Contributions
- Verses of Mourning: in the aftermath by Jessica Nirvana Ram
“[Ram] presents a revealing and heartbreaking collection that asks the reader to think about what they remember the most about those they have lost.” Read Alex Carrigan’s full review.
About the Contributor
Alex Carrigan (he/him) is a Pushcart-nominated editor, poet, and critic from Alexandria, VA. He is the author of Now Let’s Get Brunch (Querencia Press, 2023) and May All Our Pain Be Champagne (Alien Buddha Press, 2022). He has appeared in SoFloPoJo, Cotton Xenomorph, Bullshit Lit, HAD, fifth wheel press, and more. Follow him on Twitter @carriganak.
Author Website
Recent Books
Now Let’s Get Brunch: A Collection of RuPaul’s Drag Race Twitter Poetry (Querencia, 2023)
Now Let’s Get Brunch: A Collection of RuPaul’s Drag Race Twitter Poetry is the debut full-length collection from Alex Carrigan. The collection contains 40 cento poems created from the Twitter accounts of notable queens featured across the Drag Race television franchise. In these poems from popular queens like Trixie Mattel, Bianca Del Rio, Monet X. Change, Kim Chi, Bob the Drag Queen, Katya, and more, these poems collage statements of queer joy, toxic fandoms, LGBT+ issues, and more verses that are both humorous and blunt in their honesty.
May All Our Pain Be Champagne (Alien Buddha, 2022)
“This chapbook is a mood, and I want to be in it for the long haul! I’ve read and reread it and like a good comfort show you always find something new to enjoy about it. The way Alex Carrigan collages these ladies both personifies them and reads them to filth at the same time. Goes great with a nice steeping hot cup of tea.” -Rachel Head, Co-editor, House of Lobsters Literary
Recent Links
- Poem: “I Am No Stranger to Fragmentation, My Love” (7th Circle Pyrite)
- Poem: “Go Paint an Enigmatic Woman” (The Indianapolis Review)
- Poem: “I’m the Laziest Man on Mars” (The Indianapolis Review)
- Poem: “Rise and Fall” (Genre Punk)
Contributor Q & A
What do you want readers to know about you?
I'm a 33-year-old bisexual male, pronouns he/him, who lives in Alexandria, VA. I'm a medical journal editor by day and poet and book reviewer by night.
How long have you been a writer and how did you get started?
I've been on and off as a writer since youth. In college I joined the staff of a literary journal and got my first taste of editorial work. I graduated college with a journalism degree and worked a variety of editing roles for news sites and non-profits. I started primarily writing poetry during COVID and published my first chapbook in 2022, followed by my first full length in 2023.
What’s an accomplishment in your writing life of which you’re proud and what do you still hope to achieve?
Aside from managing to publish books, I was also a finalist to be named Poet Laureate of Alexandria earlier in 2025. While I didn't get the position, it told me that I am doing well as a writer and could make an impact in my community. I would like to apply again when the position opens, but otherwise, I mainly want to continue publishing poetry and finding opportunities to publish and connect with others.
What do you look for in a book? Who are your favorite writers?
I primarily try to read books by non cisgender, straight, white men, so I want books from writers whose backgrounds and experiences are completely different from mine. I want to read books that make me excited to talk and write about them. Some of my favorite poets include Maureen Seaton, Jose Hernandez Diaz, Nicole Tallman, Mahogany L. Browne, and Ada Limon.
Contents
Chapbook Poem: When I Was Straight by Dustin Brookshire
“‘When I Was Straight’ prompted me to think about a common queer experience—how most parents assume their children are ‘straight’ and expect their children to live a ‘straight’ life.” Read the featured Chapbook Poem of the Month for October 2025 along with words from the poet.
Book Excerpt: American Girl: Fort Hood, 2023 by Thea Matthews
“[W]eaving in and juxtaposing the lyrics of Tom Petty’s ‘American Girl.’ The song’s themes of desperation, wanderlust, and longing are subverted by Ana’s life and tragedy at Fort Cavazos, previously known as Fort Hood, Texas.” Read the featured Excerpt Poem for October 2025 along with words from the poet.
“It seems such a shame that a beautiful location is just gathering dust and overgrowth, and I wanted to lean into the juxtaposition of that.” Read three poems by Bryana Fern along with a few words about “Women on the Wall.”
Bodies in Transition: Sacred & Perishable by Carissa Natalia Baconguis
“There is a muscular intimacy to the ecosystem of these poems, each one of them creating as vivid a world individually as exists in the collection as a whole.” Read Gray Davidson Carroll’s full review.
“In ‘No Breaks’ I was writing about something I hope I never have to experience. … I tried to keep despair at bay and show some defiance and resilience.” Read two poems by Gerald Yelle along with a few words about “No Breaks.”
November ’25: New Staff, Issue Archive & Donations
Read a note from Editor Aiden Hunt about our new Poetry Readers, the additions of an Issue Archive and a Contributor Fund, Fall poetry submissions, and Gaza.
Chapbook Poem: Two egrets at the edge of a tidal marsh by Rebekah Wolman
“Settling on the mirror form opened the way into the parallels between the original image of the egrets, their reflection, and their ambiguous relationship and the shifting, even reversing, roles of an adult daughter and her aging mother…” Read the featured Chapbook Poem of the Month for November 2025 along with words from the poet.
Three Poems by Alexandra Burack
“Subsequent drafts enabled me to … uncover the metaphor of exile, whose meanings are intended to move readers from an experience of alienation to one of discernment of the liberating qualities of outsiderhood.” Read three poems by Alexandra Burack, along with a few words about “To Know Blue From the Color of Snow at Dusk.”