Established in 2002, revived in 2023
Susan L. Leary reads “Snow, Almost, Nearly” from Shō No. 5. “I wrote this poem very soon after relocating from Miami to Indianapolis, and it captures my fascination with snowfall, which I found to be sad and beautiful, revealing and concealing, all at once…”— Susan L. Leary Susan L. Leary is the author of five …
Robert Okaji reads “Moon Cows” from Shō No. 4. “When I was a toddler, I was often ill. My parents had to take me to the ER frequently late at night, and to soothe me, they’d say we were going to see the baby cows. When I was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, I …
Melissa Fite Johnson reads “I Got Off the Plane and Everyone Was Dead” from Shō No. 4 “Much of this poem’s context is built in. My husband and I were taking our first trip after the pandemic, on New Year’s Eve 2021, and I read aloud to him part of a People article about Betty White, prematurely …
Laura Villareal reads her poem “After the tornadoes touchdown” from Shō No. 4. “So much in American life is crafted to wear us down.”— Laura Villareal Laura Villareal is a poet and book critic. Her debut poetry collection, Girl’s Guide to Leaving, (University of Wisconsin Press 2022) was awarded Texas Institute of Letters’ John A. Robert Johnson Award for a …
Kathryn Bratt-Pfotenhauer reads “A Study in Gray” from Shō No. 3: Revival Issue. “I was inspired to write the poem “A Study in Gray” after seeing photos of The Drake Shake my grandparents had taken on a cruise to Antarctica. My grandparents are avid travelers, and the poem came very naturally after seeing their posts; …
Ucheoma Onwutuebe reads “a name, a condition” by Chiagoziem Jideofor from Shō No. 5. “I have always been intrigued by names; how they reveal circumstantial truths and are emblematic, almost like self-portraits, capturing particles of our past, future, and sometimes our present. Names, for me, are attempts at creating personal myths and inventing language that makes meaning …
Faith Gómez Clark reads their poem “The Seance” from Shō No. 4. Faith Gómez Clark (she/they) earned their MFA in Poetry from Warren Wilson. She has received fellowships from Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and Vermont Studio Center. She a Pushcart Prize nominee. Their work can be found or is forthcoming in Salt Hill …
Sophia Terazawa reads her poem “[“Xa Xa Xa Lắm”]” from Shō No. 4 (Winter 2023-2024). This poem will appear in Sophia’s third collection of poetry, Oracular Maladies (Noemi Press, 2026) “This poem was written after a live recording of “Đợi Chờ” sung by Thanh Lam. I have sweet childhood memories of an aunt’s place, where relatives often …
Kuhu Joshi reads her poem “Saraswati claims creation” from Shō No. 5 (Summer 2024). Kuhu Joshi is an Indian poet and professor based in New York City. Her debut poetry collection is titled My Body Didn’t Come Before Me (Speaking Tiger, 2023). Her work has been published in POETRY, Best New Poets, Four Way Review, …
Rebekah Wolman reads her poem “Self-Portrait as notes for a self-portrait-as-poem” from Shō No. 5 (Summer 2024). “Lying awake one night feeling frustrated by my prolonged attempts to write a self-portrait-as poem, I resorted to my intermittently effective insomnia cure, a migration through the alphabet. Sometimes, insomnia is productive.”– Rebekah Wolman Rebekah Wolman is a 2021 winner …
Mollie O’Leary reads her poem “Late Summer Study” from Shō No. 4 (Winter 2023-24). “I wrote this poem after visiting the Bernini sculpture The Ecstasy of St. Teresa, which is considered controversial due to its portrayal of religious ecstasy in such a sensual way. The sculpture and the discourse around it made me reflect on my own experiences …
INTERVIEW A Conversation with Arah Ko Shō intern Claire Zhou interviews Shō contributor Arah Ko, whose poems “Magpie 까치” and “Fiddleback” appear in Shō No. 4. Arah is the author of Brine Orchid (YesYes Books 2025) and the chapbook Animal Logic (Bull City Press 2026). Claire Zhou Hi Arah! I’ve read both of your poems …
