Up the Staircase Quarterly
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upthestaircase.bsky.social
Up the Staircase Quarterly
@upthestaircase.bsky.social
920 followers 570 following 37 posts
An online journal of poetry & art.

posts by editor @aprilmbratten.bsky.social

Cover art by Roger Camp

http://www.upthestaircase.org
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upthestaircase.bsky.social
Up the Staircase Quarterly @upthestaircase.bsky.social · 2d
Issue #72 has dropped over at www.upthestaircase.org ❄️

New poetry by Oliver Brooks, Emma Bolden, Kelli Dianne Rule, Alex Turissini, Angelique Zobitz, Meia Geddes, Angie Macri, Nicole Dufalla, Anya Kirshbaum, Aditi Bhattacharjee, Pamela Manche Pearce, and Natalie Zhang.
Up the Staircase Quarterly
a journal of poetry and art
www.upthestaircase.org
Reposted by Up the Staircase Quarterly
oliverbrooks.bsky.social
Thrilled for my poem “Tiresias on a a Smoke Break” to appear in this issue! www.upthestaircase.org/oliver-brook...
February 3, 2026 at 12:05 AM
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kdiannerule.bsky.social
Issue 72 (!) of @upthestaircase.bsky.social is now available...a lovingly curated gem of original poetry and art. Featuring my winter gardening poem (below) alongside an illustration by Ukrainian artist Josephine Florens. Get lost in the pale, poetic rebirth of winter at www.upthestaircase.org
February 2, 2026 at 4:41 PM
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glasspoetry.bsky.social
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
upthestaircase.bsky.social Up the Staircase Quarterly @upthestaircase.bsky.social · 2d
Issue #72 has dropped over at www.upthestaircase.org ❄️

New poetry by Oliver Brooks, Emma Bolden, Kelli Dianne Rule, Alex Turissini, Angelique Zobitz, Meia Geddes, Angie Macri, Nicole Dufalla, Anya Kirshbaum, Aditi Bhattacharjee, Pamela Manche Pearce, and Natalie Zhang.
Up the Staircase Quarterly
a journal of poetry and art
www.upthestaircase.org
February 1, 2026 at 5:07 PM
Reposted by Up the Staircase Quarterly
kdiannerule.bsky.social
Featuring my poem "The tomatoes had gone" alongside "Rooster of Peace" by Ukranian artist Josephine Florens. @upthestaircase.bsky.social
upthestaircase.bsky.social Up the Staircase Quarterly @upthestaircase.bsky.social · 2d
Issue #72 has dropped over at www.upthestaircase.org ❄️

New poetry by Oliver Brooks, Emma Bolden, Kelli Dianne Rule, Alex Turissini, Angelique Zobitz, Meia Geddes, Angie Macri, Nicole Dufalla, Anya Kirshbaum, Aditi Bhattacharjee, Pamela Manche Pearce, and Natalie Zhang.
Up the Staircase Quarterly
a journal of poetry and art
www.upthestaircase.org
February 1, 2026 at 4:17 PM
upthestaircase.bsky.social
Issue #72 has dropped over at www.upthestaircase.org ❄️

New poetry by Oliver Brooks, Emma Bolden, Kelli Dianne Rule, Alex Turissini, Angelique Zobitz, Meia Geddes, Angie Macri, Nicole Dufalla, Anya Kirshbaum, Aditi Bhattacharjee, Pamela Manche Pearce, and Natalie Zhang.
Up the Staircase Quarterly
a journal of poetry and art
www.upthestaircase.org
February 1, 2026 at 3:38 PM
Reposted by Up the Staircase Quarterly
ebschnepp.bsky.social
"eating taco bell in the middle of a burger king drive thru just to feel something" in @upthestaircase.bsky.social
The art piece "Rathaus Münster 5 Filiz" by Nuala McEvoy that accompanied my poem (I'm not going to do this justice, I'm so sorry) it's a slightly abstract golden palace on a pink ground that slightly reflects it and a pixilated/dotted background eating taco bell in the middle of a burger king drive thru just to feel something I’m going to dive bars; collecting bathroom stall numbers, starting to not be joking when I tell you I’m going to start calling. I admit I’m bitter, wanting to skip the awkward “will you be my murder” part and go right to the couch, take out, tv flashing 90’s nostalgia. but, the only burrito here in months has been me; blanket wrapped, soggy in the middle. I’ve never been good at living, anxious on my best days, agoraphobic on my worst, but I could be tempted by cheese to unfurl—Sara says she’s never been hung over enough to eat taco bell and I don’t have the heart to tell her it’s drunk food, not hangover food, because in this case I too am unqualified, sober for all the wrong reasons. terrified of what it’d feel like to let the rubber bands under my skin snap. I stick to little rebellions, dipping chicken nuggets in fire sauce. every bad idea another in a series of intrusive thoughts. and this is no different. you see I’m not here for a good time, a long time, for the one that got away, long lost love — hello, no you don’t know me, but for an hour or two on a tuesday night I loved you forever, just thought you ought to know. tonight I’m grateful I’ll never wake up to another’s body, and this too is love— I love the idea of you so much I never want to startle awake to you, open eyed and blue. in every situation let there [still] be breath.
December 31, 2025 at 3:50 PM
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katherinegarrison.bsky.social
Came across this wonderful poem in @upthestaircase.bsky.social on my travels today. www.upthestaircase.org/james-king.h...
James King
James King holds an MFA in Poetry from the University of North Carolina Wilmington and serves as Poetry Editor for Bear Review . A two-time Pushcart nominee, his work has appeared in Moon City...
www.upthestaircase.org
December 3, 2025 at 7:40 PM
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maddiebaronepoet.bsky.social
So honored to have my poem in Issue 71 of Up the Staircase Quarterly!!
upthestaircase.bsky.social Up the Staircase Quarterly @upthestaircase.bsky.social · Nov 1
Issue 71 of Up the Staircase Quarterly is live! Cover art by Lauren Rinaldi.

