren Myers-Hinkle.
Editor’s Note by Kristina Marie Darling
Editorial Features
“[L]ike sitting down to a decadent, unpredictable feast: A Conversation with Jarret Keene on Gateways to Annihilation” – curated by Wendy Chen
“Groping around in a dark house trying get out: A conversation with Cutter Wood” – curated by Catherine Imbriglio
“Everything Is risky and Nothing Is Enough: A Conversation with Julie Carr” — curated by Lisa Olstein
“I Set Off in Search of a Language, a Form, a Device: A Conversation with Natalie Scenters-Zapico” — curated by Lisa Olstein
“A Conversation with Cecily Parks” — curated by Lisa Olstein
“In Memoriam: Ngũgĩ wa Thiong-o, Jan 5, 1938 – May 28, 2025”—by Bronwyn Mills
“Where the Light Touches Shadow: An Intimate Conversation with Ho Jae Kim” — curated by Darius Phelps
“Embracing the Tender: Taiyo Na on Paradigm Shifts and Poetic Freedom” — curated by Darius Phelps
“What We Carry, What We Create: Haolun Xu on Grief, Intersectionality, and Art as Refuge” — curated by Darius Phelps
“Nothing Was Sitcom Pretty Here: Eduardo Martínez-Leyva on Cowboy Park, Code-Switching, and Writing Past the Fire”—curated by Darius Phelps
“Reclaiming Glamour, Defying Gaze: A Conversation with Dorothy Chan on Return of the Chinese Femme” — curated by Darius Phelps
“The Fire Beneath the Tongue: Isabella DeSendi on Craft, Healing, and Hunger”—curated by Darius Phelps
“You Don’t Have to Earn Your Softness: author, Karl Michael Iglesias on The Bounce, Grief, and Growing Into Vulnerability” — curated by Darius Phelps
“When the Mouth Becomes a Map: Speaking with Jaiden Geolingo About his Debut“—curated by Darius Phelps
“Still Raising Hell: Taylor Byas and the Refusal to Be Erased” — curated by Darius Phelps
“A Joyful Refusal: jason b. crawford on YEET!, Black Futurity, and Poetic Space” — curated by Darius Phelps
“Blood as Language, Mercy as Rebellion: An Interview with I.S. Jones” — curated by Darius Phelps
“To Be Changed and Still Haunted: A Conversation with Anthony Thomas Lombardi” — curated by Darius Phelps
“Grief as Ghost, Grief as Guide: Chiwan Choi in Dialogue” — curated by Darius Phelps
“Picturing: A conversation with Jory Mickelson” – curated by Esteban Rodríguez
“Be Kind Rewind: Where Poetry Meets Proust,” an interview series by L.J. Sysko
“Contrary to Kill: A Conversation with Patricia Smith about The Intentions of Thunder”— curated by Tiffany Troy
“Where once there was a sea: A Conversation with Robert Fanning about All We Are Given We Cannot Hold“— curated by Tiffany Troy
“Every day after tomorrow has a day before tomorrow: A Conversation with James Shea and Dorothy Tse about Translating Moving a Stone by Yam Gong”— curated by Tiffany Troy
“How the Bone Saw Let the Light Pour In: A Conversation with Anthony Borruso about Splice”— curated by Tiffany Troy
“Through the Quiet Dark Eddy: A Conversation with Diana Arterian about Agrippina the Younger”— curated by Tiffany Troy
““Only fluorescent slivers between horizon and brain: A Conversation with Danielle Pieratti about Translating Transparencies by Maria Borio”— Curated by Tiffany Troy”— curated by Tiffany Troy
Editors’ Selections in Poetry & Prose
Summer Hardinge—A Portfolio of Poetry
Vasvi Kejriwal—“How To Be Super Productive in a Job You Dislike 101”
Brittany Peckham—A Portfolio of Hybrid Prose: “The Death Story” & “The Last Time I Saw My Father Alive”
Irene Theotokatou—A Portfolio of Fiction: “Hera Speaks,” “The Monster in the Basement,” & “Speaking the Unspeakable…”
Rebecca Pinwei Tseng—A Portfolio of Poetry
With a critical introduction by Anastasia K. Gates
Literature in Translation
Macarena Urzúa Opazo —“Auguries and Wonders” — translated by Emilia Phillips
Gustavo Gac-Artigas — “FLORA” — translated by Priscilla Gac-Artigas and Andrea G. Labinger
Luis Alberto de Cuenca — “Alicia” — translated by Gustavo Pérez Firmat
A Celebration of Literary Criticism
Critical Takes: Leslie Friedman & Sven Birkerts on Mikhail Iossel’s Sentence
Critical Takes: K.B. Kinkel, Jenny Grassl, & Alexis David on Lesley Wheeler’s Mycocosmic
Natalie Arita on Laurie Sheck’s Cyborg Fever
Aarik Danielsen on the Poetry of Cassandra Mazolillo
Aarik Danielson on William Huhn’s Bachelor Holiday
Jenny Grassl on Martha McCollough’s Trash Witch
H.L. Hix on The Music of Being by Jean Nordhaus
Kirsten McAteer on Allyson Paty’s Jalousie
Kirsten McAteer on Heidi Seaborn’s tic tic tic
Charles Rammelkamp on Carlie Hoffman’s One More World Like This World
Charles Rammelkamp on Judith Pacht’s Precarious
Lee Rinehart on William Powers’s Ripple
Aline Soules on Susan Buttenweiser’s Junction of Earth & Sky
The TQ36 Prize for Cross-Disciplinary Writing
Judge’s Citation by Hasanthika Sirisena
Winner:
Ellen Kombiyil — “The American Journal of Insanity”
Finalists:
Zach Bartles — A Portfolio of Hybrid Texts & “Valerie and Her Week of Wonders”
Lauren Myers-Hinkle — from Phantom Ride
Cindy Trost — “Treading Water”
The TQ36 Poetry Prize
Judge’s Citation by Maya Popa
Winner:
Molly Bolton — A Portfolio of Poetry
Finalists:
Debmalya Bandyopadhyay — “Field Notes on Violence”
Geffrey Davis — A Portfolio of Poetry
Alison Granucci — “ha•zel” & “ash /ˈæʃ”
Nicole W. Lee — “Here is Where We Meet”
Kim Parko — A Portfolio of Prose Poetry
Cherene Sherrard — “THE SHOVE”
Semifinalists:
Nandi Comer — A Portfolio of Poetry
Lauren Kalstad — “THINGS PEOPLE SAY TO ME AFTER” & “WE ALL FALL DOWN”
Tim Lynch — “Christos Anesti Alithos Anesti” & “Where Do Your Ideas Come From?”
Laura Minor — A Portfolio of Poetry
Douglas Talley — “A Theory of the Fall at an Outdoor Table”
Margaret Wack — “HOW DID WE GET HERE”
The TQ36 Prose Open Prize
Judge’s Citation by Diana Spechler
Winner:
Kimberly Castillo — A Folio of Limpias
Finalists:
Gustavo Perez Firmat — “Car Trouble”
Annie Marhefka — “Bereavement Leave Policy”
Gerald Stern (1925-2022), Beloved American Poet: A 100th Birthday Tribute
Curated & introduced by L.J. Sysko
With contributions by:
Toi Derricotte
Ross Gay
Edward Hirsch
Anne Marie Macari
Campbell McGrath
Yesenia Montilla
Mihaela Moscaliuc
Barbara Ras
Carey Salerno
David Stern
Michael Waters