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Poet of the Week
Poet of the Week
Richard Siken
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A portfolio of poems by an emerging or established poet alongside an extensive interview.
Richard Siken
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November 2025 | Theme: Heartbreak
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Poem of the Month
A good poem can light the way. At the beginning of each month, we open for a free mini contest.
November 2025 | Theme: Heartbreak
In Retrospect, Blackstreet’s Card Tower was Wildly Incomplete
⟡
Emily Portillo
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Blog
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Curated picks and bite-sized reviews of the books we’re reading, and why you should too.
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On poetry, politics, spirituality, and more—criticism from and beyond the margins.
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Poets talk shop, process, lineage, and everything in between. Literary dialogues meant to spark your own.
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Real talk on submissions, MFAs, book publishing, finances, and staying sane. We're here to demystify and uplift.
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The Poem Is a Construction Site
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Prizes
Eternal Fame & Glory, Anyone?
$5000 Poet of the Year Prize
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Eternal Fame & Glory, Anyone?
Poet of the Year Award
Searching for a poet whose voice promises one award-winning poem after another.
Award: $5000
March 1 — April 30
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Bob Hicok Fellowship for Poets
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A Year-Long Invitation
Bob Hicok Fellowship
For poets seeking time, guidance, funding, and a community that believes in their work.
Award: $2000
July 1 — August 31
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Can you write the most beautiful poem?
$2000 Leonard Cohen Poetry Prize
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Love, Faith, & Sex
Leonard Cohen Poetry Prize
Honoring poems echoing Cohen’s obsessions: love & loss, faith & flesh, devotion & doubt.
Award: $3500
September 21 — November 7
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Bob Hicok Fellowship for Poets
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Bob Hicok Fellowship for Poets
This poetry award is not for the single best poem but rather for the poet whose body of work we feel is or will be full of one award-winning poem after another.
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Best Young Poets Award
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Best Young Poets Award
This poetry award is not for the single best poem but rather for the poet whose body of work we feel is or will be full of one award-winning poem after another.
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Best New Poems Series
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Best New Poems Series
This poetry award is not for the single best poem but rather for the poet whose body of work we feel is or will be full of one award-winning poem after another.
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Grief & Surrealism
We’ll explore grief through the surreal, and read & write poems that move in and out of dream-logic.
with Karan Kapoor
December 20, 2025
12-2 PM EST via Zoom
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The End of The Line
with Todd Dillard
January 24, 2026
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Writing What You Don't Know
with Kim Addonizio
February 21, 2026
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All together now
A Poem by Bob Hicok
Bob Hicok
11 Jan 2022
•
5 min read
Latest articles
Updates 2025
Things to look forward to in 2025
The Poem Is a Construction Site
Stephen Gibson ⟡ Conversations with Ed Falco
The Knife, the Flame, the Father
Karan Kapoor ⟡ If Nothing by Matthew Nienow
Scratch the paint off most Americans and you'll find an immigrant underneath
A Poem by Bob Hicok
7 Books to Bring You Back to Your Body
Antonia Fuller ⟡ Relationship with our physical & sensual selves
6 Reminders to Stay Angry at Attempts to Erase Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Andreea Ceplinschi ⟡ Exposing systems & empowering poets
More than whispers, less than rumours
A Poem by Bob Hicok
Social Media and Reshaping the Creative Attention
Karan Kapoor ⟡ Conversation with Heidi Becker
My country, ‘tis of thee
A Poem by Bob Hicok
Next
Curated Reading Lists
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7 Books to Bring You Back to Your Body
Antonia Fuller ⟡ Relationship with our physical & sensual selves
6 Reminders to Stay Angry at Attempts to Erase Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Andreea Ceplinschi ⟡ Exposing systems & empowering poets
6 Culture-Bridging Collections from Bilingual Poets
Andreea Ceplinschi ⟡ Transcending translation and language barriers
10 Poem Pop Punk Playlist to Honor Our Inner Emo
Kaylee Young-Eun Jeong & Maria Gray ⟡ Commit to feeling everything
7 Poetry Collections Inspired by Fatherhood
Emma Mott ⟡ The world of fathers
8 Winter Poetry Collections That Will Reinvent You
Turi Sioson ⟡ Antithetical sweetness of existence
7 Must-Read Poetry Collections on Womanhood
Holli Flanagan ⟡ Love, rage, joy & blood
8 Poetry Collections about Motherhood
Emma Mott ⟡ Because mom poems rock
Which Poetry Collection Are You According to Your Star Sign?