Thanks so much to all of our contributors! You can read the issue at upthestaircase.org
November 8, 2025 at 9:12 PM
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splitlipthemag.bsky.social
We love ACCOMPLISHMENT SUNDAY as much as we love this poem❤️ Poetry Editor @ritamookerjee.bsky.social published the gorgeous piece, Self-Portrait as the Pie Crust in Heretic (2024), in @upthestaircase.bsky.social: buff.ly/L4U0jlR
A dish of partially smashed cherries.
November 16, 2025 at 10:27 PM
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glasspoetry.bsky.social
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
upthestaircase.bsky.social Up the Staircase Quarterly @upthestaircase.bsky.social · Nov 1
Issue 71 of Up the Staircase Quarterly is live! Cover art by Lauren Rinaldi.

Thanks so much to all of our contributors! You can read the issue at upthestaircase.org
November 1, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Reposted by Up the Staircase Quarterly
chapp010.bsky.social
Thank you to Editor @aprilmbratten.bsky.social for selecting my poem - " 'Dans ces beiges très confortables.,' " written after Hélène Bessette's Ida ou le délire - to appear in Issue 71 of @upthestaircase.bsky.social. I'm honored to share these pages with so many wonderful poets and artists.
Carrie Chappell with Hélène Bessette's Ida ou le délire. Carrie Chappell's poem, 'Dans ces beiges très confortables.,' after Hélène Bessette's Ida ou le délire. Continuation of Carrie Chappell's poem, 'Dans ces beiges très confortables.,' after Hélène Bessette's Ida ou le délire. A page from Hélène Bessette's Ida ou le délire.
November 1, 2025 at 7:56 PM
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vikkicwrites.bsky.social
Grateful to have a new poem 'Childhood' included in Issue 71 of @upthestaircase.bsky.social alongside a wealth of talent!

Huge thank you to EIC @aprilmbratten.bsky.social for selecting my work ❤️
upthestaircase.org/vikki-c.html

(ALT TEXT included)

Check out the full issue at the link in replies.
Vikki C. | Childhood Mostly, I wasted it, in refuse sites bright with strangers’ belongings, throwaways and condemned vehicles. They are planning to turn the toxic lake into a freshwater reservoir. Permission granted the summer you left. They will name it Tranquility. Introduce lush colonies of fish to colour in the stenciled dark. Powdered pellets of sedatives skimming the water at dusk, to send those creatures to sleep—even as light radiation peaks. The glow must have been my mother visiting, as promised. She, another site of special scientific interest, treated too late. Each time those harsh rays shone through her like sabers, I innocently sketched them around another circle—to make a new sun. Below, an emerald landscape reaching to meet it, the sprinkler set to a gentle spray. My father walking through the rainbowed spectrum, as if returning. I would wait—longer than I counted—for his steps to draw near, for the key to turn in the lock, and amber to pour through the crack, illuminating the pairs of animal figures, who waited too. The ending was less than he remembers—a rearrangement of night and TV static, the bent August heat on oily kneecapped roads. Some alien waterlilies, like retired ballerinas, larger than a man’s fists, overtaking the sidewalks. Surviving, rootless. Like all other variables, the experts couldn't explain such condition. Water versus concrete. Truth versus playground. The vapour in those polished mason jars, never too tightly sealed.
November 1, 2025 at 3:19 PM
upthestaircase.bsky.social
Issue 71 of Up the Staircase Quarterly is live! Cover art by Lauren Rinaldi.

