Featured
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An Interview with Christine Barkley
“‘Wilded’ began as a conversation with other poems I had written, partially as a condemnation of common themes to which I found myself returning without any resolution.” Interview by Maddie Grieco.
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Guest Editor Rose Facchini
“I am proud to highlight translation’s vital role in connecting readers to these global voices, a practice deserving far greater recognition in the English-speaking world. After all, only through translation do these voices become ‘global.’”
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The Peculiar Particular
“The three collections I’ve chosen satisfy my desire for specificity. They lean into the peculiar particular and press on the pulse of language that reminds us that there is more wonder to be found in our world. ” Laura Villareal on Emily Stoddard, Karen Rigby, and Brandom Som.
This Issue:
West Branch 108, Spring/Summer 2025
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Cover Art: Ni Los Perros Que Jamás Me Olvidaron, Ni Los Caballos, Ni Los Abrazos Que Me Dan Mis (#3, 8, 9, 15, 16, 17, 19, 25), by Edison Peñafiel (2023–24); acrylic on raw canvas, fabric, iron-on transfers, 45.25” x 55.5” each. Images courtesy of the artist and Sabrina Amrani Gallery.
Poetry
- Victoria María Castells
Ode to Palm Tree
The Questioning of the Palms - Benjamin Aleshire
Pastoral on the Invention of Screaming - Laura Sackton
21 Years After the U.S. Invasion of Iraq, I Confront Mary Oliver’s Ghost in the Middle of a Genocide
Spring Body
Fiction
- Devon Halliday
Work Experience
Guest Editor Rose Facchini:
A Special Translation Feature- Editor’s Introduction
- Giacomo Cardaci
tr. Oonagh Stransky
Sugar and Tar - Elsa Gribinski
tr. Edward Gauvin
Ode to Jouy - Ainur Karim
tr. Slava Faybysh
“The Bully” from Who Will Marry You?
The Back of the Book
- Book Review
Composing Wonder
on Kevin Prufer, Maria Zoccola, and Laura Newbern
by Chelsea Christine Hill - Book Review
The Peculiar Particular
on Emily Stoddard, Karen Rigby, and Brandon Som
by Laura Villareal
- Victoria María Castells