Hispanic Heritage Month 2026
A playlist for Hispanic Heritage Month, featuring poems recently published in Shō Poetry Journal, by Carlos Andrés Gómez, Sophie Kaiser Rojas, Jenny Sadre-Orafai, Jacob Herrera Spears, and Virgil Suárez.
Audio Feature: Francesca Leader
Listen to Francesca Leader read her poem “Troll Baby” published in Shō No. 3: Revival Issue (Summer/Fall 2023).
Audio Feature: Sneha Subramanian Kanta
Listen to Sneha Subramanian Kanta read her poem “House 19, Doetinchem” published in Shō No. 5 (Summer 2024).
Audio Feature: Jack B. Bedell
Listen to Jack B. Bedell read his poem “Gnomic” published in Shō No. 8 (Winter 2025/2026).
A Conversation between Alex Tretbar and Michael Juliani
Michael Juliani interviews poet Alex Tretbar, author of the chapbooks According to the Plat Thereof (Ethel) and Kansas City Gothic (Broken Sleep), whose poem “Ballad from a Subsidized Bedroom” was published in Shō No. 3: Revival Issue.
Audio Feature: T. De Los Reyes
Listen to T. De Los Reyes read her poem “living room spacetime” published in Shō No. 6 (Winter 2024/2025). We nominated this poem for Best Spiritual Literature.
Disability Pride Month 2026
For Disability Pride Month, listen to Apollo Chastain and sterling-elizabeth arcadia read their work published in Shō Poetry Journal Issues No. 8 and 7.
Xinyue Huang — Occasion #1 [Sita Martin Prize Winner]
Read Xinyue Huang's poem “Occasion #1,” which was selected with two other “Occasion” poems as the winner of the Sita Martin Prize for Shō No. 9 (Summer 2026).
Rebecca Hart Olander — An Old Story [Shō Poetry Prize Winner]
Read Rebecca Hart Olander's poem “An Old Story,” winner of the Shō Poetry Prize for Shō No. 9 (Summer 2026).
Elina Katrin — Beach Day with Tsvetaeva [Shō Poetry Prize Runner-Up]
Read Elina Katrin's poem "Beach Day with Tsvetaeva," Runner-Up of the Shō Poetry Prize for Shō No. 9 (Summer 2026)
Ethan Kwak — Untitled by Rothko, 1968 [Sita Martin Prize Runner-Up]
Read "Untitled by Rothko, 1968" by Ethan Kwak, Runner-Up of the Sita Martin Prize for Shō Poetry Journal No. 9 (Summer 2026).
Hananah Zaheer — War [Poem that inspired the cover art]
Read "War" by Hananah Zaheer, a prose poem from Shō No. 9 that inspired Nara Allstop's cover art "Past Looking."
Contributors’ Notes, Shō No. 9
Shō No. 9 features 69 poems by 45 poets and custom cover art by Nara Allsop.
A Conversation with Mckendy Fils-Aimé
JeFF Stumpo talks with Shō No. 5 contributor Mckendy Fils-Aimé about Haitian superstitions, language, generational trauma, and the role of truth-telling and love in writing about culture and inheritance
in his debut full-length poetry collection sipèstisyon (Yes Yes Books, 16 June 2026).
Pride Month Playlist | 2026
For LGBTQ+ Pride Month, we've curated this playlist of poems recently published in Shō Poetry Journal Issues No. 7 and No. 8, featuring Aldo Ampáran, Chen Chen, Reuben Gelley-Newman, Brett Hanley, Saúl Hernández, Sara Hovda, Rebecca Morton, Ernest Ohia, James O'Leary, william o'neal ii, Jessica Nirvana Ram, Remi Recchia, Will Summay, and Joey Wańczyk.
Mental Health Awareness Month Playlist
For Mental Health Awareness Month, we've curated this playlist of poems recently published in Shō Poetry Journal, featuring Emily Adams-Aucoin, Crystal Cox, Olivia Jacobson, Sophie Johnson, Mallory Rodenberg, Alyssandra Tobin, and Tiezst "Tie" Taylor.
Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month Playlist 2026
To celebrate Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, we've curated this playlist of poems published in Shō Poetry Journal by Sean Cho A., Courtney Alyce, Shlagha Borah, Aaron Caycedo-Kimura, Lyn Li Che, M. Cynthia Cheung, Stephanie Choi, Eliana Chow, Vasvi Kejriwal, Giljoon Lee, Rishona Michael, Ngoc Pham, Brooke Sahni, Rukan Saif, Tianyi, and Claire Zhou. Also see related previously featured work by Chen Chen and Jessica Q. Stark.
Jewish American Heritage Month Playlist 2026
To celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month, we've curated this playlist of poems recently published in Shō Poetry Journal, featuring Loisa Fenichell, Shira Leah Haus, Daniel Lurie, Brooke Sahni, and Rebekah Wolman.
Audio Feature: Susanna Lang
Listen to Susanna Lang read her poem “If I could pray anywhere,” published in Shō No. 6 (Winter 2024/2025).
Audio Feature: MJ Gomez
Listen to MJ Gomez read his poem “Litany in Which I Am Tired of Waiting for Judgment Day,” published in Shō No. 6 (Winter 2024/2025).
Women’s History Month Playlist 2026
To celebrate Women's History Month, we've curated this playlist of poems published in Shō Poetry Journal by Ai Khanoum, Allisa Cherry, Amanda Chiado, Kelly Gray, Sarah Jordan, Arah Ko, Whitney Koo, Susan L. Leary, Lisa Mottolo, Alison Pelegrin, Meg Reynolds, Adrie Rose, Jessica Q. Stark, and Claire Taylor.
Black History Month Playlist 2026
A playlist for Black History Month, featuring poets Cortney Lamar Charleston, Christian J. Collier, Saddiq Dzukogi, Chiagoziem Jideofor, william o'neal ii, and February Spikener.
Audio Feature: Eliana Chow
Listen to Eliana Chow read her poem “Bamboo Girl,” published in Shō No. 3 (Summer/Fall 2023). This poem was nominated for Best Spiritual Literature.
Audio Feature: Vasvi Kejriwal
Listen to Vasvi Kejriwal read her poem “After My Father Died,” published in Shō No. 7 (Summer 2025).