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Derek Pollard, PhD

@doc-pollard.bsky.social

1.3K followers 2.7K following 160 posts

• Helping writers get into print since 1991. • Poets on Poetry Series Editor (Univ. of Michigan Press): https://poets-on-poetry.carrd.co • Author of ‘On the Verge of Something Bright and Good’ (Barrow Street) & ‘Inconsequentia’ (BlazeVOX).

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Derek Pollard, PhD @doc-pollard.bsky.social · Nov 10

Interested in having a book published in the Writers on Writing, Under Discussion, or Poets on Poetry Series at the University of Michigan Press?

Tune in to learn more from our current editors and several recent authors, who share their experience, along with tips and insights into the process:

On Words & Onward

Why does creative writing matter so deeply to so many people today? Who are the authors who have made and are making a lasting impression on the literary wor...

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Reposted by Derek Pollard, PhD

Bookshop.org @bookshop.org · 19h

Can’t decide what to buy on Prime Day?

Try: absolutely nothing, and then go support indie bookstores instead 📚

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Derek Pollard, PhD @doc-pollard.bsky.social · 19h

“Let’s make room for many modes of survival.”

@khadijahqueen.com’s RADICAL POETICS asks: what would our literary spaces look like if we actually meant this?

Her book challenges us to expand what we consider possible – in our teaching, our writing, our communities.

press.umich.edu/Books/R/Radi...

Front cover of the book ‘Radical Poetics’ by Khadijah Queen. The cover features a Black woman sitting barefoot in a dimly lit, eclectic space surrounded by books and fabric drapes. The atmosphere is reminiscent of steampunk with a Southern gothic twist. The woman is wearing a pink dress and sitting on a floral patterned surface. The subtitle reads ‘Essays on Literature & Culture.’

Derek Pollard, PhD @doc-pollard.bsky.social · 20h

Fantastic news, @rebelmom13.bsky.social ! 📚

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Derek Pollard, PhD @doc-pollard.bsky.social · 3d

When Israeli forces captured Jaffa in 1948, the municipal archives vanished, erasing Palestinians' legal proof of land ownership.

@philipmetres.bsky.social's DISPATCHES FROM THE LAND OF ERASURE shows how Arab poets have sought to preserve this disappeared history.

press.umich.edu/Books/D/Disp...

Book cover for ‘Dispatches from the Land of Erasure: Essays and Conversations’ by Philip Metres. The cover features an abstract geometric composition of overlapping rectangular blocks in various colors including blues, reds, greens, yellows, purples, and browns against a light gray background. The blocks appear layered and fragmented, creating a mosaic-like pattern that suggests themes of fragmentation and reconstruction. The title and author name are displayed in clean, dark typography at the top of the cover.

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Derek Pollard, PhD @doc-pollard.bsky.social · 5d

Millions of Americans from all walks of life are counting on the party to hold firm to protect access to affordable healthcare.

I trust that you and your colleagues will do just that, @petebuttigieg.bsky.social , showing the integrity and leadership at the heart of this country’s abiding promise.

Reposted by Derek Pollard, PhD

Bookshop.org @bookshop.org · 8d

I hear *someone* is having a sale next week.

I guess they have to try and recoup some of that $2.5 billion they’re forking over for *checks notes* being deceptive? Who would’ve thought?

Feels like Oct 7 & 8 will be prime days to support independent bookstores. 😌

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Derek Pollard, PhD @doc-pollard.bsky.social · 6d

Such an extraordinary conversation in such an intimate, inviting space, @pw.org !

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Derek Pollard, PhD @doc-pollard.bsky.social · 16d

@longrules.bsky.social reads Scarbrough's line about loneliness arriving "like a bouquet out of the evening," then watches his kids reach toward fleeing guinea fowl, finding poetry and parenting in the same impossible gesture.

Joy (Or Something Darker, but Like It)

press.umich.edu/Books/J/Joy-...

Book cover for ‘Joy (Or Something Darker, but Like It)’ by Nathaniel Perry, published in the Poets on Poetry Series by the University of Michigan Press. Dark blue background with black organic shapes. "Joy" in colorful letters (yellow, coral, blue), subtitle in white. "POETRY & PARENTING" in yellow, and author's name in white at bottom.

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Derek Pollard, PhD @doc-pollard.bsky.social · 19d

Hear, hear, @andersedwards.bsky.social!

It’s been nothing short of amazing to with her on ‘What the Mirror Said.’

press.umich.edu/Books/W/What...

What the Mirror Said

When did you feel the pull of poetry? For Ashley M. Jones, the moment she knew she would be a poet was at seven years old—reciting “Harriet Tubman” by Eloise Greenfield. That moment, that poem, showed...

press.umich.edu

Derek Pollard, PhD @doc-pollard.bsky.social · 19d

@uofmpress.bsky.social author Ashley M. Jones in conversation with @pw.org about her latest collection of poems, published by @hubcitypress.bsky.social:

www.hubcity.org/books/poetry...

#Booksky #Poetry #Books

Poets & Writers @pw.org · 21d

"I wish all writers the audiences they desire and the acclaim they deserve." In this week's #TenQuestions, Ashley M. Jones shares a behind-the-scenes look at the writing process for her new collection, Lullaby for the Grieving, out now from @hubcitypress.bsky.social. Read more: at.pw.org/10qjones

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Derek Pollard, PhD @doc-pollard.bsky.social · 22d

Kodak invented "the Kodak moment" to teach people they needed cameras to remember their lives.

