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Blackbird Journal

@blackbirdjournal

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An online journal of literature and the arts led by grad students at VCU. We publish poetry, fiction, nonfiction, art, & more. Submissions are open!

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David Freed’s portraits of Larry Levis are some of our favorites from the @blackbirdjournal archives! Along with these gorgeous drawings, Freed recounts his initial encounters with Levis and how the two went on to collaborate on two projects during their time as professors at VCU. Both the projects continue to remain in the archives of VCU’s Cabell Library’s Special Collections.

To access the complete feature, click on the link in our bio! hand-drawn portraits of poet Larry Levis by artist David Freed for Virginia Commonwealth University’s literary journal, Blackbird

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🚨🚨 OCTOBER SUBMISSION CALLS 🚨🚨

Make sure you don’t miss an opportunity, and get these and more delivered right to your mailbox by signing up for our newsletter!

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An excerpt from "Recipe for Bilo-Bilo" from Beauty Talk by Asa Drake, which recently received a Best of the Net nomination from @blackbirdjournal!

Beauty Talk comes out October 13th— just 10 days away! Asa's got lots of upcoming events, including a book launch and discussion with fellow Noemi author @feliciazamorapoet and Carolina Hotchandi on October 19th

Preorders available on the Noemi website

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One of the best parts about being in the indie literature space is the wide range of colorful creativity all around us.

Here are some literature magazines we've been inspired by and are proud to call colleauges --- thank you to @litmagweek for giving us the reason to show love!

Quibble has stood on the shoulders of giants - and been born from a confluence of tastemakers, risk-takers, and trendsetters. Expand your mind, perspective, and taste -- discover new lit mags today!

#Litmagweek

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The Same Man is a year old 🥳

Sending thanks to everyone who's read these poems. I didn't know what to expect—and tried to resist expectations altogether—but I've been so buoyed by this year and how people have responded to the book. I'm lucky and thrilled to be part of the @upittpress family

To mark the moment, I donated every penny I've made from sales of The Same Man to World Central Kitchen (@wckitchen) and got to read with @jmciano and @field_book at @literaryarts here in Portland. Packed house! Great poems! More to come! 💙

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A new school year has begun! With the new school year comes a new social media manager for this account: second-year MFA poetry student Megan McDermott. Here are a few photos she's nabbed of the new semester, including one of this fall's graduate poetry workshop with their free copies of Swirl & Vortex: Collected Poems by Larry Levis! 📚✍️🐦‍⬛

This year's Poetry, Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, and Art/Media editors for @blackbirdjournal!

View from the library's grad student lounge

Second-year poets Megan and Lydia in a first day of class pic in front of Anderson, home to many MFA classes

The Pulse bus stop that greets many VCU students!

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Only two more months until my second book, A Brief History of Accidental Inventions, is published by @texasreviewpress !!! I’d love to take this book all over the place (like August does with that tiny stuffed bat and like I do with August), so give me a shout if you’d like me to come read with you or talk with your class or if you’d like an ARC to review!

Swipe for a couple sections from “Essay Against Metaphor,” originally published in @blackbirdjournal , which is the sticky, gross 🤎 of the book.

#poetry #poetrybook

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From my new essay, Thunderbird Variations, on how the future is designed. Link in bio (along with a hearty thanks to the good folks at the great literary journal, BLACKBIRD!)

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JUST LAUNCHED! This summer’s Blackbird Flight @blackbirdjournal (link in my bio), 24.2, is a dream. I’ve fantasized about putting together an all-multimedia Flight (video essays, sound art, visual art) since I began editing the journal in 2022. What I couldn’t have imagined is this particular collection of work, including new video essays from two of my all-time favorite practitioners of the form: M Freeman and John Bresland @bresland (—and revelations, Désirée Jung and Sree @sreebiswas Then, there’s Sound Art by the imcomporable Stephen Vitiello @stephenvitiello, Edwin Torres @brainlingo_ , Betsy Podsiadlo betsypodsiadlo , and Maizie Somerville @snakemilk_honey Also featuring, HEIRLOOMS, a heart-stopping collection of photographs by David Evan McDowell. The bounty here....
NOTE: John Bresland’s video essay, Thunderbird Variation 1: Inducements is the first installment in a four part series. We’ll be releasing the remaining three installments in Blackbird Flights through 2027!
My awe and gratitude for these artists, holy holy.
Special thanks to Managing Editor @rabeetah19 , Podcast Editor @treyburnarthall , and Poetry Editor @madamesosostris for all their help with this!

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A new video essay at Blackbird… link in bio

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The strength of a woman, the softness of a mother. 🤍

This poem is for every woman who keeps loving, healing, sacrificing, and rising… even when no one notices.

A poem dedicated to women and motherhood — to the silent strength behind tired eyes, warm hugs, and endless sacrifices.

Women are nurturers, fighters, dreamers, and creators of love in its purest form.

If this poem touched your heart, share it with a woman who inspires you every day. 🤍

#Motherhood #Women #PoetryReel #poem #MotherLove WomenEmpowerment

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so proud to have this poem appear in the latest issue of @blackbirdjournal alongside so many brilliant poets.
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.this poem starts in a performance by @tessartistt i witnessed at my true north ( #artfarmnebraska ) almost 10 years ago now. in the fall, i read this poem in front of someone else who was at this performance and they asked “did you JUST write that?” and the answer is yes, i carry things around with me for years it feels, decades too— sometimes that is how long it takes. this is just to say, take your time.
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i love the “you” this poem ends up in because it is dozens of yous, because i’ve always wanted to end a poem in everything.
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it bears repeating that tessa was with me when i went in the abandoned house and found the note “enter your home as though you are a stranger” so this poem feels extra special. special bonus photo of a piece of one of the first things we ever made together. am i explaining too much? who cares. Nathan & V 4ever. 🐟🕷️

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