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."
Betsy Mitchell Martinez – Self-Portrait as Frida Kahlo with Prickly Pear [Shō Poetry Prize Winner]
Read “Self-Portrait as Frida Kahlo with Prickly Pear” by Betsy Mitchell Martinez, one of three poems chosen for the Shō Poetry Prize for Shō No. 8 (Winter 2025/2026).
Cheyenne C. Fletcher – Lady of the Holler [Winner of the Sita Martin Prize]
Read “Lady of the Holler” by Cheyenne C. Fletcher. “Lady of the Holler,” “Obit #1,” and “Obit #2” were selected for the Sita Martin Prize for Shō No. 8.
Rebecca Morton – Uncertainty Principle [Shō Poetry Prize Runner-Up]
Read “Uncertainty Principle” by Rebecca Morton, runner-up of the Shō Poetry Prize for Shō No. 8 (Winter 2025/26).
Rukan Saif — Harami Ghazal [Sita Martin Prize Runner-Up]
Read and listen to “Harami Ghazal” by Rukan Saif, chosen as the runner-up of the Sita Martin Prize for Shō No. 8 (Winter 2025/2026).
Carlos Andrés Gómez: Masked
Read “Masked” by Carlos Andrés Gómez, published in Shō No. 8 (Winter 2025/26), accompanied by an audio recording by the author.
Chen Chen: That Time You Were Giggling, Giggling, Giggling
Listen to Chen Chen read his poem “That Time You Were Gigging, Giggling, Giggling,” published in Shō No. 8 (Winter 2025/26).
Elizabeth Loudon: Renunciation
Read and listen to Elizabeth Loudon read her poem “Renunciation,” published in Shō No. 8 (Winter 2025/26). “Renunciation” was selected by guest editor Cecily Parks for inclusion in Best New Poets 2025.
Native American Heritage Month 2025
To celebrate Native American Heritage Month, we've curated this selection of poems by Indigenous U.S. poets Danielle Shandiin Emerson (Diné), Chris Hoshnic (Diné), Malia Maxwell (Kanaka Maoli), Tim Moder (Chippewa), Sofia Rasic (Cherokee), and J.K. Tsosie (Diné). Their work was recently published in Shō No. 7 and Shō No. 6.
Samodh Porawagamage — Two postcard poems from To Punani Camp
“My book manuscript To Punani Camp, set during the Sri Lankan Civil War, comprises sent, unsent, and crossed-out postcards a soldier's wife would write to her husband.”
Nicholas Pierce — Two Sonnets from Pierce Junction
Two Sonnets from Pierce Junction: No one knew what to make of the pear tree, / why only one side sprouted fruit, as if / the branches were opposed to symmetry / or cursed.
Amber Adams – Okinawa, 2016
"Okinawa, 2016" by Amber Adams:
In the years before you died, you lived
on the island where the kijimuna eat the eyes
of fish, and seeing the sea is inescapable.
By the time I made the many flight trek,
you’d become boyish again in linen shirts
and water shoes. Surf-polished, less
Paige Passantino — Sugar Baby Sonnet
“Sugar Baby Sonnet” by Paige Passantino:
The website for meeting daddys was free to use
with a student email address. On the sugar side, of course.
The others paid. Both sides were merely seeking, arranging
something with range: six images for pleasure, a curation
dependent on if today’s girl would be show, or telling
Christian J. Collier — Nocturne [Shō Poetry Prize Winner]
Read “Nocturne” by Christian J. Collier, Winner of the Shō Poetry Prize for Shō No. 7 (Summer 2025).
I believed I could be more than man &, for two hours, became
the darkest bird in Hamilton County—barely eighteen,
midnight blue, resting my warm, bare feet on sheets of gale
as fog-sopped night made kindred of me.
Ernest Ohia – somehow [Sita Martin Prize Winner]
“somehow” by Ohia, Ernest Chigaemezu, Winner of the Sita Martin Prize for Shō No. 7 (Summer 2025):
it begins with dreams where your heart flutters nonstop in an airplane bound for america used to be a part of your dreams now are like cicadas throwing a wild party & you're clueless as fuck your papery heart
Nina C. Peláez – Doubt [Sita Martin Prize Runner-Up]
“Doubt” by Nina C. Peláez, Runner-Up of the Sita Martin Prize for Shō No. 7 (Summer 2025).
At the cattle farm, I fell in love with a boy
who thought he was a god. I too, believed
this sometimes.
Aldo Amparán — Symptoms of Ghosts [Shō Poetry Prize Runner-Up]
Runner-Up of the Shō Poetry Prize for Shō No. 7 (Summer 2025).
“The main reason behind the gay orientation of some
men is that they are possessed by female ghosts.”
— Spiritual Science Research Foundation
Robert Okaji – The Starlings Were You [Shō Poetry Prize Winner]
“The Starlings Were You” by Robert Okaji, Winner of the Shō Poetry Prize for Shō No. 6 (Winter 2024/25).
Morning was a jaundiced memory,
a burnished smear on the kettle
shrilling its warning.
Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month Roundup 2025
To celebrate Asian/Pacific heritage month, we’ve curated this selection of poems that give voice to Asian American experiences centered around inheritance, history, memory, and belonging.
This roundup features poems and audio recordings by Ally Ang, Monica Kim, Arah Ko, Vannida S. Kol, Sati Mookherjee, Jessica Nirvana Ram, Eylie Sasajima, Jeddie Sophronius, Sophia Terazawa, Elise Thi Tran, Bunkong Tuon, and MT Vallarta. These poems first appeared in Shō No. 3, Shō No. 4, Shō No. 5, and Shō No. 6.
Women’s History Month Roundup 2025
In honor of Women's History Month, read this selection of poems by Sage Ravenwood, Gabriela Bittencourt dos Santos, Kuhu Joshi, Tianna Bratcher, Ari B. Cofer, and Dorsey Craft. These poems were published in Shō No. 4, Shō No. 5, and Shō No. 6.