Derek Pollard, PhD

At least it’s TBR and not tsundoku, @twalk.bsky.social ! 📚🥸

In all seriousness, I really appreciate the kind words about the series. Being a longtime fan myself, it’s an honor to serve as editor and build on the work Donald Hall began nearly 50 years ago.

Front cover of the book ‘Radical Poetics’ by Khadijah Queen, published in the Poets on Poetry Series by the University of Michigan Press edited by Derek Pollard. The cover features a Black woman sitting barefoot in a dimly lit, eclectic space surrounded by books and fabric drapes. The atmosphere is reminiscent of steampunk with a Southern gothic twist. The woman is wearing a pink dress and sitting on a floral-patterned surface. The subtitle reads ‘Essays on Literature & Culture.’

@people.com just published its 2026 list of “10 Inspiring and Educational Nonfiction Books to Read This Black History Month.”

Congratulations to @uofmpress.bsky.social author @khadijahqueen.com on having RADICAL POETICS named to the list!

people.com/best-nonfict...

Looking forward to getting your thoughts, @twalk.bsky.social !

YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen Land Of Hope And Dreams American Tour

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band will launch their Land Of Hope And Dreams American Tour across the country this spring, kicking off at Minneapolis’ Target Center on March 31. The 20-date run will feature 19 arena shows, and a final night on May 27 at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.

Read Matthew Rohrer on his poem “The Winter Sun.” Matthew Rohrer and Cole Swensen will read at the Poetry Society of America on February 26 as part of the spring 2026 PSA Reading Series.

https://ow.ly/vBms50YfkhH

Album cover for "Filin" by Melissa Aldana on Blue Note Records. A high contrast, grainy black-and-white photo shows saxophonist Melissa Aldana standing on a staircase, looking upward toward a sharp architectural shadow. The top of the cover features the album title "FILIN" in large light-blue block letters alongside the names of the quartet: Melissa Aldana, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Peter Washington, and Kush Abadey.

If this isn't on the turntable yet, it's high time to switch things up. 🎷🎶

melissaaldana.lnk.to/Filin

@bluenoterecords.bsky.social

It’s been just over a year since this one was published. Looking forward to giving a talk about it at UI Chicago next month!

a portion of Carl Phillips' poem, which reads: hat moment in intimacy when sorrow, fear, and anger cross in unison the same face, what at first can seem almost a form of pleasure, a mistake as easy, presumably, as it’s forgivable.

photograph of poet Carl Phillips

"'Crossing the Rubicon' has long been a widely used idiom. It refers to having stepped over a line, or passed a point of no return," guest host @scryptkeeper.bsky.social shares in episode 1456.

Read “Rubicon” by Carl Phillips, from SPEAK LOW (@fsgbooks.bsky.social): bit.ly/3Ma4QMt

TODAY at 12 p.m. ET! Ross Gay and @nezhukumatathil.bsky.social will be chatting about love and intimacy alongside Mary Evelyn Tucker at this free online event! You can still register to get the link to join right here. See you there. 💚
orionmagazine.org/event-worksh...

I couldn’t agree more, @thedaybooks.bsky.social !

Looking forward to the conversations your talk sparks, @khadijahqueen.com.

And congratulations again on having RADICAL POETICS named to @people.com’s 2026 list of “10 Inspiring and Educational Nonfiction Books to Read This Black History Month”!

Front cover of the book ‘Radical Poetics’ by Khadijah Queen, published in the Poets on Poetry Series by the University of Michigan Press edited by Derek Pollard. The cover features a Black woman sitting barefoot in a dimly lit, eclectic space surrounded by books and fabric drapes. The atmosphere is reminiscent of steampunk with a Southern gothic twist. The woman is wearing a pink dress and sitting on a floral-patterned surface. The subtitle reads ‘Essays on Literature & Culture.’

@people.com just published its 2026 list of “10 Inspiring and Educational Nonfiction Books to Read This Black History Month.”

Congratulations to @uofmpress.bsky.social author @khadijahqueen.com on having RADICAL POETICS named to the list!

people.com/best-nonfict...

Book cover for ‘Your Historical Loveliness Knows No Bounds’ by Wendy Xu. The book is part of the Poets on Poetry Series, published by the University of Michigan Press and edited by Derek Pollard. The cover image is a striking, full-frame close-up photograph of a bronze sculpture of a man's head, angled to fill most of the page. The sculpture is highly dramatic: the man's face is contorted with intense emotion, and his mouth is wide open, as if shouting or screaming. The metal has a dark, mottled verdigris patina. All text is positioned across the lower third of the cover. The title, ‘YOUR HISTORICAL LOVELINESS KNOWS NO BOUNDS,’ and the author's name, WENDY XU, are printed in light gray/off-white text. The subtitle, "FORM, FUTURITY, AND DOCUMENTARY DESIRE," is centered beneath the title and printed in a distinctive pale yellow text.

Can you inherit someone else's loneliness? Wendy Xu's parents gave her a poem about feeling foreign, words she'd need before she knew why. YOUR HISTORICAL LOVELINESS asks what poetry carries across generations, and why certain words find us exactly when we need them.

press.umich.edu/Books/Y/Your...

