Aly Allen
alyallen.bsky.social
Aly Allen
@alyallen.bsky.social
Author “Paying for Gas with Quarters” (Middle West Press, 2023). Trans poet, parent, teacher, & veteran. She writes poetry, CNF, & fiction about identity, trauma, & family. She has been a reader, editor, and submitter for eons.
Reposted by Aly Allen
“The poems gently place the reader in the waving Midwest fields, then blast off, rockets and church spires piercing the grey sky. [...]”
@alyallen.bsky.social, author of “Paying for Gas with Quarters”

Info on Allen’s book: amzn.to/3LTLMP2
Info on "Midwest Futures" anthology: amzn.to/4bttZd2
March 11, 2025 at 1:06 PM
They Took All the Titles

Congress must stop
the coup
you know who I am
talking to
I am talking to you
Congress must stop
the coup
be a voice a movement
the power you claim
to represent
Congress must stop
the coup

otherwise it is down to me and
February 3, 2025 at 11:32 PM
I will be the featured reader at Green Feather Books in Norman, OK, next month! The event takes place during the Ark Walk (Feb 14). Starts at 7 with an open mic after!!!
January 28, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Give a poet a couplet,
satisfy them for a day.

Teach a poet to stanza,
fill them with dread and
January 13, 2025 at 3:00 AM
Thanks for sharing!!!
April 12, 2024 at 3:39 PM
I’ll be reading on Saturday April 6th!
Poet and U.S. Army veteran @alyallen.bsky.social will be reading at this year's Scissortail Creative Writing Festival, Apr. 4-6, 2024 in Ada, Oklahoma!

List of Scissortail authors here:
ecuscissortail.blogspot.com/2024/01/2024...

Find her "Paying for Gas with Quarters" here:
amzn.to/3LTLMP2
February 28, 2024 at 1:15 PM
I’ll be reading from my book, Paying for Gas with Quarters at Literati Press in Oklahoma City on Friday night at 730 with @jen_e_hudgens
Join us for poetry, community, and fun.
December 4, 2023 at 3:29 PM
Paying for Gas with Quarters book tour continues!

Reading at Literati Press (their new location!) in Oklahoma City on Dec 8th (730 pm) with the wonderful @jen_e_hudgens Come enjoy poetry and support small business!
November 27, 2023 at 3:52 PM
Excuse Me, I Am Sorry

I tried to refrain reframe
but the words unsaid whisper
repeat in eat my head

obligatory eye-contact rips
you pass before I speak
out of breath I inhale retell

#poem #poetry #regret
November 25, 2023 at 1:53 PM
Reposted by Aly Allen
@alyallen.bsky.social is a poet, parent, & OEF veteran. I've been privileged to get to know her through her words, and to work with her to publish her first collection. It's brave & honest stuff. So is she.

She's reading in Tulsa, OK tonight, Nov. 11, 2023 at
linktr.ee/whittybooks #VeteransDay2023
November 11, 2023 at 2:36 PM
My book has been out for a month!!! I have my first in-person reading tomorrow and I’m stoked for that. To celebrate the release of my book I want to give 3 digital versions away. Add me on Instagram, shoot me a DM with your email, First 3 will get a Kindle copy of Paying for Gas with Quarters.
November 10, 2023 at 6:03 PM
Contributor’s copy of “Things We Carry Still” arrived @middlewestpress.bsky.social
Grab one to read my poem Recall and everything else!
November 8, 2023 at 12:32 AM
Join us this Veteran’s Day Nov. 11 at @shopwhittybooks in conversation with Oklahoma poets, professors, and veterans Aly Allen and Bill McCloud - thank you to Whitty Books for supporting poetry- event is free and open to the public. #tulsaartists #poetry #indiebookstore #tulsaevents #veteransday
November 2, 2023 at 3:18 PM
Paying for Gas with Quarters got its first review!
November 1, 2023 at 4:11 PM
My book is next to sbchilders at Bliss Books & Bindery in Stillwater, OK!!! I of course grabbed a copy of her new book Prodigals (and it was signed!) They still have a copy of her book and a few of mine on the shelf!
November 1, 2023 at 4:00 PM
If Only We Knew To Carry A Tissue

When I was a soldier
they did not prepare us for the tears—
tears we would kill,
tears we would cause,
tears for tears,
tears of regret,
saltiness of being alive.

Do not cry for the soldier.
Cry out to them,
before they drown the world in tears.

#poetry
October 23, 2023 at 10:17 PM
This is an anti-war poem from my book, Paying for Gas with Quarters
October 23, 2023 at 3:47 PM
Writing Prompt:

Write about a time you were wrong
Was the change gradual or all at once?
End ruminating on how things are different after
October 23, 2023 at 3:05 PM
October 22, 2023 at 1:15 PM
October 19, 2023 at 12:00 PM
Reposted by Aly Allen
"It should not be that difficult to look critically at the brutality Palestinians have been subjected to, and ask yourselves if it is right. It should not be that difficult to open a history book and read and learn about what has happened in Palestine..." www.aljazeera.com/opinions/202...
October 19, 2023 at 9:53 AM
October 19, 2023 at 11:12 AM
Reposted by Aly Allen
“Aly Allen weaves the chaos of war into the fabric of parenthood. Her poems crash like mortar fire over the reader in staccato bursts of heart-wrenching emotion.”
—Garry Reddin, author of "An Abridged History of American Violence"

$5.99 Kindle: amzn.to/3pxl3Qq
$11.99 Print: amzn.to/3LTLMP2
October 16, 2023 at 2:27 PM
Reposted by Aly Allen
ICYMI !!!
FREE on-line reading with Oklahoma poet & U.S. Army veteran Aly Allen! Find her "Paying for Gas with Quarters" here: amzn.to/3pxl3Qq

On-line via Zoom Tues., Oct. 17, 2023
5 p.m. PT • 6 p.m. MT • 7 p.m. CT • 8 p.m. ET

Event registration Link:
us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
October 16, 2023 at 2:12 PM
Writing Prompt:

Write about rising
Describe a spreading warmth or comfort
October 16, 2023 at 1:13 PM