Creative Support: June 2026
New books, events, workshops, and publishing advice for poets.
Hello poets!
ICYMI: Check out Starr Davis’s interview on her stunning debut collection, Affidavit. And if you are moved by something she offers there, please leave a comment! It’s a nice—not to mention super easy—way to show appreciation for poets whose work inspires us to continue our own.
REMINDER: Lighthouse Writers Workshop’s Lit Fest starts SOON. I am leading two workshops, including a two-day intensive: Borrowed Structures: Finding Poetic Form in Unexpected Places (June 13–14, 1:00–4:00pm). We’ll explore how to lift structure from non-poetic sources—art installations, divination texts, folk calendars, and more—and adapt them into generative constraints for poem-making. This is the approach behind books like Carol Moldaw’s The Lightning Field, Starr Davis’s Affidavit, and Zoe Skoulding’s A Revolutionary Calendar, and it’s one that consistently surprises me with what it opens up. The goal is to leave with the seeds of a series of your own. Limited spaces are open to intermediate and advanced poets. Reserve your spot.
New Books
Accidental Devotions, by Kelli Russell Agodon, “seeks to find meaning in a world lit by screens and haunted by ghosts—both real and digital. Blending humor with vulnerability, these poems embrace the beautiful chaos of our relationships, of aging and being human.”
I Was Bonnie & Clyde, by Laura Kasischke, “illuminates small collisions between life and death, from ‘that last suitcase circling / its last loop / for all of eternity’ to ‘the mole / hauled out of the ground / by the dog / to die in the sun.’ Ghosts haunt and heighten these poems as they draw upon the independent weariness of women throughout history: Bonnie Parker, Lady Godiva, Amy Winehouse, a handbook’s unnamed perfect hostess.”
If a Dolphin, by Lindsay Remee Ahl. “Ahl’s writing is full of grace, potency and out-of-the-box surprise. Her poems are narrated by a girl drowned in a lake who continues to age in the afterlife and is capable of time travel, by the lifeguard who could not save her, by dolphins, World War II spies and occasionally by Ahl herself.”
Additional Workshops, Events & More
Poets House, based in New York, is one of the country’s most generous homes for poetry — and much of their programming is virtual, which means it’s accessible from wherever you are.
Poets for Science Gathering– Along with poets Sarah Giragosian and Maggie Greaves, I will be co-leading Scale as Poetic and Scientific Playground: From Gut Flora to Supernovae at the Poets for Science Gathering. From gut flora to cosmic events written in trees, from molecular agencies to the vast temporalities of galaxies, scale is rich territory for both scientists and poets. Session date/time TBD. November 12-14, 2026 at Kent State University, Kent, Ohio.
Finesse and Publish Your Poetry Manuscript
It’s time to complete your poetry manuscript and get it to the right editors. I will be offering several workshops to help you get there. Be the first to know when registration opens by joining the direct mailing list. When you sign up, you’ll get instant access to 50 Recommended Presses, a curated list of opportunities for first and second books.
Upcoming Deadlines
June 15 — New Measure Poetry Prize
June 16 — The Omnidawn Poetry Chapbook Contest
June 30– The Autumn House Poetry Prize
July 1 —The Orison Chapbook Prize
July 15 — Driftwood Press Adrift Chapbook Contest
July 15 — Able Muse Press General Reading Period
July 31 — The Washburn Chapbook Prize
August 15 — The Grayson Books Poetry Contest
August 31 — Howling Bird Press Book Prize
August 31 — The Off the Grid Poetry Prize for poets over 60
Advice
“Poetry became where I could think for myself, where I got to experiment with advocating for myself, which is what I really wanted—advocacy. I wanted my lawyer to advocate. I wanted to be heard and protected. So the affidavit form, I twisted it into what I needed it to be. I couldn’t use the [affidavit poems] in court, but they became the book. The form carries through the book, holding as a container for some really hard, difficult conversations.” – Starr Davis, Poet-to-Poet interview
If you enjoy what you read here and find my tips useful, please take a moment to like this post. And if you have recommendations of your own to add, please share in the comments. Thanks!
Yours,
Radha
Thank you for Poet to Poet! I anticipate its appearance in my inbox. The advice, the interviews, your guidance for poets, are a breath of fresh air and encouragement.