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Today SHINE welcomes back American poet Michael Igoe with his poignant poem, "Mortality." Thank you, Michael, for bringing your work to the SHINE international poetry community, once again! Mortality  Michael Igoe, city boy, neurodiverse, Chicago now Boston. Numerous works appear in journals and anthologies (available at amazon.com, lulu.com, barnesandnoble.com). National Library of Poetry Editor's Choice 1997. Best of the Net nomination 2023. poetry-in-motion.org
Today, SHINE welcomes Pushcart-nominated poet, Sam Szanto with her beautiful poems "Bea's Mother's Hands," "Leaving / Going," and "Dropping Stones" (a glosa). Thank you, Sam, for sharing your words with SHINE international poetry series! Bea's Mother's Hands Leaving / Going  Poet's note: the phrases ‘the mouth of a shark’ and ‘the bullet of a gun’ refer to Warsan Shire’s poem ‘Home’. Dropping Stones (a glosa)   Sam Szanto is a Pushcart prize-nominated, award-winning writer living in Durham (UK). Her poetry pamphlet This Was Your Mother was published by Dreich Press in 2024; Splashing Pink (a Poetry Book Society Choice) by Hedgehog Press and her short-story collection If No One Speaks by Alien Buddha Press. She has won the Wirral Festival Poetry Prize, the Charroux Poetry Prize, the First Writer Poetry Prize, the Shooter Flash Prize and the Mum Life Stories Prize. She has poems in journals including South Carolina Review, Rialto, The North, Dust Poetry and The Storms. She has an MA in Writing Poetry with distinction from Newcastle University and is working on a practice-led PhD about absence and attachment in parenthood poetry.
Welcome back, poetry fans! Today SHINE is closing out its October mini book series, with Ryan Di Francesco's new chapbook Skeleton Mine Disaster (Bottlecap Press). You can read my review of Di Francesco's expressive work, below. And simply click on the cover art to purchase your copy. Thank you, Ryan, for sharing your book news with the SHINE international poetry community! In his new book Skeleton Mine Disaster – published this year by Bottlecap Press – Ryan Di Francesco presents readers with honesty and clarity, addressing the angst of real life issues including depression and the battle for sobriety, but also offering hints to finding joy in simplicity. I especially like this stanza from "Over Easy": Now, the most enjoyable part of living is dipping toast in warm yellow yolk and having that first sip of coffee sober in your forties staring at her across the table Di Francesco mostly writes in free verse and dabbles in a bit of stream of consciousness for poems like “Bloodless Petal.” I particularly enjoyed, "Love Ate Rimbaud and All the Wild Horses" and am partial to "The Heart of the Onion" published by yours truly and forthcoming in the December Issue of SHINE Quarterly. Be sure to add Skeleton Mine Disaster to your winter reading list. Congratulations, Ryan, and Bottlecap Press, on the publish of this knockdown collection! -SAMANTHA TERRELL, EIC SHINE international poetry series  Ryan Di Francesco is a Canadian writer and teacher. He began as a freelance journalist, with work featured in The Toronto Star and outlets across North America, before turning his focus to poetry and fiction. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Shadow and Sax, an emerging literary and arts press, and the author of two chapbooks — The Paper Hound (Alien Buddha Press) and Skeleton Mine Disaster (Bottlecap Press). His poems and stories have appeared or are forthcoming in journals including ELJ Editions, Shoegaze Literary, The Pit Periodical, Ink in Thirds, Bicoastal Review, SQUID Magazine, Shine Quarterly, among others. He also co-wrote the indie film "Streets of Wonderland," which won multiple festival awards.
On this Friday, we're shining the spotlight on spoken word artist, Jackson Davies, with three thought-provoking poems: Existence: An Acrostic, If This Is the End, and Logolology. Thank you, Jackson, for sharing your words with SHINE's international poetry community! SHINE will be back next week with one final book review for the month of October, and more new poetry from writers across the globe. Existence: An Acrostic  If This Is the End Logolology   Jackson Davies has been performing spoken word for around ten years, veering from humorous honest observations about his marriage, to rhyming rants about the state of the nation. You can find him on Instagram (@jacksondaviespoet), facebook (https://www.facebook.com/JacksonDaviesPoet/) and YouTube (@JacksonDaviesPoet).
Hello again, poetry lovers! Today SHINE welcomes back Richard LeDue with three new poems: Bach Playing in the Background, Stealing Some Immortality, and my favorite, Words Like These. Thank you, Richard, for once again sharing your work with the SHINE international poetry community! Bach Playing in the Background A selfie staring back at me, like a ghost I don’t believe in, betrays the Bach playing in the background. His keyboard concertos reek of fingertips from a god or a godless universe inspiring someone to create the divine, while I look into my own eyes and accept the light between dead stars gives life to poems like this. Stealing Some Immortality An ancient Greek poet writing three thousand years ago about a beautiful face whose name is lost in a sea of silence that’s easily confused with the most barren desert. It’s enough to make a blank page scream at all the dead writers who stole some immortality, even if only with a few words sneaking pass death to hijack living voices. Words Like These These words are spilled whisky on Saturday nights, when Sundays have nothing to do with god, but are hangovers at 6 AM crying like a newborn. My hands shaking from all the hours painted black and the poems face down in empty glasses.  Richard LeDue (he/him) lives in Norway House, Manitoba, Canada. He writes poems. His last collection, Another Another, was released from Alien Buddha Press in May 2025.
