Shō Poetry Journal was started in 2002 by Chia Martin when she was battling cancer. She wanted to create a platform to promote the work of poets she knew and admired. Sponsored by Hohm Press, she solicited work from nine poets, collected a total of sixty-eight poems, and arranged them in her preferred order. Before going to press she passed on from this world. This present incarnation of Shō is ed
ited by Johnny Cordova and Dominique Ahkong, a husband and wife team. Our tastes are divergent but there is a lot of overlap. We share a similar aesthetic and usually agree on what constitutes good – or compelling – poetry. Shō aims to carry on the small-press tradition of giving voice to outsiders and non-establishment poets. We believe that some of the most interesting poetry is written by the working class, by poets from the streets, by those steeped in life experience. We believe that reading poetry should be a visceral experience.
