On "Jubilate Agno" by Christopher Smart and poems modeled after itThere’s a scene early in The Lego Movie where our protagonist Emmet Brickowski is saying good morning to everyone and everything as he begins his day and heads to work. Along the way he meets Sherry Scratchen-Post and her many cats, and Emmet knows all … Continue reading Everybody's got a Jeoffry
Crochet Projects and Giving Back
Did I mention my hobby yet? I really thought I had, but I glanced back at my introductory post and bio and didn’t see it. I know I mentioned it in the comments over at Isaac Fitzgerald's Substack, Walk It Off in a post about helping yourself while you help others, so maybe that’s what … Continue reading Crochet Projects and Giving Back
When the first thought isn't always the best thought
On Matt Donovan's "Here the Thing with Feathers Isn't Hope"The first and so far only time I fired a gun was when I was a kid. Maybe a teenager but I don’t think so, not quite. We were visiting my uncle Bee in Tennessee and one night, not long after dark, he asked us if … Continue reading When the first thought isn't always the best thought
The Need to Swim with Predators
on Camille Dungy's "Notes on what is always with us"Near the end of spring break in 2020, back when we thought maybe we’d be able to control Covid with a couple of weeks of lockdown, my uncle Dave went into the ICU and straight onto a ventilator. Over the next two weeks, he died twice … Continue reading The Need to Swim with Predators
An Origin Story of Sorts
and "Love Poem Beginning with a Yellow Cab" by José OlivarezThis is a love story. This is the story of how I fell in love with poetry and what it can do to me. Is it going to be corny? Oh hell yes. So let’s get in this TARDIS over here, the dingy one that … Continue reading An Origin Story of Sorts
Another Poem to Love, Attempt 1
"One More Attempt at Disaster Preparedness" by Jeannine Hall GaileyI’ve been feeling my age of late, or trying to unfeel it perhaps. My gym app has a “feature” that tells me my biological age, which is of course much higher than my calendar age because for a great many years (read most of my life) … Continue reading Another Poem to Love, Attempt 1
Welcome to Another Poem to Love
I guess an introduction is as good a place to start as any. I’m Brian Spears. I’ve been a poetry editor at The Rumpus since it went live in 2009, and I published a collection of poems back in 2011 titled A Witness in Exile with Louisiana Literature Press. I have some copies in my … Continue reading Welcome to Another Poem to Love
Coming soon
This is Another Poem to Love.
Giving Back
When I started learning how to crochet a couple of years ago, I did it mostly for myself. I was rehabbing a broken elbow and concerned about losing motion in my left hand, and I was also looking for a hobby that would get me off my phone. And I discovered pretty quickly that I … Continue reading Giving Back
Publication News
I'm a little late on mentioning these, but I've had two pieces get some space lately. The first is this poem in HAD, titled "Memory as Matryoshka Doll." It's the first visual/concrete poem I believe I've ever had published, and it deals with some of my childhood sexual abuse trauma and the ways that infected … Continue reading Publication News