Mary Kelly ⟡ Zodiac poetics
Next
Interviews & Conversations
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The Poem Is a Construction Site
Stephen Gibson ⟡ Conversations with Ed Falco
Social Media and Reshaping the Creative Attention
Karan Kapoor ⟡ Conversation with Heidi Becker
Navigating the Borders Between the Past, Nature, and Ourselves with Patrycja Humienik
Phil Goldstein ⟡ On landscapes and diaspora
Exploring the Liminal Spaces of Self and Womanhood with Hannah Bonner
Phil Goldstein ⟡ Anguish, abjection, selfhood & solace
On the Edge of Memory and Place with Poet Trina Gaynon
Henry Cristopher ⟡ Intersections of poetry
Embracing Vulnerability & Craft
Karan Kapoor ⟡ Conversation with Marley Aikhionbare
Storytelling as Solidarity
Justine Payton ⟡ Conversation with Elly Belle
Love Poems in Translation: How to Love in Sanskrit
Shannan Mann ⟡ Conversation with Anusha Rao & Suhas Mahesh
The Fallacy of the Literary Citizen
Karan Kapoor ⟡ Conversation with Alina Stefanescu
Book Reviews
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The Knife, the Flame, the Father
Karan Kapoor ⟡ If Nothing by Matthew Nienow
You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World
Mary Fontana ⟡ Reviewing the Ada Limón edited anthology
Everything in Life Is Resurrection by Cyrus Cassells
Davin Faris ⟡ Tension between dealing with the state of the world & finding joy
How to Greet the Sun
Darius Atefat-Peckam ⟡ The Sky Was Once a Dark Blanket by Kinsale Drake
Transforming "grave" to "grace" with the slip of a finger,
Brittany Micka-Foos ⟡ Heavy Metal Nursing by Scott Frey
Give Me Meaning in the Shape of This Loneliness
Allison Mei-Li ⟡ Good Girl and Other Yearnings by Isabelle Correa
In the Name of Nothing
Davin Faris ⟡ Kitchen Hymns by Pádraig Ó Tuama
Sacraments, Ancestors, and Traditions
Adesiyan Oluwapelumi ⟡ Earthly Gods by Jessica Nirvana Ram
Joan of Our American Crisis
Cat Crochunis-Brown ⟡ Joan of Arkansas by Milo Wipperman
Next
Essays on Craft & Culture
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Indescribable Mishaps: Thoughts on the Work of Aimee Wai
John Arthur ⟡ Restoring faith in poetry
Poetry of the Mages: Kay Ryan
Samantha Weisberg ⟡ Different forms of divination
Poetry of the Mages: William Butler Yeats
Samantha Weisberg ⟡ Mysticism & spell poetics
Eco-Fabulism During the Sixth Mass Extinction
Kristin Emanuel ⟡ Finding hope in a dire world
Reading Poems, Revising Ourselves
Lauren Peat ⟡ An essay in five acts
Poetry of the Mages: Sylvia Plath
Samantha Weisberg ⟡ Occult influences & symbolism
Where is the Love?
Svetlana Litvinchuk ⟡ From Rumi to Leonard Cohen
All Work is the Avoidance of Harder Work: Proverb, Aphorism, Poem
James Richardson ⟡ Philosophy & humor
The Purpose of the Statement of Purpose
Shannan Mann ⟡ MFA guidance
Next
Writing & Publishing Career
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Be Flexible and Expect a Rough Ride: Interview with Jason Mott
Justine Payton ⟡ MFA experience & writing across genres
Write Into the Bank: How to Land Paid Writing Gigs (and 14 Places that Help You Find These Jobs!)
Justine Payton ⟡ Creative side-hustles
Interview with UNC Press Editor Cate Hodorowicz
Justine Payton ⟡ Internships, pitching manuscripts, & making it in the industry
Being a Lit Mag Reader as a Path to Publication and Better Writing
Justine Payton ⟡ Readership experiences & craft
The Ideal M.F.A Program with Yasmine Ameli
Karan Kapoor ⟡ Ideal MFA program
Previous
Poems by Bob Hicok
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Dear neighbor,
A Poem by Bob Hicok
Dress for success
A Poem by Bob Hicok
The eulogy I didn’t give (XLI)
A Poem by Bob Hicok
My hero the whirligig
For Christmas, I always asked ...
The eulogy I didn’t give (XXXI)
A Poem by Bob Hicok
An old story
A Poem by Bob Hicok
This poem is certified to contain less than .5 % hyperbole
A Poem by Bob Hicok
After working sixty hours again for what reason
The best job I had was moving a stone...
Admission Is free
A Poem by Bob Hicok
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Editorial Updates & News
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Updates 2025
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