Thanks so much to all of our contributors! You can read the issue at upthestaircase.org
November 1, 2025 at 4:06 PM
upthestaircase.bsky.social
We are open for submissions of poetry and art until September 15th: www.upthestaircase.org/submit.html
a cartoon drawing of a person standing in a field of flowers
ALT: a cartoon drawing of a person standing in a field of flowers
media.tenor.com
August 13, 2025 at 4:04 PM
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duotrope.com
Up the Staircase Quarterly @upthestaircase.bsky.social (Poetry Art; non-paying) opened to submissions https://duotrope.com... #amwriting
Re-opening: Up the Staircase Quarterly
Up the Staircase Quarterly @upthestaircase.bsky.social (Poetry Art; non-paying) opened to submissions https://duotrope.com/magazine/up-the-staircase-quarterly-2990 #amwriting
duotrope.com
August 13, 2025 at 3:51 PM
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eleanorball.bsky.social
Day 2: “Last Night at Good Luck Bar” by Catherine Fletcher in @upthestaircase.bsky.social. I LOVE the “platonic love” theme of their recent issue! This poem feels so nostalgic and reminds me of nights out with my best friends. www.upthestaircase.org/catherine-fl...
Catherine Fletcher
Our boy-girl-boy trio huddles together, at a booth with half-full hurricanes. For you, I’ve crawled across our sprawly city to the junction where Sunset bends. I lean on my umbrella, and it pops...
www.upthestaircase.org
August 2, 2025 at 2:58 PM
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cattrax.bsky.social
I'm thrilled to have my poem "Last Night at Good Luck Bar" for my friends Jeff/ @jorgill.bsky.social & Tony in this stellar issue. Many thanks to editor April Bratten & the USQ team!
upthestaircase.bsky.social Up the Staircase Quarterly @upthestaircase.bsky.social · Aug 1
We decided to sweeten your Friday with our themed summer issue. Kindred: Poems on Platonic Love is now live!

www.upthestaircase.org
August 3, 2025 at 10:23 PM
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rholanderpoet.bsky.social
I'm honored to have a poem for my friend Jerica up today in @upthestaircase.bsky.social in their 70th issue "Kindred: Poems on Platonic Love," celebrating friendship & community. Happy this poem found a home in this special issue & in good company. Gratitude, editors, & cheers to all contributors.
Rebecca Hart Olander
Thirty years since Jerica and I earned Monadnock’s rocky summit, popping blueberries into our mouths, sprawled in a dirty pile of newfound friends after a precollege trip. We were close to...
www.upthestaircase.org
August 1, 2025 at 8:27 PM
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rholanderpoet.bsky.social
Thank you to the editors for including my poem in this beautiful issue in such kindred company. ♥️ @upthestaircase.bsky.social
upthestaircase.bsky.social Up the Staircase Quarterly @upthestaircase.bsky.social · Aug 1
We decided to sweeten your Friday with our themed summer issue. Kindred: Poems on Platonic Love is now live!

www.upthestaircase.org
August 1, 2025 at 8:24 PM
upthestaircase.bsky.social
We decided to sweeten your Friday with our themed summer issue. Kindred: Poems on Platonic Love is now live!

www.upthestaircase.org
August 1, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Reposted by Up the Staircase Quarterly
screendoorreview.bsky.social
Happy Pride Month! We got y'all a gift. It's Issue 20 & you'll love it. 🌈

www.screendoorreview.com/issue-20/
June 21, 2025 at 11:49 PM
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vismai.bsky.social
"If alive, then all alone and bleeding. If dead,
then freshly dead. If not alone, then swarmed

with ants and flies, thick flies like biting July
berries. If swarmed with maggots, biblical."

Dream of the Moose Calf, Zeke Shomler in @upthestaircase.bsky.social
www.upthestaircase.org/zeke-shomler...
Zeke Shomler
If alive, then all alone and bleeding. If dead, then freshly dead. If not alone, then swarmed   with ants and flies, thick flies like biting July berries. If swarmed with maggots, biblical. If...
www.upthestaircase.org
June 2, 2025 at 9:06 AM
upthestaircase.bsky.social
Celebrate friendship and community with Up the Staircase!

We are seeking poetry and art for our themed issue, Kindred: Poems on Platonic Love.

Deadline: July 1st

upthestaircase.org
May 24, 2025 at 7:10 PM
upthestaircase.bsky.social
We are seeking cover art submissions for our future issues!

Cover art can be of any genre or discipline and must contain a *staircase* somewhere in the work (but does not have to be the focal point).

Visit our guidelines for more information: www.upthestaircase.org/submit.html
Up the Staircase Quarterly
a journal of poetry and art
www.upthestaircase.org
May 23, 2025 at 1:36 PM
upthestaircase.bsky.social
Check out our guidelines to submit to our themed issue celebrating friendship, community, and platonic love: www.upthestaircase.org
May 8, 2025 at 2:23 PM