Poet of the MonthrbdChloe N. Clark, poetry, poet of the month

Chloe N. Clark: December 2017 Poet of the Month

Poet of the MonthrbdChloe N. Clark, poetry, poet of the month
Chloe N. Clark: December 2017 Poet of the Month
gn-dim-359346.jpg

Questions for Those Who Aren’t Sure Where to Begin

Do you tell them your name? Just your name? Or a funny story about how it’s always mispronounced, misspelled? Or about the nicknames you’ve held throughout your life? Your name is letters, is a word, should it be something else? How much of you is your name?

Do you make a joke after they tell you to take a deep breath in? Let it out. And again. And again.

And again.

How many of their yes/no questions do you answer yes? Remember not to lie, not to hedge, because this will matter later.

Do you tell it like a story? Or are you going to Dragnet it? Oh, wait, this reference becomes out of date. Do yours?

Is it just the facts?

What are “just the facts”?

Here, they are taking your pulse. They are counting the beats. Do you count with them?

When they say open up? Do you?

Or, wait, you’re just supposed to say “ah.”

Does it feel strange when they say you’re fine/ they can’t see anything wrong. Do you go quiet? Again?

And again.

Chloe N. Clark's work appears in Booth, Glass, Hobart, Uncanny, and more. Her chapbook The Science of Unvanishing Objects is forthcoming in 2018. Follow her @PintsNCupcakes.

Poet of the MonthrbdAlexandra Smyth, poet of the month, poetry

Alexandra Smyth: July 2016 Poet of the Month

Alexandra Smyth lives in Brooklyn, NY. She is a graduate of the City College of New York MFA Creative Writing Program. She was a finalist for the 2015 Cobalt Review Gabriela Mistral Poetry Prize and a recipient of the 2014 Poets and Writers Amy Award. Her work has appeared in Cobalt Review, Gravel, and TAB, among others. 

Poet of the MonthrbdAlexandra Smyth, poet of the month, poetry
Alexandra Smyth: July 2016 Poet of the Month
Poet of the MonthrbdOri Fienberg, poet of the month, poetry

Ori Fienberg: August 2017 Poet of the Month

A graduate of the Iowa’s Nonfiction Writing Program, Ori Fienberg’s short prose has appeared or is forthcoming in many journals including Beecher’s Magazine, Essay Daily, Entropy Magazine, The Laurel Review, and the Mid-American Review. Ori creates educational resources to promote academic integrity at the College of Professional Studies of Northeastern University in Boston, and lives with his wife, and dog, in Evanston, IL. Find more of his work at orifienberg.com.

Poet of the MonthrbdOri Fienberg, poet of the month, poetry
Ori Fienberg: August 2017 Poet of the Month
Poet of the MonthrbdJared Joseph, poet of the month, poetry

Jared Joseph: October 2017 Poet of the Month

Jared Joseph is a recent graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop MFA program, and os now pursuing my PhD in Literature at the University of California – Santa Cruz. Recent work has been published in Fence and Entropy Journal; 'Drowsy. Drowsy Baby' is forthcoming from Civil Coping Mechanisms press in September 2017. His book collaboration with Sara Peck, 'here you are,' is available from Horse Less Press.
 

Poet of the MonthrbdJared Joseph, poet of the month, poetry
Jared Joseph: October 2017 Poet of the Month