In continuing SHINE's mini book series for the month of October, I'm pleased to feature Held Inside the Folds of Time by Merril D. Smith, which launched this week from JC STUDIO Press. I was honored to write the Foreword for this lovely collection (read it below). In addition to the evocative poetry in the book, Merril's gorgeous photography is a delightful feast for the eyes. To purchase your copy, simply click on the book cover art, or go to your country's Amazon marketplace. Congratulations, Merril! Held Inside the Folds of Time by Merril D. Smith, has so much to offer – unfolding, as it were, before the reader with layers of intimacy and grace. As one might suspect from the title, she addresses memories – both personal, and cultural. In “Sister Songs” and “Winter Birches” the reader is given a glimpse into the rich family life that Merril values. Throughout the book, she speaks to topics of mothering, daughtering, and sistering. And, in poems like “The Toll of the Toil,” and “At the Corner of First and Always,” we glimpse a bit of Americana – both its sadness and its hope. But there is a metaphysical aspect to Merril’s work as well. I particularly enjoyed “Suspended, Surrounded” and “The Power of Gravity and Light.” And, Merril’s lyrical style does not disappoint: Birds sing the harmonies of stars, trees and seas bear primeval secrets, tremulous whispers flow underground and across continents, waves of knowledge break on fallow shores, snippets coast on spindrift (from “How I Learned”). If I have one criticism, it’s that this gorgeous collection ended too soon, as I would happily spend many ‘folds of time’ reading Merril’s rich and evocative words! -SAMANTHA TERRELL, EIC SHINE international poetry series   Merril D. Smith writes from southern New Jersey. Her work has been published widely in poetry journals and anthologies. Her collection River Ghosts (Nightingale & Sparrow Press) was Black Bough Poetry’s December 2022 Book of the Month. Held Inside the Folds of Time (JC STUDIO Press), is available now.
Poetry fans, this Thursday's feature is Scottish poet, Saraphir Camille Legind. I am so pleased to share her two beautiful poems, Ajar and A Burning. Thank you, Saraphir, for sharing your work with SHINE! Ajar A Burning   Saraphir Camille Legind is a poet, singer-songwriter and writer based in Edinburgh, Scotland. She is known for protest songs and wordplay, as well as trying to look at different themes from different angles to find new depths. Her poems range from a quick humorous haiku on the bus to page-long explorations on pain or chauvinism. She is also a performance artist/movement teacher, crochet designer, and keen gardener and feels best about life when she is creating something. @saraphircamille on most platforms – except X.
Welcome back, poetry lovers. Today I'm pleased to shine the spotlight on Chicago-based writer, Noah Berlatsky, who shares his edgy poem, Sphere. I appreciate your candor, Noah, and I especially love, "I can | never podcast. I will never | finish Dhalgren." Thank you for entrusting your words to SHINE international poetry series! SphereWhat’s in a muse? The thing to do is lose the thread of your audio paperback. I can never podcast. I will never finish Dhalgren. It looms over the horizon a hoary sun made of cheese. Please beneath my bowels a foul-tasting burp squirms, and I think I’ve just insulted someone pointlessly. Karma won’t stop fucking with you.  Noah Berlatsky (he/him) is a freelance writer in Chicago. His full-length collections are Not Akhmatova (Ben Yehuda Press, 2024), Gnarly Thumbs (Anxiety Press, 2025), Meaning Is Embarrassing (Ranger, 2025) and Brevity (Nun Prophet, 2025).
Hello again, poetry lovers! Next up in SHINE's mini October book series, is a brand new title by Upstate New York poet, Carol Mikoda. Carol's book Outside of Time launched last week from Kelsay Books. It was an honor to have an early peek at this new collection. Here's my review. You can purchase your copy by clicking on the cover art below. Thank you, Carol, for sharing your news with the SHINE poetry community! In Outside of Time (Kelsay Books), Carol Mikoda proffers nature as metaphor for meaning, and the abstract as explainable by the observable world. She broaches heavy topics such as the concept of time and purposeful existence, in this aptly named collection; and teases at an underlying theme of acceptance (howsoever the reader wishes to interpret it). And Mikoda does not disappoint the reader who expects a bit of her wit and whimsy – with poems such as “Time Travellers” and “When the Time Comes.” For me, the closing line from “In My Midnight Kitchen” sums up the concept of this book beautifully, I fill a bowl with acceptance | of whatever is present now, | and also | now. Mikoda’s new collection strikes the crucial balance between what is pleasant to read, and what is important to read. Don’t miss it! -SAMANTHA TERRELL, EIC SHINE international poetry series   After a long career as an educator, Carol Mikoda now spends much of her time writing poetry. Under the influence of ee cummings, Rumi, Hafiz, Bashō, Millay, Oliver, and others, she writes poems filled with nature and spirit, from her yellow table above Seneca Lake in central New York State. Her work has appeared in many literary journals, most recently Wild Greens, Inkfish, and Blue Heron Review. Her first chapbook, While You Wait, is available from the author; her second, Wind and Water, Leaf and Lake, is available from Finishing Line Press. Her prose poem, “Jesus at the Pub,” was nominated for Best of the Net and The Pushcart Prize. She has strong attachments to clouds, trees, water, and music. Contact her at [email protected] or through The Yellow Table on Substack.
