Best New African Poets 2020 Anthology, which can be in part titled the Covid Diaries is the 6th volume of the yearly anthology of contemporary African poets, Best New African Poets (BNAP). In this anthology the poets tackle the covid pandemic, some with fear, some with pain, some with anger, some with forebodings of danger; you sense the feeling of insecurity in all of the entries around this issue. This is understandable. As a humanity we have had to go, and we are still going, through one of the most terrible times in our existence, as millions get swept away in this tidal danger. But we will vanquish this monster, we will come out stronger, in the meanwhile as we fight this monster we continue celebrating our humanity in love poems, in spiritual poetry, in politics and governance, in developmental agendas, in foods, in day to day connections, which will outstay this menace. Best New African Poets 2020 Anthology has over 352 pieces from 140 African poets from among other African countries: Nigeria, Angola, Mozambique, South Africa, Egypt, Tunisia, Cape Verde, Sao Tome and Principe, Comoros, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cameroun, Namibia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Ghana etc, and those of African Diasporas in Portugal, Brazil, the UK, USA, China, etc

Train River Poetry is an international bestselling poetry publication featuring new work by world class contemporary poets. Train River Poetry: Summer 2021 features poetry contributions from the talented: @live_inpoetry, Alinda Dickinson Wasner, Amanda Baker, Atlas W. Keeting, Ava Silverman, Barbara Soehner, Begum Elsa Cura, Ben Campbell, Benerandakate, Brendan De Lucia, C.c. McQ, Cait Thomson, Caitlan Docherty, Camilia Aaliyah, Candela Rivero, Carnations and Carnage, Cassie Senn, Catherine Hamilton, Cecilia Bernal, Cheryll Patras, Christian Ward, Clare Marie Salokoski, Corey Bowen, Courtney Phillips, Cyrus Ryan, David R. McIntyre, David Stant, Devin McPherson, DS Maolalai, Elaine T. Stockdale, Elizabeth Lerman, Ell Miller, Emily Sun Li, Emily Thomas, Emily Way-Evans, Erin Cherie, Hemali Mashru, Howard Young, Ian William L., Isabelle Chow, Jaden Ogwayo, James Kinsella, James McNinch, Jax Bulstrode, Jeanie she wrote, Jemimah Abigail Hawkes, Jen Schneider, Jenna Maria Todinovski, Jennifer McKay, Jessica Huddy, John Stojevich, Jordan Redfern, Jorge Antonio Lopez, JP Starlin, Judith Vaughn, Julius Miranda, Karina Kupp, Kate Kwan, Kelly Maida, kim backalenick escobar, Kinza Zimri, L.G.Chandler, Laura C.G, Laura Mackennon, Leah Fricke, Leon Dunne, Leonie Puschmann, Lisa Simpson, Liv, LKN, Lulu Dekey, lydia falls, Marie Noelle Aliño, Matthew Lazenby, Melissa Anderson, Michael Ware, Michelle Nicole Gerrard, Mina Lucania, Nicholas Cairns, Nicholas Cairns, river., Rocío Romero García, Rosa G., Rosemarie Schaut, Ryan Sam Turner, Sam Drury, Sammi Yamashiro, Sarah Joannidi, Sare Chafin, Seema Tabassum, Serena Morrigan, Serpico Snelling, Sezalpreet Kaur, Simon E. Northcott, Simon Wenck, Skyler Saunders, Sophie Cook, Tabea von Minden, Tahlia Durrant, Teodor Nihtianov, Tilly Shore, Tom Beck, Veronika Lukashevich, Viktoria Schneider, Xaku, Yadawanka Pala, Zachary J. Ferrara, Zara Al-Noah

A father and husband's meditation on love, adolescence, and the mysterious mechanisms of poetic creation, from the acclaimed poet. The poet's art is revealed in stages in this "making-of" book, where we watch as poems take shape--first as dreams or memories, then as drafts, and finally as completed works set loose on the world. In the long poem "Must We Mean What We Say," a woman reader narrates in prose the circumstances behind poems and snippets of poems she receives in letters from a stranger. Who made up whom? Chiasson, an acclaimed poetry critic, has invented a remarkable structure where the reader and a poet speak to one another, across the void of silence and mystery. He is also the father of teenaged sons, and this volume continues the autobiographical arc of his prior, celebrated volumes. One long section is about the age of thirteen and the dawning of desire, while the title poem looks at the crucial age of fifteen and the existential threat of climate change and gun violence, which alters the calculus of adolescence. Though the outlook is bleak, these poems register the glories of our moment: that there are places where boys can kiss each other and not be afraid; that small communities are rousing and taking care of each other; that teenagers have mobilized for a better world. All of these works emerge from the secretive imagination of a father as he measures his own adolescence against that of his sons and explores the complex bedrock of marriage. Chiasson sees a perilous world both navigated and enriched by the passionate young and by the parents--and poets--who care for them.

