It's official: Shō Poetry Journal now nominates work for Best of the Net! We are pleased to share our nominees for the 2026 anthology.

Read these selected poems online at: shopoetryjournal.com/category/read/

These poems appear in Shō No. 7 (Summer 2025) alongside work by 41 other fantastic poets.

One dull midnight
in August, absence

boiled my skin to purple seeds: fevers
high enough to stretch the horizon on my face.

My grandmother pressed the cold
eggshell against my skin.

@skygoneout.bsky.social, "Genealogy"

www.brinkerhoffpoetr...

New poem online! “Symptoms of Ghosts” by Aldo Amparán (@skygoneout.bsky.social) is forthcoming in our summer issue, Shō No. 7, and was selected by the editors as the runner-up for the Shō Poetry Prize.

Read the poem (with audio by the poet) here: shopoetryjournal.com/aldo-amparan/

Congratulations to Aldo Amparán, runner-up of the Shō Poetry Prize for their poem “Symptoms of Ghosts,” forthcoming in Shō No. 7 (Summer 2025)! Preorder your copy here: tinyurl.com/shono7

Aldo Amparán (@skygoneout.bsky.social) is the author of Brother Sleep, winner of the Alice James Award …

Our winter poetry update is here!

Discover poems by great contemporary poets like @skygoneout.bsky.social, @janeclarke.bsky.social, @imtiazdharker.bsky.social, Seán Hewitt, @donikakelly.bsky.social, Craig Santos Perez, Padraig Regan & more, plus voices from the past.

www.brinkerhoffpoetr...

New poem out in @haydensferryreview.bsky.social! Trigger Warning: surviving child SA

closing out the year with a poem called “The Year”! i think it’s my favorite poem i wrote in 2024.

& i’m delighted that Aldo Amparán (@skygoneout.bsky.social) chose it for Zócalo Public Square—i hope you’ll give it a read. here’s the beginning. for the rest: www.zocalopublicsquare.org/chen-chen/

Honored to share the final poem I selected for Zócalo Public Square, written by the brilliant Chen Chen (@chenchenwrites.bsky.social). I’m grateful for the opportunity to spotlight such incredible voices!

Don’t miss this stunning piece:
www.zocalopublicsquare.org/chen-chen/

Thrilled to share a beautiful new poem by Alfredo Aguilar featured on Zócalo Public Square!

Take a moment to read it here: www.zocalopublicsquare.org/alfredo-agui...

This weekend, I'm excited to share this breathtaking poem by Ae Hee Lee (@aeheelee.bsky.social), which I had the honor of curating for Zócalo Public Square. Much gratitude, Ae Hee, for trusting me with your work!

www.zocalopublicsquare.org/ae-hee-lee/

A new poem in Zócalo Public Square this morning. An honor, too, that this poem is one curated by Aldo Amparán for the month of December.
www.zocalopublicsquare.org/dustin-pears...

Thrilled to share the stunning poem I curated for Zócalo Public Square, written by the incredible @dustinkpearson.bsky.social. Immense gratitude to Connie Voisine for the opportunity to highlight such inspirational voices, & to Dustin for trusting me with his work!

Honored to have my poem “Michigan” from Consider the Rooster featured today at Poetry Daily.

This book means so much to me, and I’m so grateful to everyone who’s supported it and made space for its words. 💖 If you haven’t yet, grab a copy of Consider the Rooster—available now from Nightboat Books.

#Poetry Emily Dickinson

5 more of my favorite #poetsonbluesky

@martinespadapoet.bsky.social
@emanuelxavier.bsky.social
@skygoneout.bsky.social
@cphillipspoet.bsky.social
@margaretatwood.bsky.social

Three acceptances in a row! 🥹

If I can break a line where it surprises the reader on the next line or invites a double meaning, that’s where I tend to break.

I always think of this example:

"I was in the hospital dying
for ice cream."

Thrilled to announce that my second book is forthcoming from
Alice James Books in September 2026! Preorder now: www.alicejamesbooks.org/bookstore/th...