I’ve been quiet in terms of publishing individual poems as I finish up my third manuscript for Black Ocean but the Academy of American Poets sent this one out in the spring as the Poem of the Day.

More recently, I had a lively conversation with Al Abanado and Jae Newman about religion and spirituality on poetry on Al’s radio show, Flour City Yawp on WAYO 104.3 FM (Rochester, NY).  Most of all I tried to put forward the idea of devotional poetry that isn’t about transcendence, one thats embedded in the local and political. Not that my poetry does that well but thats the sort of relation I’ve been thinking seems most necessary. I also try to put forward some unexpected names as “religious” poets, from the everyday rituals of Yoko Ono to the dharma-punk aspects of C.A. Conrad’s work. And there are many more poets doing the necessary work of queering religion and spiritual practice or reconstituting it through radical feminist and decolonial lenses.

Anyway, here’s the conversation.