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John Wall Barger @johnwallbarger.bsky.social · 9d

Here is a picture my mother Jean took of my parents' gorgeous desi dog Ruthie beside the marvelous literary journal The Dalhousie Review which was good enough to publish one of my poems. Little pockets of love and light

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John Wall Barger @johnwallbarger.bsky.social · 23d

Grateful to have a new poem in the latest Tampa Review.

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John Wall Barger @johnwallbarger.bsky.social · Sep 11

Yayy!

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John Wall Barger @johnwallbarger.bsky.social · Aug 5

I'm working hard this summer on translating the powerful and puzzling poems of Marina Pizzi from Italian. I hope to have a draft of her book, Intimate Distances, finished before long.

Pleased to have a few of these translations published in Beltway Poetry.

www.beltwaypoetry.com/three-poems-...

Three poems by Marina Pizzi, translated by John Wall Barger - Beltway Poetry Quarterly

1. Nelle carezze delle rondini l’addio L’erta tregua che guerra ne fu Fidanza di un amore senza taglio Nonostante la morte in data certa. Venture di alambicco sopportare Il cuore con le fermezze del s...

www.beltwaypoetry.com

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John Wall Barger @johnwallbarger.bsky.social · Jun 11

Stunning poem by Victoria Chang in the Yale Review

yalereview.org/article/vict...

Victoria Chang: “The Swan”

A poem by Victoria Chang: “The thin shirtless / man fishing by / the river. The woman // by his side, smoking.“

yalereview.org

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John Wall Barger @johnwallbarger.bsky.social · Jun 3

Excited to share some good news in my life, with big gratitude to LSU Press @lsupress.bsky.social & editor James W. Long, and others I'll thank soon, my next poetry collection, RESURRECTION PIE, is coming out in early 2026. 🥳🥳(second pic is me fiddling with pages of the ms in an empty classroom) ❤

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John Wall Barger @johnwallbarger.bsky.social · May 22

Just got some good news! Mary Dalton chose my poem “Darwin Awards Song” for Best Canadian Poetry 2026, which will come out in a few months. Big thanks to Event for originally publishing the poem in 2024. And to Mary Dalton!

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John Wall Barger @johnwallbarger.bsky.social · May 14

Very grateful to @riverstyxmag.bsky.social for publishing four flash fiction pieces of mine!

www.riverstyx.org/fiction/hist...

“History of the Miserable Octopus” and Three Other Shorts — River Styx Magazine

“Once, an octopus—many-hearted, hive-brained, boneless, muscular as a cloud—constructed a human form out of cheap materials that he knew would fall apart after eighty years at the most. He floated dow...

www.riverstyx.org

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John Wall Barger @johnwallbarger.bsky.social · Apr 30

Thanks A Dozen Nothing! @adnpoetry.bsky.social You guys rock

adnpoetry.bsky.social @adnpoetry.bsky.social · Apr 30

Every month is #nationalpoetrymonth at ADN, and we've really enjoyed bringing you some terrific new work by @johnwallbarger.bsky.social. John's feature will remain archived at www.ADozenNothing.com, where you can also print it as a free PDF. Thanks for reading, reader! And thank you, John!

John Wall Barger @johnwallbarger.bsky.social · Apr 26

Thank you to David Romanda for taking the time to interview me about poetry and teaching. It was a thoughtful and rewarding conversation.

www.romandapoetry.com/john-wall-ba...

An Interview with John Wall Barger

www.romandapoetry.com

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Reposted by John Wall Barger

adnpoetry.bsky.social @adnpoetry.bsky.social · Apr 25

One last Q & A with our featured poet for April, @johnwallbarger.bsky.social:

Q: Hey John, do you own anything unique?

A: 1989 R100RT BMW motorcycle!

Enjoy some great new poems by John at www.ADozenNothing.com!

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Reposted by John Wall Barger

adnpoetry.bsky.social @adnpoetry.bsky.social · Apr 23

Wanting to write a poem? Here's a fun prompt from our April featured poet @johnwallbarger.bsky.social.