Poetry lovers, it's a pleasure to shine the spotlight on Brooklyn-based Wilfredo Alba. I enjoy his narrative style and imagery. Thank you, Wilfredo, for sharing your work with SHINE! I turn 34 next week, and I guess I’m not a rage gay anymore    trees with no leaves in winter    Tamales     Wilfredo Alba is a first generation American Chicano gay poet living in Brooklyn, NY. He is originally from Houston, TX, and he graduated Cum Laude from Sam Houston State University where he studied English and Poetry. His work explores the American experience through the lens of belonging to many racial, ethnic, and minority groups and none at all as a gay child of immigrants of mixed nationalities. His work can be found in The Acentos Review, and he is a recipient of a fellowship with Brooklyn Poets.
Welcome back, poetry lovers! I'm pleased to share a second installment of this month's mini book series here at SHINE -- today, with Jane Rosenberg LaForge's brand new collection, The Exhaust of Dreams Adulterated, out this month from Broadstone Books. I was honored to have an early look at this poignant collection, and I hope you enjoy my review. You can purchase your copy of The Exhaust of Dreams Adulterated by clicking on the cover image below my review. Have a pleasant day! The Exhaust of Dreams Adulterated (Broadstone Books) by Jane Rosenberg LaForge is a masterful reflection on personal discernment gained through familial distresses. Rosenberg LaForge gives readers a look into her childhood and upbringing, and follows that arc through to her concerns for her own children and our collective future. I especially appreciated Rosenberg LaForge’s skill with opening lines, such as, open the throat to the parenthetical | the toasting of goals | to initiative and hindsight (“The Meaning of Echoes”), or In grade school fire was | A triangle. (“Fireproofing”), and so many more. Some of my favorites in this book are “Family Business,” “Second Life,” and “Run for Your Life.” A terrific collection. -SAMANTHA TERRELL, EIC SHINE international poetry series   Jane Rosenberg LaForge is a poet, fiction writer, and occasional essayist living in New York. Her 2021 novel, Sisterhood of the Infamous (New Meridian Arts Press), was a finalist for the National Indie Excellence Award in regional fiction (west); and her 2018 novel, The Hawkman: A Fairy Tale of the Great War (Amberjack Publishing), was a finalist in two categories in the Eric Hoffer Awards. She is the author of four full-length collections of poetry; four chapbooks of poetry; and an experimental memoir, An Unsuitable Princess (Jaded Ibis Press 2014). Jane reads poetry submissions for COUNTERCLOCK literary magazine and reviews books for American Book Review. She has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize for poetry and fiction, and for the Best of the Net multiple times. She was most recently nominated for the Pushcart Prize and the Best of the Net for her 2022 poem, "For a Friend Going Deaf.”
Poetry lovers, I'm pleased to shine the spotlight on new poetry by the talented John Compton. Thank you, John, for sharing your words with the SHINE international poetry community! a sacrifice to the wild the moon is malfunctioning bringing in radioactive algae causing bones to grow flowers. the first night small buds --a week later whole gardens. ●●●●● side effects to mortality my heart's irregular --the killing of a boy by mother's alcoholic friend who pays the rent. he lay along the bed across a new salvador dali canvas --pound against the chamber somewhere there is a door, a ribcage, a chest plate --the blood trickles at first, then hurt, then turns down into the floor --the beats are erratic. ●●●●● side effects to forgetting i walk out of my clothes --the naked afterglow in the afternoon. touch my body like you've touched my body like you've touched my body like my body was never in doubt like my body has always had your intention. my body, a leaf, & autumn is close --grab it before it falls. grab me before i fall.  john compton (b. 1987), author of seventeen books/chapbooks, is a gay poet/writer who lives in kentucky with his husband josh and their dogs and cats, and mice. his latest full length book is my husband holds my hand because i may drift away & be lost forever in the vortex of a crowded store published with Flowersong Press (dec 2024); his latest chapbook is melancholy arcadia published with Harbor Editions (april 2024). he has been published in ONE ART more times then he has fingers on one hand. you can find his books, some poems, and other things here: https://linktr.ee/poetjohncompton
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SHINE - International Poetry Series
Click here for submissions and more
From the international poetry community, we have a "luxury of stars," as Sylvia Plath might say, and it is SHINE's honor to provide a home for their words with the online Spotlight series as well as SHINE Quarterly. Click on the logo above to learn more. And...keep writing, keep shining!
In poetry, Samantha Terrell, EIC SYLVIA PLATH
Stars Over the Dordogne Stars are dropping thick as stones into the twiggy
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