Train River Poetry is an award nominated quarterly poetry publication featuring world class contemporary poetry. The Winter 2020 edition of our bestselling anthology features poetry contributions from the talented: Adittya Raj Jain, Akshata Lanjekar, Alex Henderson, Alexis Mitchell, Ana Dee, Angelica Whitehorne, ARACELI ROMO QUEZADA, Arul Joseph, Arwyn Vincent, Azalia Suhaimi, B. L. Cortez, Barbara Soehner, Bonn Viojan, Brittany Sabatino, C.M. Frances, Cait Thomson, Candela Rivero, Carlota Guzmán, Christopher Moore, Christopher Woods, Clare Marie Salokoski, David McIntyre, Diane Lato, E.J. Donovan, Elizabeth Lerman, Emily Perkovich, Emma Dakeyne, Emmy White, Godhuli Gupta, Harry Lowery, Helena Kobayashi-Wood, Hemali Mashru, Hetty Cliss, Holly Day, Howard Young, Italo Ferrante, Jaden Ogwayo, Jadine Havill, James Croal Jackson, James Goggin, James Kinsella, Jan Lunette, Jarrius Smith, Jeanie she wrote, Jeanine Marie Bruen, Jen Feroze, Jerome Robles, Jesselyne Abel, Jessica Ruth, Joanne F Blake, John Rock, Jordan Swift, Kamakshi Verma, Kathryn Kluttz, Kim Backalenick Escobar, Kim Völker, Kimberley Chung, Kristen Taleen, Kylee Alice, Leah Fricke, Lotus May, Lourin Khalaf, M.F. Reynoso, M.N. rose, Madison Sylvester, Maleeka Faleeza, Mallory Abreu, Manisha Jain, Mariana Escalona Diaz, Mason Wreaks, Mayuri Kashyap, Meg Jorgenson, Melody Lipford, Michelle Gerrard, Mike White, Natalia Hoffmann, Natalie Nascenzi, Naya Phillips, Neya Krishnan, Nick Thiel, Nuraina Isa, Omairia Bibi, Pragya Pandey, Prathami, Quentin Forberg, Robert Dominick, Ryan Sam Turner, Ryan Willard, s.t. tuchin, Samantha Nimmo, Sammi Yamashiro, Sarah Borruto, Sarah J Marvin, Serena Morrigan, Shivendra Raj Singh, Simon E. Northcott, Srijani Chatterjee, Stefanie Lea, Tabea von Minden, Tahlia Durrant, Talina Dimond, Thom Ratz, TSM, Tyler Jones, Vrinda V. K., Yamini Shivhare, Yash Barik, Zachary J. Ferrara.