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Reposted by John Wall Barger

adnpoetry.bsky.social @adnpoetry.bsky.social · Apr 18

Happy Friday! For all his talk of unlearning, our April poet @johnwallbarger.bsky.social also clearly learned a thing or two along the way:

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Reposted by John Wall Barger

adnpoetry.bsky.social @adnpoetry.bsky.social · Apr 16

Q: Hey John, if you could teach a semester-length class about a single poem, what would you choose?

A: “It Happens Like This,” by James Tate. The goat that becomes (maybe) Christ!

Definitely read that poem. It's great. And check out great work by @johnwallbarger.bsky.social at ADozenNothing.com!

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Reposted by John Wall Barger

adnpoetry.bsky.social @adnpoetry.bsky.social · Apr 11

Happy Friday! We love this poem by @johnwallbarger.bsky.social. You can read it along with five others at www.ADozenNothing.com.

Q: Hey John, is there anything you’d like to tell us about the poems we’re featuring this month at ADN?

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Reposted by John Wall Barger

adnpoetry.bsky.social @adnpoetry.bsky.social · Apr 9

Solid advice from our April poet @johnwallbarger.bsky.social:

Q: Hey John, what’s something you’ve learned from your students?

A: To stay open and also to let go of my ideas quickly when need be.

Painting: "Untitled" by Atsuko Tanka, 1956, MOMA

Check out new poems by John at ADozenNothing.com!

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Reposted by John Wall Barger

adnpoetry.bsky.social @adnpoetry.bsky.social · Apr 7

Here, our April poet @johnwallbarger.bsky.social makes us pine for his beautiful state:

Q: Hey John, what’s something you consider “poetic” about your part of Vermont?

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Reposted by John Wall Barger

adnpoetry.bsky.social @adnpoetry.bsky.social · Apr 3

From our April featured poet @johnwallbarger.bsky.social, some advice we're definitely going to take:

Q: Hey John, you’ve written some great long poems. Any advice for poets hesitant to try composing longer work?

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John Wall Barger @johnwallbarger.bsky.social · Apr 1

I'm thrilled to have six new poems out with A Dozen Nothing (@adnpoetry.bsky.social‬) ❤️

adnpoetry.bsky.social @adnpoetry.bsky.social · Apr 1

Happy April! Every month, ADN brings you fresh work by one poet. We're thrilled to celebrate National Poetry Month (and our tenth year) with six great new poems by @johnwallbarger.bsky.social. Check them out at adozennothing.com!

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John Wall Barger @johnwallbarger.bsky.social · Mar 26

After a super-chaotic morning, I'm psyched to be at my gate in Boston on my way to AWP in L.A.!

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John Wall Barger @johnwallbarger.bsky.social · Mar 10

I'm still (living in Vermont) haunted by the dogs of Himachal Pradesh, India

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John Wall Barger @johnwallbarger.bsky.social · Feb 4

I'm so grateful to the terrific journal I-70 Review for making me a feature poet in their new issue, and publishing six new poems of mine.

They also submitted one of the poems, The Great Cooling (pic below), for a Pushcart prize!

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John Wall Barger @johnwallbarger.bsky.social · Jan 21

This seems about as appropriate as it will ever be

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John Wall Barger @johnwallbarger.bsky.social · Jan 20

My thanks to Canadian Literature for including my poem "Impossible Household" in their new issue, and also an interview where I ramble about Italian cinema, Tarkovsky, and Chernobyl.

UBC

canlit.ca

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John Wall Barger @johnwallbarger.bsky.social · Jan 9

We should talk about pain more.

Check out this article by @tcrosenqvist.bsky.social.

She asks, is pain simply "a kind of bodily damage detector, designed to inform us about injuries"?

What is pain in itself? Physical or mental? Is it always unpleasant?

1000wordphilosophy.com/2025/01/08/p...

Philosophy of Pain - 1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology

An introduction to the philosophy of pain: is pain physical or mental? What is the role of the pain system? And, is pain always unpleasant? These questions are the focus of this essay.

1000wordphilosophy.com

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