The impulse behind this monthly feature, a guest-edited poetry congeries, isn’t altogether new. Indeed, I’ve long admired Ploughshares, a journal committed to this principle. An eclectic soul, I’m excited by journals that offer aesthetic surprises, nods to possibilities beyond a single editor’s vision.
John Allman's seventh collection of poetry, Lowcountry, was published in fall 2007 by New Directions. His first,
Carey Salerno is the Executive Director of Alice James Books, a nonprofit cooperative poetry press. She has a MFA in creative
William Heyen is Professor of English/Poet in Residence Emeritus at SUNY Brockport, his undergraduate alma mater. A former Senior Fulbright Lecturer in American Literature in Germany, he has won NEA, Guggenheim, American Academy & Institute of Arts & Letters, and other fellowships and awards.
Richard Jackson is the author of 9 books of poems, most recently Unauthorized Autobiography: New and Selected Poems and Half Lives: Petrarchan Poems. Resonance will appear in 2010. His translation of Aleksander Persolja's Journey of The Sun appeared in Slovenia and he is the author of two critical books, two anthologies of Slovene poetry,
Shara McCallum has published two books of poems: Song of Thieves (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2003) and The Water Between Us (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1999, winner of the 1998 Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize). Her poems appear in literary journals in the US and abroad, have been reprinted in over
David Lehman's latest books are A Fine Romance: Jewish Songwriters, American Songs (2009; Nextbook / Schocken) and Yeshiva Boys, a book of poems (2009; Scribner). He is the editor of The Oxford Book of American Poetry, the series editor of The Best American Poetry, and the poetry coordinator of the New School's graduate writing program in New York City.
Kathryn Stripling Byer has published five books of poetry including Wildwood Flower, (LSU , 1992, Lamont Selection of the Academy of American Poets), Catching Light, (LSU, 2001, SIBA BOOK of the Year in Poetry) and Coming to Rest (LSU, 2006). She is the 2007 recipient of the Hanes Award in Poetry from the Fellowship of Southern Writers.
Erin Murphy is the author of three books of poetry, most recently Dislocation and Other Theories (Word Press, 2008). With Todd Davis, she is co-editor of Making Poems: 40 Poems with Commentary by the Poets (forthcoming from State University of New York Press). She teaches English and creative writing at The Pennsylvania State University, Altoona College.
Al Maginnes is the author of six collections of poetry, most recently Ghost Alphabet which won the 2007 White Pine Poetry Prize, and was published in October of 2008, Dry Glass Blues (Pudding House Publications, 2007), a single long poem published as a chapbook and Film History (Word Tech Editions, 2005).
Nin Andrews is the editor of a book of translations of the French poet Henri Michaux entitled Someone Wants to Steal My Name from Cleveland State University Press. She is also the author of several books including The Book of Orgasms, Why They Grow Wings and Midlife Crisis with Dick and Jane.
Steve Myers is the author of a full-length poetry collection, Memory’s Dog, and a chapbook, Work Site. His poems have recently appeared in various journals, including 5AM, The Gettysburg Review, Poetry East, and The Southern Review. The Basho haiku and bits of the Basho background narrative that appear in “Haibun…”
Mihaela Moscaliuc's first volume of poetry, Father Dirt, will be published by Alice James Books in 2010. Her poems, reviews, and translations appear in New Letters, The Georgia Review, Prairie Schooner, Pleiades, Connecticut Review, Poetry International, Subtropics, and elsewhere.
Kate Angus’s work has most recently appeared in Barrow Street, Subtropics, Gulf Coast, Mid-American Review, The Saint Ann’s Review, and Barrelhouse. She lives in New York.
Olivia Everett is currently earning an MA in Creative Writing and Multicultural Literature at East Carolina University. She has served as an Editorial Assistant for Images Literary Arts Magazine, Tar River Poetry and North Carolina Literary Review.
Amanda Cobb's work has appeared in Arts & Letters, Controlled Burn, Kestrel, Georgetown Review and other journals; she was also awarded the AWP Intro Prize. She currently teaches English Composition at West Virginia University and lives in Morgantown with her family.
Carmen Firan, a poet and fiction writer, has published twenty books of poetry, novels, essays and short stories in her