upfromsumdirt ABSTRACK AFRICANA haydens ferry review issue 71. haydensferryreview.com/upfromsumdir...

"I think it’s important to publish scholarship alongside poetry & to keep the two in figurative conversation in our collective consciousness, as well as physical proximity on the shelves of bookshops," @arianab.bsky.social writes @LiteraryHub https://bit.ly/42oN1OH this week....

University presses have a finger on the pulse of contemporary poetry. In fact, poetry publishing play an important role in university presses’ mission to cultivate human knowledge. 6 poets discuss their work w/ university presses @literaryhub.bsky.social. https://bit.ly/42oN1OH #PoetryMonth

And the great irony is they all have money, and none of them know how to be happy. They haven't figured out that money has a very limited ability to bring happiness. And above a certain amount, you get diminishing returns. Our relationships with the people we love is the true recipe for happiness.

This. Their problem is that we have the nerve to be “broke” and still find a way to experience delight. “Broke” and still connected to others and the world through what we make. They can’t fathom anyone could be happy without money being the driving force of that happiness.

Pet theory time! Creativity is the Riddler to Casino Capitalism’s techno-fascist Batman. (I’ve been reading to kids a lot lately!) A lot of the hate for writers, writing, etc is two things: 1. Alienation — they cannot do it & have never understood it. 2. Capital cannot fully capture creativity

This poem, first published in Gulf Coast and then in The American Sonnet: An Anthology of Poems and Essays, is included in my collection, The Importance of Being Feeble-Minded, due out next month

Here is a poem I wrote that mentions our mother feeding us with WIC, and even as I read about these cuts there is still shame mixed in with anger. May anger overcome shame. May anger take the form of clarity & action shenandoahliterary.org/711/prayer/

As a Writer! at least 235 of my 500+ open tabs are **critical research materials** That “Final 4 Escaped Lab Monkeys Stick Together As They Avoid Traps In South Carolina” story is gonna make a helluva poetic metaphor… whenever I get around to writing it.

wrote a piece that theorizes why/how Black people got/are into anime 👩🏾‍🎤 imo, Saturday morning Toonami + Representation (not in traditional “protag looks like me” sense, but in the structure of the story/world) = Black fandom! some excerpts here, full story linked: kenyonreview.org/piece/sho-ga...

Presented on @arianab.bsky.social's Black Pastoral on a MELUS-sponsored panel at #MLA25 yesterday - and (rightfully) many folks afterward expressed enthusiastic interest in the book and in taking up, reading, even teaching Benson's work! I love helping to bring amazing new poetry to wider audiences.

Paige Bueckers is a DAWG

George Forman’s sons, all named George, to release an autoGeorgeography entitled “On Earth We Are Briefly Georges” in 2025 from Panini Press

So, book news: Roxane Gay picked RESTING BITCH FACE for the Audacious Book Club!!! 😭 The first piece of news I get for my forthcoming book has completely knocked me over, and galleys aren’t even in. I am so grateful, I cannot even begin to tell you guys. I can’t wait to share the book with y’all.

That “Don’t make gingerbread people live in a house made of themselves” commercial just triggered the most violent existential crisis 😟 like why do we do that?? it’s sick??

I have this poem taped up on my kitchen cabinet, and once in a while it just grabs me by the face, lovingly. Denise Levertov, “Prayer for Revolutionary Love”:

#nowplaying Mythwrecked! Knew I’d love this game the first time I saw the trailer, and it has not disappointed! Collecting cool stuff + unique art+ mystery = my ideal indie game! One of the most emotionally intelligent games I’ve ever picked up too—think Spiritfarer vibes.

This week I painted the Buddha hovering over Austin, Texas. 36x48 in, water-soluble oil. ⛅️

New(-ish?) Black Love Poem out with underbelly mag, a journal that presents a both a draft & final version of the same poem! Read below abt the editing & process of this poem that came after I was “done” with my first book (spoiler: it wasn’t done with me)! www.underbellymag.com/spotlight-ar...

Worth a read!

Video game music doesn't get enough credit. They really be in the studio cooking!

