-
A Republic Pressed by Thunder
By Oak Morse The Intentions of Thunder, by Patricia Smith. Scribner, 352 pp., $30 (hard). One theme in Patricia Smith’s The Intentions of Thunder: New and Selected Poems, … Read the rest
-
Mark Halliday
Understanding a Poem A poet is talking to herself about her effort to reach a deeper truth in a poem. The process is painful but she keeps feeling that progress … Read the rest
-
Anita Harag
Translated by Marietta Morry and Walter Burgess The Name Whose name do you keep saying in your sleep, my girlfriend asked. You kept repeating a woman’s name all night long. … Read the rest
-
Maja Lukic
Encounters The black snake I must encounter to reach my writing studio is a real snake. It elongates its rubbery body across warm concrete, then slips into grass, undular in … Read the rest
-
Matthew Gellman
The Understudy i. Stuttering and cluttering in front of a blank wall, I spent so much time rehearsing the words to avoid ire. I always liked watching my brother learning … Read the rest
-
Kiran Kaur Saini
The Iteration of the Crow and the Worm In this iteration of your visit, you are a crow. You are outside on the windowsill, one eye facing the room, watching, … Read the rest
-
West Branch 111, Spring/Summer 2026:<br>Digital Issue
Poetry Maja LukicEncounters Matthew GellmanThe Understudy Fiction Kiran Kaur SainiThe Iteration of the Crow and the Worm Fiction Translation Anita Haragtr. Marietta Morry & Walter Burgess… Read the rest
-
West Branch 111, Spring/Summer 2026
In this Print Issue: Poetry by Matthew Gellman, Lincoln Greenhaw, Maja Lukic, Victoria Reynolds, Jessica Q. Stark, and Mason Wray; Fiction by Soramimi Hanarejima, Aidan O’Brien, Samantha Kathryn O’Brien, and … Read the rest
-
Psalms 38, 102, & 130
“We think this happened because the process of writing oneself into the predicament of the psalmist works only if the translator prioritizes affective utility over textual accuracy. In other words, she must ask the question: What are the psalms for?”
-
Split the Lark: Shara Lessley on Contemporary Poetry
“Much is made of beginnings and endings, the first line of a poem or its closing stanza. We see critical attention given to prize-winning debuts, collected bodies of work, and books published posthumously. But what about middles? The volta of the writing life, so to speak.”
A Thrice-Yearly Magazine of Poetry, Fiction, Essays, and Reviews