Jason Schneiderman sees poems heading down the same commercial track – and he's having none of it!

Read more in NOTHINGISM, out now from @uofmpress.bsky.social:

press.umich.edu/Books/N/Noth...

Book cover for NOTHINGISM by Jason Schneiderman. The background is deep purple. The title, NOTHINGISM, appears as large, light purple text running vertically down the left side of the cover. On the right side, in gold text that contrasts with the purple background, is the subtitle POETRY AT THE END OF PRINT CULTURE. The author's name, JASON SCHNEIDERMAN, appears in white text below the subtitle. In the bottom right corner is a simple illustration of a tan cardboard box. The overall design is minimal and contemporary, using typographic elements as the main visual focus.

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Derek Pollard, PhD @doc-pollard.bsky.social · 22d

Just got our tickets a few days ago, @pw.org ! Looking forward to another evening at the Greene Space!

Derek Pollard, PhD @doc-pollard.bsky.social · 23d

In one of her essays, Christina Pugh observes that students copying out Frost's "Birches" and Brooks's sonnets learned meter faster than when they wrote original poems

It's a provocative question: What if imitation teaches craft better than invention?

press.umich.edu/Books/G/Ghos...

Book cover of ‘Ghosts and the Overplus: Reading Poetry in the Twenty-First Century’ by Christina Pugh. The cover features a minimalist design with the title and author name in elegant typography. The visual element shows a mixed-media collage with watercolor elements in blue and purple tones on the left side, juxtaposed with a black and white seascape showing rough waters and what appears to be partially submerged wooden posts. The overall aesthetic combines abstract and representational elements in a contemplative, artistic composition.

Derek Pollard, PhD @doc-pollard.bsky.social · 23d

This was such an extraordinary event, @pw.org !

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Derek Pollard, PhD @doc-pollard.bsky.social · 24d

What an extraordinary opportunity, @leahumansky.bsky.social !

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Reposted by Derek Pollard, PhD

The New Yorker @newyorker.com · 27d

From “I speak with gravity.,” by Jane Hirshfield. Read the full poem: nyer.cm/HiFNZyu

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Reposted by Derek Pollard, PhD

Bookshop.org @bookshop.org · 28d

We’re in the business of keeping independent bookstores in business 🤍📚

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Derek Pollard, PhD @doc-pollard.bsky.social · Sep 7

Such a powerful and necessary book, @philipmetres.bsky.social.

It’s been an honor to work with you and my colleagues at @uofmpress.bsky.social to bring it out.

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Derek Pollard, PhD @doc-pollard.bsky.social · Sep 7

When CERN physicists admitted ordinary language can't describe quantum reality, they were right.

What they missed, though, is exactly what Amy Catanzano observes in THE IMAGINARY PRESENT: that poets have been mapping the indescribable from the very start.

press.umich.edu/Books/T/The-...

Book cover for ‘The Imaginary Present: Essays in Quantum Poetics’ by Amy Catanzano, published in the Poets on Poetry Series by the University of Michigan Press. The cover features a pixelated, glitch-art style background in shades of pink, purple, rose, and teal. The title and author name appear in bright pink text on white rectangular blocks that seem to float over the abstract digital pattern. The subtitle appears in white text on a rose-colored banner.

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Derek Pollard, PhD @doc-pollard.bsky.social · Sep 6

When poets debate whether metaphor itself perpetuates harm, every image becomes an ethical choice.

@philipmetres.bsky.social's DISPATCHES FROM THE LAND OF ERASURE captures these heated conversations, changing how we approach poems that engage cultural difference.

press.umich.edu/Books/D/Disp...

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Reposted by Derek Pollard, PhD

Poetry Daily @poetrydaily.bsky.social · Sep 1

Today's Feature:

In this week's installment of What Sparks Poetry: Read Mani Rao on Writing “I, Lorine Niedecker” from So That You Know published by HarperCollins India

Read here:
spare.poems.com/features/wha...

Mani Rao on Writing “I, Lorine Niedecker”

spare.poems.com

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Derek Pollard, PhD @doc-pollard.bsky.social · Aug 24

Hear, hear, @khadijahqueen.com !

Reposted by Derek Pollard, PhD

Khadijah Queen @khadijahqueen.com · Aug 23

One of the most rewarding things I do is serve on panels for awards. It is so heartening to see people devoting their time, love, and energy on creativity. Never let the reality that these weirdos are bombarding us with stop you from making what you are meant to make. 🩵💙💜

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Derek Pollard, PhD @doc-pollard.bsky.social · Aug 12

Read an excerpt from @uofmpress.bsky.social author @khadijahqueen.com’s searing new memoir, ‘Between the Devil & the Deep Blue Sea.’

You can order your copy at @bookshop.org (and support your favorite independent bookstore when you do):

bookshop.org/p/books/betw...

Khadijah Queen on What It’s Like to Write Poetry on a Naval Destroyer

As I settled into the routine of a bonafide sailor, I discovered my way of interacting socially didn’t match that of my shipmates. After a rather wild social time during my training in San Di…

lithub.com

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Derek Pollard, PhD @doc-pollard.bsky.social · Aug 2

Looking forward to learning more, @leahumansky.bsky.social!

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