For Derek Walcott, 23 January 1930 – 17 March 2017

You have to be half awake
Precarious as vernaculars
Of light  ...

a St. Sabastian of darts and terror, escaping
the slaughterhouse for the street, its gauntlet
of slow moving cars, lights flashing.

He flees past green lawns where he cannot
stop, chased by those determined to finish
the job  ...

I feel the owls gathering with the dark,
and holy words beyond translation
coming from the synagogue next door
through a thicket of white oleander.  ...

Once, I tried to make a poem into a gun, wanted to stun the world

For a moment, wanted to feel the powerful, cold heaviness of it in my own hand –

But of course, you know, it refused.  ...

Lara Holmes is not a drunk.  She seriously objects to labels which reduce individuals to past participles. Lara would hardly be capable of saying “past participles” if she were drunk – ‘a drunk’. She never drinks on week nights- not since last week’s scare on the bypass; the blue lights jerking her out of early morning autopilot ...

5AM, a spattering of robins and wrens
chattering about the coming light

                   and the dangers of the waking world
in a balding ash.  A television blares    ...

Red Bird Chapbooks has been invited to participate in the Poets House Showcase for the third year in a row.  We're thrilled for the opporutnity to share our authors' collections as part of this exhibit and related events.

A poetry and music event honoring the life of Dr. James Croteau

Noah Stetzer was recently interviewed by Somayeh Shams with Nimrod Journal.  It's a great behind the scenes look at Noah's chapbook Because I Can See Needing a Knife.  You can view the entire interview here.

You found a baby millipede in the garden. When you saw it under the roots of a weed you'd pulled it reminded you of another creature, fast asleep several thousands of miles away. You leaned down, picked it up, and laid it on your palm. It looked even smaller there, a russet spiral in a valley of skin. Perhaps it was dead, but you told yourself that it must simply be sleeping. You thought about the other creature and wondered  ...