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Shō Poetry Journal

Established in 2002, revived in 2023

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Illustration of girl wearing a large deer head mask with antlers. She is clothed in a dark blue tshirt and pants and stands in a high desert landscape, holding plastic flowers. A ghostly girl’s head is placed beside her in the grass.

Shō Poetry Journal is a nonprofit print journal coming out of a 20-year hibernation. We publish an eclectic range of poetry twice a year and publish audio features on a rolling basis. We strive to champion voices that have been historically underrepresented or overlooked. Follow us on Twitter or Instagram for updates.

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CURRENT ISSUE

Shō No. 6

WINTER 2024/2025

This issue features 57 poems by 40 poets.
Cover art: “In Gilded Walls” by Tanya Rastogi.

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Online Features

  • May 30, 2025

    Pride Month Playlist 2025

  • May 1, 2025

    Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month Roundup 2025

  • Apr 30, 2025

    Audio Feature: Jose Oseguera (Shō No. 5)

  • Apr 29, 2025

    Audio Feature: Becka Mara McKay (Shō No. 6)

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Past Issues

Shō No. 5

Summer 2024

Shō No. 5 features 68 poems by 47 poets.

Cover art: “Lucy” by Harim Choi.

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Shō No. 4

Winter 2023/2024

Illustration of girl wearing a large deer head mask with antlers. She is clothed in a dark blue tshirt and pants and stands in a high desert landscape, holding plastic flowers. A ghostly girl’s head is placed beside her in the grass.

Shō No. 4 features 73 poems by 47 poets.

Cover art: “Girl with Deer Mask” by Harim Choi.

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Shō No. 3

Summer/Fall 2023

Shō No. 3 features 62 poems by 42 poets.

Cover art: “Grandfather Autumn” by Juanita Violini.

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Shō Poetry Journal on Instagram

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William Ward Butler (@williamwardbutler) reads “ William Ward Butler (@williamwardbutler) reads “Reciprocity” from Shō No. 6 (Winter 2024/25).

William Ward Butler is the Poet Laureate of Los Gatos, California. He is the author of the chapbook Life History from Ghost City Press. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Bennington Review, Denver Quarterly, Five Points, Hunger Mountain, Switchyard, and other journals. He is a poetry reader for TriQuarterly and co-editor-in-chief of @frozenseapoetry.

#audiofeature #poetrycommunity #listentopoetry #pridemonth2025 #pridemonth #poetrylovers
Ciaran Pierce (@ciaranpierce) reads “Grindr Etiq Ciaran Pierce (@ciaranpierce) reads “Grindr Etiquette” from Shō No. 6 (Winter 2024/25).

About this poem: The idea for “Grindr Etiquette” came to me when I redownloaded the app after a three-year purge. As I scrolled through the grid of cropped torsos and leather jockstraps, I began to reflect on nature of gay hookup culture, which, in my subjective experience, has always been a very procedural, monotonous activity. One is almost expected to conduct themselves with a particular etiquette. There’s a role to inhabit, much like in a game, and if you don’t know the rules, you’re better off leaving the meat cage. “Grindr Etiquette” interests itself in the aftermath of said game. It gestures to the scraped elbows and invisible lacerations that come with engaging in such sterile, objectifying interactions (see the last two stanzas). It asks, What happens when the harshness of our textual interplay bleeds into physical intimacy?

Ciaran Pierce (he/him) is a recent Comparative World Literature graduate of California State University, Long Beach. His poetry has appeared in West Trade Review, Sky Island Journal, Ponder Review, Runestone, and elsewhere.

#audiofeature #poetrycommunity #listentopoetry #poetrylovers #pridemonth2025 #pridemonth
Daniel Brennan reads “Morning Affirmations” fr Daniel Brennan reads “Morning Affirmations” from Shō No. 5 (Summer 2024).

About this poem: This poem was a way to put voice to the sort of mental ping-pong, the back and forth, I so often play with myself...the little things I tell myself in order to put off feelings of sadness, or frustration, or isolation. So often, desire has been a form of escape for me: as if another man wanting my body can remove me from my own body, or from the building, even just for a moment. If I distract myself with physical pleasure, perhaps I can put off reality a little bit longer. 

Daniel Brennan (he/him) is a queer writer and coffee devotee from New York. Sometimes he's in love, just as often he's not. His poetry has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize/Best of the Net, and has appeared in numerous publications, including The Penn Review, Puerto del Sol, and Trampset. He can be found on Twitter @danieljbrennan_.

#audiofeature #listentopoetry #poetryoutloud #pridemonth2025
Pride Playlist No. 2 | Total Runtime: 21.59 Here Pride Playlist No. 2 | Total Runtime: 21.59

Here are twelve tracks to celebrate Pride Month!

Link in bio or listen at shopoetryjournal.com/pride-playlist-2025/

Features audio recordings by:

Daniel Brennan >> @danieljbrennan_
William Ward Butler >> @williamwardbutler
Mickie Kennedy >> @mickiepoet
Jackson D. Moorman
Jarrett Moseley >> @jarrettmoseleypoet
Reuben Gelley Newman >> @joustingsnail
Quinton Okoro >> @_okoro_
Ciaran Pierce >> @ciaranpierce
Hannah Smith >> @hannahsmithyy
Hannah Tennant-Moore >> @hannahtennantmoore
Bella Zhou >> @bjose30

These poems first appeared in Shō No. 4, 5, and 6.

Look out for audio features from some of these poets this month!

#pridemonth
#pridemonth2025
#poetrycommunity
#litmag
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Publishing Stats

Since our revival issue was published in Summer 2023:

260

Poems Published

170

Total Poets Published

62

Audio Features Published

28

Poems Nominated for Prizes

1

Poem chosen for inclusion in Best Spiritual Literature

Shō Poetry Journal


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