Luke Johnson reads his poem “But what about the carpenter ant” from Shō No. 3: Revival Issue (Summer/Fall 2023). “This poem is one of many calls and/or responses to the poet Megan Merchant. Our co-authored collection A Slow Indwelling comes out Fall 2024 from Harbor Editions and deals with a father and mother wrestling through …
Megan Merchant reads her poem “Crown Shyness” from Shō No. 3: Revival Issue (Summer/Fall 2023). This poem is part of a larger epistolary exchange, “A Slow Indwelling”, with Luke Johnson, and will be published this fall with Harbor Editions. Megan Merchant (she/her) is the owner of the editing, manuscript consultation, and mentoring business Shiversong (www.shiversong.com) and holds …
Jeddie Sophronius reads their poem “Listening to Ezio Bosso on Flight EY 474 to Jakarta” from Shō No. 5 (Summer 2024). “I’m working on a manuscript that explores the perpetual state of in-betweenness and the difficulty of citizenship. To my surprise, the poems often tend to grief that has been neatly tucked away.”— Jeddie Sophronius Jeddie …
Arah Ko reads her poem “Magpie 까치” from Shō No. 4 (Winter 2024). Arah Ko is a writer from Hawai’i and the author of Brine Orchid (Yes Yes Books 2025) and the chapbook Animal Logic (Bull City Press 2026). Her work is published or forthcoming in American Poetry Review, Ninth Letter, The Threepenny Review, Poetry …
Donna Vorreyer reads her poem “The Sound of Just Before” from Shō No. 5 (Summer 2024). “This poem attempts to capture the surreal quality of caretaking someone at the end of life. The title functions as a harbinger (since “just before” implies something happening after), and as an oxymoron (since it is impossible to hear …
Eylie Sasajima reads her poem “H Mart” from Shō No. 4 (Winter 2024). Eylie Sasajima is from south central Pennsylvania. She graduated from Washington College in 2023. Her poetry can be found in pamplemousse, the Windward Review, and Shō Poetry Journal. She is currently pursuing her MFA at the University of Mississippi.
Mckendy Fils-Aimé reads his poem “Jesus Year” from Shō No. 5 (Summer 2024). Mckendy Fils-Aimé is a New England based Haitian-American poet, organizer, and educator. He has received fellowships from the Callaloo Creative Writing Workshop and Cave Canem. Recently, Mckendy was the runner-up for the inaugural Granite State Poetry Prize. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in American …
Nyree Abrahamian reads her poem “Notes from an abandoned trench” from Shō No. 5 (Summer 2024). Nyree Abrahamian is a writer and creative producer based in Yerevan, Armenia. She produces Country of Dust, a narrative podcast, and co-founded the Tumanyan International Storytelling Festival. Her work is featured in Mizna, Nimrod International Journal, Poetry Northwest, Shō Poetry …
INTERVIEW A Conversation with Nathan Xavier Osorio Shō intern Claire Zhou interviews Shō contributor Nathan Xavier Osorio, whose poems “How to Cook a Wolf,” “Empty Stadiums,” and “Come, Little Hunger” appear in Shō No. 4. Nathan’s debut collection of poetry, Querida, won the 2024 Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize, selected by Shara McCallum. Claire Zhou …
Corey Baron reads his poem “Dance to Keep from Crying” from Shō No. 5 (Summer 2024). Corey Baron is a poet and photographer from New Rochelle, New York. Corey works in New York City, where he works with system impacted youth at Youth Justice Network. Keep up with his work on Instagram @thecoreybaron and at coreyqbaron.com.
Jessica Nirvana Ram reads her poem “Carving Rivers” from Shō No. 5 (Summer 2024). Jessica Nirvana Ram is an Indo-Guyanese poet. She is the author of the poetry collection Earthly Gods (Variant Literature, 2024) and the chapbook in the aftermath (Prismatica Press, 2024). Her work has appeared in Hayden’s Ferry Review, Prairie Schooner, Honey Literary, and elsewhere. Jessica was a …
Nathan Xavier Osorio reads his poem “How to Cook a Wolf” from Shō No. 4 (Winter 2024). Nathan Xavier Osorio’s debut collection of poetry, Querida, was selected by Shara McCallum as the winner of the 2024 Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize and is forthcoming from the University of Pittsburgh Press. He is the author of The Last …
