Portside

Peter Carroll’s visit to Perry, Iowa gives no warning of sudden violence that occurred there this week, except for feelings of despair that might afflict a troubled young man with nowhere to go.

War remains headline news, as ever, perhaps distracting public attention from the Big Bang, so says poet Gerry Sloan.

Chicago poet Carol Kanter offers a poem of peace, an alternative to “rage…offense…”

Based on a true story, Lita Kurth exposes the risk and dangers of an all-night job.

Our poet Cassandra Bousquet pleads for the shrinking opportunities before us, reminding us that “the edge is not the end”—yet!

California poet Esther Kamkar speaks about Immigrants, refugees, their perilous conditions In a world of displacement.

Poet Alexandra Umlas uses the subtle form, a sestina, to convey the tenuous substance of American political poetry.

California poet Joseph Zaccardi reminds us that war veterans carry their burdens through their lifetimes.

The poet Naomi Shihab Nye expresses a child’s sense of helplessness, trapped by politics and war.