In some way or another, we are all caught in our own modern minutia, marching to the tune of a drum that is beaten for us like eggs in a Sunday scramble. People crave escape. People crave reprieve. People crave a difference in the daily, to either be or see something remarkable, or simply to remark at the unremarkable, and experience joy in a way that can only be described as simple, but special.
John Popielaski’s poetry collection That Special Something is a home-brewed, hand-poured draft, best enjoyed on the porch with the sweet, harmonic melody of nature playing in the background. Popielaski trades the business and bustle of our constructed world for the serene scenes of running water in a stream and the cigar smoke in dive bars; the smell of hops and cracked corn; and the sounds of crickets, American toads, and the holy rise and fall of breathing.
1 Comment
When people leave our lives, relics are left behind as testaments to their existence. These relics are often possessions of loved ones, sometimes stories observed or passed down, and other times, they are us. Jaki McCarrick’s debut poetry collection Sweeney as a Girl conjures a lived-in world via these relics, whether they're rooted in the history of her life, her literary muses, or her homeland.
The past can fill the soul with sweet nostalgia, but it can also fill the mind with memories it would rather forget. Alison Hicks’ latest poetry collection, Homing, is a treasure trove of recollections brimming with the brightness of childhood, the solitude of being an outsider, and the beauty of creation in all forms. Through natural and man-made environmental themes, Hicks soars across planes of joy, loneliness, and womanhood by constructing scenes that not only help readers ponder the mysteries of our habitats, but also the mysteries within ourselves.
Human life mimics nature’s seasons and their complex tensions. Sometimes it is an easy and mild transition into a new phase. Other times, it is a violent and distinct change that leaves one feeling ill prepared and unsettled. More commonly, it is a slow transition filled with inconsistency and wavering.
Annette Sisson skillfully weaves the complexities of grief throughout her poetry collection, Winter Sharp with Apples. The book’s title is a reminder that even in bitter times, such as a sharp winter, life will present moments of hope and sweetness, as depicted through the image of the apple.
It’s an interesting experience, being a Black woman. Traversing this world born as two marginalized identities, not receiving support from either at the same time. When standing up for ourselves we are painted as aggressive, too passionate, perpetually angry, the villain. The experiences of being a woman differ globally but there seems to be a consensus that being a woman entails some sort of suffering at the hands of patriarchal society. At least that’s how it is explored within white women’s spaces. Albeit true, when Black women come into these spaces to impart their own experiences being a woman coupled with being Black, suddenly we are shunned. Suddenly we don’t know what it’s like to be a woman because we are Black. What they refuse to realize is that our womanly experience is unique. It’s beautiful, it's painful, it’s joyous, it breeds community. This is explored within Angelique Zobitz’s poetry book Seraphim.
|
Categories
All
Archives
August 2026
|
RSS Feed
|
Glassworks is a publication of Rowan University's Master of Arts in Writing 260 Victoria Street • Glassboro, New Jersey 08028 [email protected] |
All Content on this Site (c) 2026 Glassworks
|