Train River Poetry: Summer 2020 features poetry from our brilliant cohort of poets from around the world. The Summer 2020 edition of our bestselling anthology features poetry contributions from the talented: a. l. peetz, Abierto Reino, Adeline Gray, Afreeca Daniel, Alex Masse, Alice Doig, Allie Nelson, ALM, Amelia Robyn, Anahi boyar, Andre Swanepoel, Aniqah Cloete, Ankit Singh, Annette Gagliardi, aurora m, B R Foster, Banter Cason, Barbara Soehner, Belle Leandra, Benjamin Nardolilli, Benjamin Smyth, berly rivera, Braidyn Chang, Brendan De Lucia, Bridget Anthony, Britney Karim, Brodie Elias Vandewater, c.m. frances, Caitlyn Bazzett, Camden Michael Jones, Carley Brown, Carol G, Cassidy Bradwell, Cassie Fielding, Charlotte Kerwick, Charlotte of Shalott, Christopher Kent, Cindy Steward, clari k., Clem Loris, Colin Tan, Colleen Tubungan, Courtney Roast, Daijiro Ueno, Dakota Avellino, David McIntyre, Desiree Heltzel-Baylin, Diane Lato, Edward Ahern, Elise T. Caulfield, Elizabeth Adan, Elizabeth Bradford, Elizabeth Marchetti, Elizabeth Todoroska, Ell Miller, Emerson Gestrin, Emma Louise, enmictlan, Faye H, Francesca Mari, g.d. bubb, Gary Beck, Genna Edwards, Gerald Reid, Ghada Shatara, Harshita Jhawar, Holly Cockburn, Honey Bee, Iman Hamid, Imena Wallflower, In The Ether, Indianna Daveson, Indu D. Kallem, Irene White, Isabelle Chow, Ivy K. Stone, j.a. martyr, Jade Jones, Jaden Ogwayo, Jaimee Boake, Jameel Baker, James Goggin, James J H Gweon, Janine Sophie Himler, Jarrius Smith, Jeanie She wrote, Jess Denman, jessie caitlin bullard, Joanne Freeman-blake, Joe Volpe, Joelle Lamaie, Jordan Redfern, Kain O'Conor, Karlye Sink, Kate Gough, Keith Hagen, Kendry Poetry, Kim Völker, Kimberley Chung, Kimberly Black Day, Kirsten Deane, La Fearless Femme, Leah Fricke, Lena Mora, Leon Gregori, Lina Heller, Linds Nineve, littlefot, Liv Banecker, Liz Baronofsky, Lorraine Dixon, Manaswi Poudel, Marie Claire, marusia, Masturina Jumat, Matthew John, Maya Singh, Meagan Amador, Meg Kyffin, Megan Jorgenson, Michelle Gerrard, MJM Poetry, Mo Unwin, Nancy Almasco, Nanya Sudhir, Naproud Cherchawankul, Neha Lekhak, Odette Dahl, Patricia-Ana Dujic, Payton Olivia W, pettirossopoetry, r. g., Rebecca DeLore, Ria Chakraborty, runawaywriters, s.r. amelia, Sabrina Lo, Sam Brodsky, Sam Piscitelli, Samantha Dixon, Saudamini Patki, Sean Murphy, Shannon Van Alst, Shantelle Collett-Nanton, Shaye Wallace, Shima Begum, Silenus, Simon E. Northcott, Sinead McGuigan, Sonia Sudjana, Sophie Louisa Stephens, Srijani Chatterjee, Srividya Prasad, Tanja Krstulovic, Terri Boyd-Boone, the medøchï, The Unwired Mind, The Withdrawn, thewhite.m05, Tiffany Thom, Toni Maddocks, Trisha Santanam, Veronica Niero, Wang Di, William Doreski, XVII, and Zachary J. Ferrara, along with illustrations by Elise Mari Clare.

Priest’s debut collection, Horsepower, is a cinematic escape narrative that radically envisions a daughter’s waywardness as aspirational. Across the book’s three sequences, we find the black-girl speaker in the midst of a self-imposed exile, going back in memory to explore her younger self—a mixed-race child being raised by her white supremacist grandfather in the shadow of Churchill Downs, Kentucky’s world-famous horseracing track—before arriving in a state of self-awareness to confront the personal and political landscape of a harshly segregated Louisville. Out of a space that is at once southern and urban, violent and beautiful, racially-charged and working-class, she attempts to transcend her social and economic circumstances. Across the collection, Priest writes a horse that acts as a metaphysical engine of flight, showing us how to throw off the harness and sustain wildness. Unlike the traditional Bildungsroman, Priest presents a non-linear narrative in which the speaker lacks the freedom to come of age naively in the urban South, and must instead, from the beginning, possess the wisdom of “the horses & their restless minds.”

FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR POETRY Winner of the Walt Whitman Award of the Academy of American Poets, selected by Juan Felipe Herrera For years now, I’ve been using the wrong palette. Each year with its itchy blue, as the bruise of solitude reaches its expiration date. Planes and buses, guesthouse to guesthouse. I’ve gotten to where I am by dint of my poor eyesight, my overreactive motion sickness. 9 p.m., Hanoi’s Old Quarter: duck porridge and plum wine. Voices outside the door come to a soft boil. —from “Phnom Penh Diptych: Dry Season” Jenny Xie’s award-winning debut, Eye Level, takes us far and near, to Phnom Penh, Corfu, Hanoi, New York, and elsewhere, as we travel closer and closer to the acutely felt solitude that centers this searching, moving collection. Animated by a restless inner questioning, these poems meditate on the forces that moor the self and set it in motion, from immigration to travel to estranging losses and departures. The sensual worlds here—colors, smells, tastes, and changing landscapes—bring to life questions about the self as seer and the self as seen. As Xie writes, “Me? I’m just here in my traveler’s clothes, trying on each passing town for size.” Her taut, elusive poems exult in a life simultaneously crowded and quiet, caught in between things and places, and never quite entirely at home. Xie is a poet of extraordinary perception—both to the tangible world and to “all that is untouchable as far as the eye can reach.”

