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A Collection of Featured Poems & Interviews
Please read our previous issues before you send a poem you think we should publish.
More eligibility info and the link to contribute appear below.
Feel free to also check out our other publications.
In this issue: a poem by M.A. Olatoye Baiyewu + disruptive writing prompts with former Racine Poet Laureate Debra Hall + upcoming poetry events & publication opportunities
Do Not Bury Me!
He cried at his mother
Do not bury me!
Bury me like a seed that sprouts a new life.
Do not bury me for darkness abound in confined enclosed spaces.
“Do not bury me,” to his mother, “spleen gutting out my stomach.”
Do not bury me, for you cannot harvest me!
Bury me not for tomorrow is my tree of life.
M.A. Ola Baiyewu is a workforce developer who loves poetry ... especially from the Global South. He writes mainly on human issues with the backdrop of the Global South.After graduating with a degree in political science from Carthage, M.A. Olatoye Baiyewu became the founder of First Choice Pre-Apprenticeship Training, which helped underserved communities enter the building trades industry. Because of his dedication and passion for his work, the Great Lakes Community Conservation Corps named a training building in his honor, the Olatoye Baiyewu Campus.
Former Racine Poet Laureate Debra Hall shares her writing routine, as well as how she's processed the her husband's death from brain cancer through her debut chapbook, What the Current Cannot Swallow.
In this issue: a poem by Holland Dvorak + an interview with former Madison poet laureate Angela Trudell Vasquez
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- I have a staring problem -
seeing the tenderness of her smile.
the crest of her eyes light up, expressing
a bouquet of words to her beloved.
Caring, free of doubt and full of opulence
looking to her idol, her Jesus, her womb,
her orgasm, her peace.
Dripping in oxytocin –– this is love.
Tending, retreating and returning.
Holland Dvorak (she/her). A confident chameleon dabbling in poetry. I spend time with 2 young dragons, my co-pilot and longing to be ungovernable in the woods. 🍉🍉
Listen to Holland read her poems "Unnamed" and "Tap tap" at the Racine Poetry Archive.
The Land Remembers: Writing Where We Are with Angela Trudell Vasquez. Check out this video interview with a former Madison Poet Laureate to learn about the importance of vulnerability and community for writers, hear Angela read two poems, and discuss her process.
Note that we exclusively publish poets of the Chiwaukee-adjacent Lake Michigan mid(we)st.
Featured poems are 11 lines or less, max 50 words. Longer submissions will not be accepted.
