What’s Left Out: The Poems That Haunt a Collection From the Outside
Every poetry collection has its “maybes” and “almosts,” the poems that didn’t make it to publication. A debut poet considers the poems that haunt a book from the outside.
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Genre: Poetry
The Time Is Now: Writing Prompts and Exercises
Write a poem about the pains and pleasures of cold weather, a short story that brings together an unexpected series of events, or an essay that contemplates companionship.
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Reflection: Twenty Years of Debut Poets
Since 2005, Poets & Writers Magazine has highlighted emerging poets in an annual feature on first poetry books. In celebration, we gathered a list of the 222 poets and their debut collections that have graced our pages.
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Hyperlocal Lore
For nearly three decades, from the early 1980s until 2013, Dr. Jonathan Zizmor’s skincare ads for his dermatology practice were a mainstay in New York City subway cars, touting treatments for various skin problems and displaying the doctor’s own slightly smiling visage. A 2016 New York Times article noting his retirement stated: “To know Dr. Zizmor is to know the city’s secret handshake, to appreciate its quirkier, more pedestrian pleasures that natives claim as their own.” What’s hyperlocal to where you live? Brainstorm some ideas of things that might qualify as local lore, your city’s secret handshake—perhaps some idiosyncratic window displays or advertisements, a distinctive element of the urban landscape, a quirk of the natural environment, or public street art. Write an ode to one of these items, to commemorate and share its pedestrian pleasures.
The Wright Conversations: Nikki Giovanni
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In this video, Nikki Giovanni reads a selection of her poems and speaks about her life and career for the Wright Conversations series hosted by the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit and PBS Books. Giovanni died at the age of eighty-one on December 9, 2024.
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A.I.R. Studio Paducah
A.I.R. Studio Paducah offers residencies of two weeks to three months year-round to poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers in the Lower Town Arts District of Paducah, Kentucky. Residents are provided with a private apartment and studio space. The cost of the residency is $700 for two weeks or $1,000 for one month. To apply, submit up to five poems of any length or up to 10 pages of prose, a cover letter, a résumé, a writer’s statement, and contact information for three references with a $25 application fee.
Type:
RESIDENCY
Ignore Event Date Field?:
yes
Event Date:
April 27, 2026
Rolling Admissions:
yes
Application Deadline:
April 27, 2026
Financial Aid?:
no
Financial Aid Application Deadline:
April 27, 2026
Free Admission:
no
Contact Information:
A.I.R. Studio Paducah, c/o Alonzo Davis, 4410 Oglethorpe Street, #609, Hyattsville, MD 20781. (202) 374-5650. Kay Lindsey, Communications Coordinator.
Kay Lindsey
Communications Coordinator
Contact City:
Paducah
Contact State:
KY
Country:
US
Macondo Writers Workshop
The 2026 Macondo Writers Workshop will be held from July 20 to July 26 at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. The program features multigenre writing workshops, seminars, and free public readings for poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers who also identify as social activists. The faculty includes Jan Beatty, Marilyn Chin, Jessica Hagedorn, Robert Jones Jr., and Luis J. Rodriguez. The cost of the program is $855 for tuition and $688 for room and board. A commuter pass for attendees staying off campus is $279.
Type:
CONFERENCE
Ignore Event Date Field?:
no
Event Date:
July 20, 2026
Rolling Admissions:
ignore
Application Deadline:
April 27, 2026
Financial Aid?:
no
Financial Aid Application Deadline:
April 27, 2026
Free Admission:
no
Contact Information:
Macondo Writers Workshop, Trinity University, One Trinity Place, Northrup Hall 244, San Antonio, TX 78212. Pat Alderete, Applications Administrator.
Pat Alderete
Applications Administrator
Contact City:
San Antonio
Contact State:
TX
Contact Zip / Postal Code:
78212
Country:
US
Voices of the Wilderness Artist in Residence Program
The U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service offered one- to two-week residencies from June through August to poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers who wished to take part in stewardship projects in the wilderness of Alaska. Residents were paired with a wilderness ranger with whom they explore the national forests, parks, or refuges, while assisting with research, fieldwork, and other light ranger duties.
Type:
RESIDENCY
Ignore Event Date Field?:
yes
Event Date:
April 27, 2026
Rolling Admissions:
ignore
Application Deadline:
April 27, 2026
Financial Aid?:
no
Financial Aid Application Deadline:
April 27, 2026
Free Admission:
yes
Contact Information:
Voices of the Wilderness Artist in Residence Program, P.O. Box 129, Girdwood, AK 99587. Barbara Lydon, Program Coordinator.
Barbara Lydon
Program Coordinator
Contact City:
Girdwood
Contact State:
AK
Contact Zip / Postal Code:
99587
Country:
US
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Tinker Mountain Writers’ Workshop Summer Residential Program
The annual Tinker Mountain Writers’ Workshop will be held from June 14 to June 19 at the Hollins University campus in Roanoke, Virginia. The conference features generative and critique workshops as well as craft talks, individual conferences with faculty members, readings, and social events for poets, fiction writers, nonfiction writers, and writers working across genres, as well as one-on-one manuscript consultations. The faculty includes poet Rebecca Lindenberg; fiction writers Amanda Cockrell, Dorothy Hassan, Fred G.
Type:
CONFERENCE
Ignore Event Date Field?:
no
Event Date:
June 14, 2026
Rolling Admissions:
yes
Application Deadline:
April 27, 2026
Financial Aid?:
no
Financial Aid Application Deadline:
April 27, 2026
Free Admission:
no
Contact Information:
Tinker Mountain Writers’ Workshop Summer Residential Program, Hollins University, 7916 Williamson Road, Roanoke, VA 24020. (540) 362-6225. Christine Powell, Program Director.
Christine Powell
Program Director
Contact City:
Roanoke
Contact State:
VA
Contact Zip / Postal Code:
24020
Country:
US
Add Image:
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Bread Loaf Environmental Writers’ Conference
The 2026 Bread Loaf Environmental Writers’ Conference will be held from June 14 to June 20 in the Green Mountains of Ripton, Vermont. The conference, designed for poets and prose writers whose work deals with the environment and the natural world, features workshops in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, as well as lectures; craft classes; meetings with editors, agents, and publishers; and readings by faculty and guests. The faculty includes poets Jennifer Chang, Joseph O.
Type:
CONFERENCE
Ignore Event Date Field?:
no
Event Date:
June 14, 2026
Rolling Admissions:
ignore
Application Deadline:
April 27, 2026
Financial Aid?:
no
Financial Aid Application Deadline:
April 27, 2026
Free Admission:
no
Contact Information:
Bread Loaf Conferences, Bread Loaf Environmental Writers’ Conference, Middlebury College, 204 College Street, Middlebury, VT 05753. (802) 443-5286. Jason Lamb, Coordinator.
Jason Lamb
Coordinator
Contact City:
Ripton
Contact State:
VT
Contact Zip / Postal Code:
05753
Country:
US
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