Welcome to Another Poem to Love

I guess an introduction is as good a place to start as any. I’m Brian Spears. I’ve been a poetry editor at The Rumpus since it went live in 2009, and I published a collection of poems back in 2011 titled A Witness in Exile with Louisiana Literature Press. I have some copies in my closet if anyone is interested. :-)

For over a decade now at The Rumpus we’ve run a series called The Last Poem I Loved. It grew out of The Last Book I Loved, which was conceived as a quick hit, 150-200 word appreciation of a prose or poetry book. So when someone pitched us the idea of one of these based around a single poem, we went for it and modified the name so as to build the brand. But I never really liked the name, the past tense, the sense of finality that comes with “last” even if what we really were aiming for originally was “latest.” When I was writing and editing these pieces, I always felt a little weird as though I needed to be sure this was the one to warrant the title of “last.” It was a little paralyzing.

And then there was some upheaval in life: a move to a new state, a series of jobs, the birth of twins, a pandemic, an ongoing political nightmare, a lot of therapy and whenever something had to give, it was writing. So I haven’t done as much of it as I would like to in the last decade, let’s say. I’ve published a few poems, written some essays and reviews, edited some of both. I had a poem made into a movie, which was neat (and while looking for that link I just discovered I have an IMDB entry. What the hell?). But it’s not been as central to my idea of myself as it had been before, and I miss that.

I also miss talking about poetry with others. While withdrawing from social media has been good for my mental health, it’s also meant that I’ve lost contact not only with a lot of writers but with the conversations about writing and publishing, so maybe this will help me re-enter those spaces in some way.

For now I’m going to start off small. I’m not going to commit to a publishing schedule and I’m not going to ask for money or hide content from readers. I’m going to write about poems I love, mostly newer, mostly by people still writing today, often by people I know on some level, though not exclusively. I’ll link to the original publication where that’s possible and cite where it appeared first when there’s nothing to link to—I strongly believe in crediting publishers.

Lastly, while I’m just like most writers in that I hope to be read, what I’m really looking for is conversation, so if you’re the commenting type, please add your thoughts, especially if there are poems you think I should read and love. Poetry is best when it’s communal, like most things. I’m looking forward to talking with you.