In Memoriam: Kathleen Hunt
As a child, I wasn’t allowed to watch television on days when there was school the next day. The rule for my two older siblings and myself was that we could listen to the radio, do our homework, or read. I can’t speak to my parents’ reasons for this rule, but it went a long way toward teaching me to loving reading and then writing. It’s one of many ways that they helped me get to where I am now. Without my parents’ support while fighting for disability for over a decade, there would be no Philly Poetry Chapbook Review.
Even though I know they wished for their children to retain their devout Catholic faith into adulthood, they never held my lack of faith against me. While they didn’t understand neurodivergence as well when I was a child, they did their best to help me with my chronic health issues and always truly cared about my happiness. I didn’t like my parents politics, but I still love them.
Sadly, my mother passed away in hospice on March 21 following a long decline. I lived in the same house for the first ten years after her Alzheimer’s diagnosis, so there was plenty of time to grieve early. After the funeral, I’m all out of sadness. Still, I wanted to pay respect to her in these pages and acknowledge the debt this publication owes to her loving parenting. Thank you and rest in peace, Kathleen Hunt.
Spring Poetry
On a happier note, we’ve just finished our first quarterly issue to include both original poetry and full-length excerpts. My thanks to A.L. Nielsen, Shelli Rottschafer, Wendell Hawken, Natalie Marino, Adele Ross, Sarena Tien, and Jeanne Bamforth for sharing their original poetry with PCR readers in our Winter 2025 issue. Thanks also for our featured full-length excerpts from Rae Armantrout, Elaine Equi, and Laynie Browne along with our featured chapbook poems from Benjamin S. Grossberg, Angela Siew, and Deirdre Garr Johns. Finally, I’d like to thank Shelli Rottschafer and D.W. Baker for their chapbook review contributions and poet Kate Colby for participating in a conversation with me. The PCR website averaged over 1,500 views per month for the Winter 2025 issue period; a new high to start our second year well.
We recently completed our second call for original poetry and I was pleased with the results, more than doubling the submissions number from our first call. I’m proud to say that our average response time for first-round decisions (87.5% of submissions) was only 2.75 days. Our acceptance rate was about 6%, so don’t feel too bad if your work wasn’t chosen this time. We look forward to bringing you work from the six poets we chose–Jonathan Fletcher, Sarah E N Kohrs, Christa Fairbrother, Jane Ellen Glasser, Bart Edelman, and Victoria Korth–with a new post every other Thursday through June as part of our Spring 2025 content.
Thank you to all of our readers and submitters. I love running this publication, but it wouldn’t mean much without you. Here’s to continuing to grow and thrive.
Warm regards,
Aiden Hunt
Editor/Creator
Contents
Book Excerpt: The Prize of Québec by Jennifer Nelson
“I tend to lean into the transconstitutory powers of ekphrasis. … Only in poetry can one go to the moon in a way that critiques the quest for the moon.” Read a poem from Jennifer Nelson’s new collection from Fence Books, On the Way to the Paintings of Forest Robberies.
Chapbook Poem: This Is How They Teach Us How to Want It . . . by Shanta Lee
“This poem explores the levels of our participation in handing ourselves over, often to the people, places, or things that deserve no such delight.” Read a #poem from Shanta Lee’s new book from Harbor Editions, This Is How They Teach Us How to Want It . . . The Slaughter.
Three Poems by Jonathan Fletcher
“Instead of having to choose between religion or the LGBTQ community (which I know many member of the latter feel they have to do), I think it is possible (and maybe even biblical) to integrate both into one’s life.” Read three original poems from Jonathan Fletcher, along with words from the author.
What Happened? On You are Leaving the American Sector by Rebecca Foust
“Rebecca Foust’s new chapbook of poems has a strange prescience. … Foust isn’t alone in making the obvious connection between Trump’s first term and Orwell’s dystopia.” Read the full chapbook review by new contributor Rick Mullin.
‘What if we started creating together? What if we looked at who we are from the side and saw a much more complete and honest perspective?” Read four poems by poet Sarah E N Kohrs, along with words from the poet.