So honored to have shared a laugh with her. A giant who chose every day to walk with the people. Rest in Power 🤍 “I hope I die warmed by the life I tried to live.” —Nikki Giovanni, 1943-2024 🪽

Dearest Nikki ... a memory ... go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=G...

A few extra snaps from my weekend trip. Satisfied a childhood desire—staying in one of those hotels with all the inward-facing windows! Atrium style, as my adult self now knows them 😅

Watched All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt on my flight this morning. Raven Jackson’s poetic directorial/cinematographic eye flickers with a kind of emotion that just can’t be taught—felt like the camera’s eye was brimming with tears. Can’t wait to see what she makes next!

“Literary Men” sounds like the name of a stodgy barbershop quartet. Like I can just hear the candy apple pinstripes and the overzealous tenor eating the harmony alive.

Got my hair loc’ed up yesterday and I know it’s early but I really love it 🥹

So a really cool thing has happened—I just signed on as a Poetry Editor-at-Large for Texas Review Press today! This means I’ll have full freedom to acquire one poetry book a year and to edit one-on-one with the author throughout the whole process. I’m so so excited.

A must-read: Patrick Chandler Brown — named after the PCB chemicals dumped in his community — purchased the plantation where his great-grandfather was enslaved and is in the process of transforming it to serve farmers like him

Two stages of writing: 1) This shouldn't take too long 2) Oh no

I don’t usually send my work out to get published, but sometimes I do. This was one of the hardest poems for me to write. I wrote it the day Prince died, tho I didn’t know that while I was writing it. It’s me coming to terms with the fact that I am autistic. www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazi...

I had the pleasure of interviewing Summer Farah about her chapbook “I could die today and live again” (@gameoverbooks.bsky.social) for Electric Lit! We talked about Zelda, empire, obsession, prose poems, and Tumblr electricliterature.com/summer-farah...

This is the perfect time of year to reflect on the past and scheme for the future. Most of my successes were birthed in December.

⬇️ This thread 🙌🏾 such pure joy to see folks sharing their achievements in the realm of their passions! I’ll go too: This year, my first book won one of the biggest prizes in the field of poetry! ✨ In ‘25, I hope to explore new/hybrid genres & write/share about my experiences w/ endometriosis

…this is true i fear. NBA discourse needs a little toxicity. a dash of ignorance, even!

Prescient philosophical explanation of the shift in focus from writing itself to “Literary Figure-dom” in the current iteration of the publishing landscape. “Oh you can *write*? Aww that’s cute—but how many *Followers* (online and off) do you have? What is your Brand™?”

wrote a piece that theorizes why/how Black people got/are into anime 👩🏾‍🎤 imo, Saturday morning Toonami + Representation (not in traditional “protag looks like me” sense, but in the structure of the story/world) = Black fandom! some excerpts here, full story linked: kenyonreview.org/piece/sho-ga...

I proudly own and operate a small business and have for 6, almost 7, years. I love that every candle I sell is handmade with love and care and that I can cater to my clientele. Consider shopping small this #SmallBusinessSaturday! edensglowcandleco.com 💜🕯️✨

Today’s Featured Poet: “My Faith Unfolds Itself” by Alafia Nicole Sessions, from Issue 21.1 of @cincinnatireview.bsky.social. Read here: poems.com/poem/my-fait...

the national dog show is a beautiful illustration of how to handle rejection like their asses do NOT understand they weren’t selected

“Passing it Down”

this. & psychology tells us anger is often the secondary emotional product of shame, so it’s the *shame* we gotta combat we must lift the shame of illiteracy (which has generationally devastated Black Americans) off the people’s shoulders and lay it where it belongs: the feet of the broken system

For Mizna, I reflect on this moment of honoring Palestinians at the National Book Awards @nationalbook.bsky.social & sit more deeply with @lenakt.bsky.social & Fady Joudah's earth-shattering books. An honor to publish both finalist readings, including Fady's new poem 🍉🇵🇸 mizna.org/mizna-online...

realized I don’t have any of my poems up here yet, so here’s one: “On Loveliness” 🐞 I like to think of it as a Black love poem, whatever that might mean to you. #addtoblacksky

a duel of the bards, if you will