Blog
Poem of the Week: “The Elsewhere Empire” by Medbh McGuckian
Medbh McGuckian’s “The Elsewhere Empire,” from her new collection The Thankless Paths to Freedom (2024), explores the emotional and physical spaces that loss often occupies. She writes, “there is no after the war, the rain of an earlier day, / the balmy elsewhere of winglets past the flowers // in their rifles.” When a loved one…
Continue ReadingPoem of the Week: “The Shannon Reader” by Martin Dyar
Creative genius is often characterized by “eureka!” moments of inspiration, but in “The Shannon Reader,” Martin Dyar explores the ritualistic side of the poetic process. His structure is repetitive—never straying from two-line stanzas of about equal length—just like the author in the poem’s sacred writing ritual. Her labor is not immediately fruitful, but with…
Continue ReadingPoem of the Week: “The May Baby” by Martin Dyar
In his poem “The May Baby,” Martin Dyar draws upon vivid natural imagery to create an ode to springtime. Dyar paints the portrait of the “May girl,” who seamlessly blends into this background of honey, doves, blossoms, and herons. “The May Baby” is infused with hope, drawing upon themes of connection and community across…
Continue ReadingPoem of the Week: “Jigsaw” by Doireann Ní Ghríofa
In her poem “Jigsaw,” Doireann Ní Ghríofa draws the reader into the physical and psychological complexities of motherhood. Using bodily descriptions and an emphasis on personal experience, Ní Ghríofa contrasts the feelings of uncertainty and anticipation that accompany sensing a baby wriggling in the womb with the settledness and comfort of a mother knowing her…
Continue ReadingPoem of the Week: “Ten Day Window” by Medbh Mcguckian
In her poem “Ten Day Window,” Medbh McGuckian creates a dream-like landscape, transporting the reader through the imagery of gardens, theaters, and ballrooms. McGuckian’s poem is deeply introspective, reckoning with themes of identity and public appearance while using fragmented moments to piece together an understanding of self. “Ten Day Window” is a part of…
Continue ReadingPoem of the Week: “Lunulae” by Doireann Ní Ghríofa
Have you ever noticed the half-moon shapes at the base of your fingernails? Those are called “lunulae.” Doireann Ní Ghríofa is fascinated by these crescents—little astronomical wonders we carry with us wherever we go. Ní Ghríofa encourages her reader to find comfort in minute yet beautiful things in the face of our present social and…
Continue ReadingPoem of the Week: “Those Days” by Gerard Fanning
“Those Days,” a poem from Gerard Fanning’s final, unpublished collection, Slip Road, contemplates a fading vision, “I used to stand on my porch / and see as far as three days’ walk / but those days are long out of reach.” Vision, in the poem, is conditioned by the inevitable passage of time; and soon…
Continue ReadingPoem of the Week: For Gomez by Stephen Sexton
Happy Halloween from WFU Press! Today, we’re sharing “For Gomez” from Stephen Sexton’s second collection, Cheryl’s Destinies. The poems in this book are perfect for the holiday—from fortune tellers and tarot cards to werewolves and The Smashing Pumpkins. “For Gomez” is, as Sexton notes, “in affectionate memory” of actor Raúl Julia (1940–94), famous for his…
Continue ReadingSupporting Western North Carolina After Hurricane Helene
Wake Forest University Press will donate 20% from all website sales for the months of October and November 2024 to The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina for their Hurricane Helene relief efforts. Established in 1978, The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina serves 18 counties and is currently distributing funds to frontline nonprofit partners…
Continue ReadingPoem of the Week: “Ash Keys” by Michael Longley
The title of Michael Longley’s New Selected Poems comes from his poem “Ash Keys,” originally published in his fourth collection, The Echo Gate (1979). As Longley explains in a feature in The Irish Times, his wife, the critic Edna Longley, suggested using the poem title for the collection “because she likes that poem, and she thinks of…
Continue Reading