The Poetry Society of America is pleased to announce that Mei-mei Berssenbrugge is the 2026 recipient of the Frost Medal for distinguished lifetime achievement in poetry.

https://ow.ly/WIFA50Y5vf0

Robert Hayden masterpiece:

Spring workshops & seminars at the Poetry Society of America are now enrolling. From March through June, Layli Long Soldier, Rick Barot, Peter Gizzi, Emily Skillings, and Lynn Melnick will join the PSA to illuminate the art of poetry. https://ow.ly/zF8u50Y0UiE

Book cover for NOTHINGISM by Jason Schneiderman, published in the Poets on Poetry Series edited by Derek Pollard. The background is deep purple. The title, NOTHINGISM, appears as large, light purple text running vertically down the left side of the cover. On the right side, in gold text that contrasts with the purple background, is the subtitle POETRY AT THE END OF PRINT CULTURE. The author's name, JASON SCHNEIDERMAN, appears in white text below the subtitle. In the bottom right corner is a simple illustration of a tan cardboard box. The overall design is minimal and contemporary, using typographic elements as the main visual focus.

"If everything is politics, then nothing is politics."

Jason Schneiderman's NOTHINGISM makes a bold, unexpected case: what if contemplation and privacy are poetry's most subversive acts?

press.umich.edu/Books/N/Noth...

@uofmpress.bsky.social

#Poetry #Books #BookSky

Radical Poetics Literature has the power to help build a shelter in language for a way of being that holds integrity and love as its root. In the tradition of Audre Lorde, Angela Davis, and many other Black writers a...

And if you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, here’s more on @khadijahqueen.com’s RADICAL POETICS: press.umich.edu/Books/R/Radi...

It’s an incredible list of books. 📚

Congratulations again, @ninabegus.bsky.social !

For those experiencing problems with the link, this should get you to the announcement: www.michigan.gov/libraryofmic...

Voice Message from Gaza Her favorite student who posted his little tomato and mint gardens on Instagram was incinerated en route to coffee with her one month ago.

Today's Feature:

"Voice Message from Gaza" by Naomi Shihab Nye from Washington Square Review, issue 53

Read here:

“This is a call to take fiction seriously as a real force in technological development.” — @hekiwi.bsky.social, co-founder, @artificiality.bsky.social

Congratulations to @uofmpress.bsky.social author @ninabegus.bsky.social on ARTIFICIAL HUMANITIES being named a 2025 Artificiality Book Award winner!

A 3D book cover for "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: A Veteran's Memoir" by Khadijah Queen. The cover features a deep navy blue background with a subtle, rippling water texture. The title is displayed in large, bold, sans-serif block letters that appear partially submerged in water, with a color gradient of light blue and lavender. The author's name is at the bottom in a solid, bright blue font.

Congratulations to Poets on Poetry Series author @khadijahqueen.com on her memoir, BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA (Legacy Lit), being named a 2026 Notable Book of the Year by the Library of Michigan!

www.michigan.gov/libraryofmic...

@uofmpress.bsky.social

#Books #Memoir #BookSky

Applications are open to join an upcoming Advanced Poetry Workshop with Layli Long Soldier.

8–12 accepted students will workshop their poetry, receiving feedback and offering critique in a small group setting.

Learn more and apply: https://ow.ly/rriM50XYb2z

Book cover for ‘Your Historical Loveliness Knows No Bounds’ by Wendy Xu. The book is part of the Poets on Poetry Series, published by the University of Michigan Press and edited by Derek Pollard. The cover image is a striking, full frame close-up photograph of a bronze sculpture of a man's head, angled to fill most of the page. The sculpture is highly dramatic: the man's face is contorted with intense emotion, and his mouth is wide open, as if shouting or screaming. The metal has a dark, mottled verdigris patina. All text is positioned across the lower third of the cover. The title, ‘YOUR HISTORICAL LOVELINESS KNOWS NO BOUNDS,’ and the author's name, WENDY XU, are printed in light gray/off-white text. The subtitle, "FORM, FUTURITY, AND DOCUMENTARY DESIRE," is centered beneath the title and printed in a distinctive pale yellow text.

What if preserving a memory destroys it?

In YOUR HISTORICAL LOVELINESS KNOWS NO BOUNDS, Wendy Xu argues for poetry that risks rupture, holds simultaneous pasts, refuses the settled comfort of a single story.

@uofmpress.bsky.social

press.umich.edu/Books/Y/Your...

#Poetry #Books #BookSky

Donate to Support for Benjamin’s Mom and Sister’s Medical Needs, organized by Benjamin Revell Hey there friends, family, & strangers. I'm raising money for my… Benjamin Revell needs your support for Support for Benjamin’s Mom and Sister’s Medical Needs

Hard to do this quietly on social, but Ben Revell (many of you will recognize the last name) has started a GoFundMe campaign to help with his sister’s and mother’s medical expenses.

He’s hoping to meet the goal without Lucie, Claudia, or Donald being the wiser.

www.gofundme.com/f/support-fo...

Tickets are live for spring events! Catch Joshua Bennett, Monica Ferrell, Adrian Matejka, Farid Matuk, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Ariana Reines, Matthew Rohrer, Cole Swensen, and Elizabeth Willis, at the PSA now through June.

Registration is open! Purchase tickets: https://ow.ly/5nUe50XVRPE

“Advice for poets should be poems.” In today's #TenQuestions, @biancatherosestone.bsky.social offers writing advice and provides an inside look at the publishing process for her new collection, The Near and Distant World, out today from @tinhouse.bsky.social. Read more: at.pw.org/10qstone

graphic featuring a portion of Blas Falconer's poem

Photograph of poet Blas Falconer, taken by Emily Petrie

"Today’s poem touched me because it acknowledges the patience and tenderness we need to have as spouses and as parents," @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social shares in episode 1432.

Read "The Good Guy" by @blasfalconer.bsky.social — from RARA AVIS (@fourwaybooks.bsky.social): bit.ly/4buKSGe