Train River Poetry: Winter 2019 features poetry from our brilliant cohort of poets from around the world. This bestselling anthology features poetry contributions from the talented: Mona A., Elizabeth Adan, a dense poet, Saadiya Afzal, Aaradhya Aggarwal, Zobia Ahmad, Claire Allen, Muhammad Bin Arbaz, Chandrima Banerjee, Liz Baronofsky, Elizabeth Barrera, Chelsea Bartell, Marissa Beste, Gigi Betancourt, Omairia Bibi, Joanne F. Blake, Fire Blast, Linear Blob, Emma Bonk, Karen Bradley, Rachel Brown, CCG, Banter Cason, Clara Cate, Elise T. Caulfield, Céline Charmion, Amina Chinnell-Mateen, L Cicero, Sophie Cook, Amarie F. Corr, Jenny Corres, Grace Daniels, darci, Katherine D'Astous, A'Teha Day, Natasha Dean, Cory Decker, Sheralyn Deiparine, Jess Denman, Anna Douglas, Patricia Dujic, Josette Eloise, Zachary J. Ferrara, Roza Fire, Framed Floromancy, Carol G, Gnome, Kate Gombert, Haylee Goranson, Kate Gough, Aaliyah Grey, Shreya Gupta, Andrea H., Iman Hamid, Jay Higgins, Kevin Hsu, Krystina Krupilnilnitskaya, Jessica Huddy, Adittya Raj Jain, Jasmine, Melanie Jones, Abira Kennan, Julianne Keber, Lourin Khalaf, Afra Khannum, James Kinsella, Rob Kish, Maria Kroupycheva, Laure Lacornette, Neha Lekhak, Lì-Wéi, Rhea J. Lovelace, Courtney Lowry, Eugénie Lodier, Mairi Maclean, Rahayu Madina, Kelly Maida, Anica Malpica, Darlina Mamaqui, Priscilla May, Victoria Mccleskey, Sinead McGuigan, David McIntyre, Loren Mclelland, Kelsey Miklovic, Rahul Mirchandani, Ariel Moniz, Cristine Marie Vélez Morales, Ashwin Nair, Elizabeth Nash, Aysha Nasrin, Diya Nijhawan, Natasha Isabella Noor, Lilian A. Odell, Orchid Rain Poetry, J. Oscar, Xindy P, Priya Pallavi, Vendana Pamulaparthy, papilla the poet, Gerald Reid, Sarahlyn Revillo, Rebecca Rijsdijk, Chelsie Rivera, Adrian Robinson, Vaishali Rokde, Amrita Roy, runawaywriters, Tom Rush, Sable Rye, Champagne Ryder, Jelica S, Karlye S., K. Sam, John Savarese, Rebecca Lynn Schultz, Cheri Scott, Khushali Shah, M Shanath, Silenus, Emma Sloan, Ekta Somera, Kate Spirduso, September Stardust, Ivy K. Stone, Sujina, Sugandha Sy, T.A., Rajeshwari Tagore, Jeffrey Thomas, Hareeba Tirmizi, Gina Minks Toddings, Shalini Toppo, Colleen Tubungan, Samantha Tumblin, Úna Saint James, Mario Del Valle, Janeé Vaughn, Kiana Vergara, Sonam Chophel Wangdi, Brian Waters, Gregory Welch, and Henery X.

FINALIST FOR THE 2020 NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FOR POETRY FINALIST FOR THE 2021 NAACP IMAGE AWARD FOR POETRY Danez Smith is our president Homie is Danez Smith’s magnificent anthem about the saving grace of friendship. Rooted in the loss of one of Smith’s close friends, this book comes out of the search for joy and intimacy within a nation where both can seem scarce and getting scarcer. In poems of rare power and generosity, Smith acknowledges that in a country overrun by violence, xenophobia, and disparity, and in a body defined by race, queerness, and diagnosis, it can be hard to survive, even harder to remember reasons for living. But then the phone lights up, or a shout comes up to the window, and family—blood and chosen—arrives with just the right food and some redemption. Part friendship diary, part bright elegy, part war cry, Homie is the exuberant new book written for Danez and for Danez’s friends and for you and for yours.