Poetry Northwest

05/06/2025

We are thrilled to announce that our 2025 James Welch Prize winners are Desireé Dallagiacomo and Chris Hoshnic!

Poetry Northwest’s James Welch Prize is awarded for two outstanding poems, each written by an Indigenous U.S. poet. The prize is named for Blackfeet and Gros Ventre writer James Welch, whose early poems were featured in Poetry Northwest and who went on to become one of the region’s most important writers.

Thank you to everyone who submitted to the contest; and warm congratulations to the finalists and honorable mentions as well! We are excited to share the winning poems as well as work by the finalists in our forthcoming Summer/Fall 2025 issue.

FINALISTS

Danielle Emerson
Michaelsun Knapp
Ibe Liebenberg
Casandra Lopez
Delaney Olmo
Noelani Piters

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Kinsale Drake
Bonney Hartley
Jamie Natonabah
Owen Oliver

08/05/2025

THIS ONE’S FOR MARTY 🤍—a review of Martha Silano’s THIS ONE WE CALL OURS by managing editor Constance Hansen is up today. The Poetry Northwest family grieves the loss of our longtime contributor, vital community member, and beloved friend. We will keep working our part of the great tapestry Marty so beautifully and brilliantly contributed to with her life’s work. All love and tenderness to the family and everyone touched by this immense loss.

"Every poem feels deliberate, delivered by the poet with the confidence of an experienced singer, even as she overwhelms us with the method of surfeit (what is technically called “letting it rip”)."

19/02/2025

We were so sorry to learn of the passing of influential Indigenous artist Jaune Quick-To-See Smith. Jaune’s work graced the cover of our Summer/Fall 2024 issue, and is featured in collections around the world, including the Whitney Museum. Born at the St. Ignatius Indian Mission on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana, she passed away on January 24th at the age of 85.

09/02/2025

Less than a week left to submit to the 2025 James Welch Prize for Indigenous Poets, judged by dg nanouk okpik 🌟

Two first-place finalists will be published in Poetry Northwest, each winning a $1,000 prize and an all-expenses-paid trip to read with the judge. Please check the link in our bio for eligibility information and submission guidelines. We can’t wait to meet the future prize-winners and share the gift of their writing widely!

Huge, heartfelt thanks to the contributors and partnerships who make this prize possible. See PoetryNW.org/James-Welch-Prize for the complete list of contributors.

09/02/2025

Read the full poem by Chen Poyu, translated by Nicholas Wong, on PoetryNW.org 🏍️

Born in 1993, Chen Poyu has won numerous literary prizes in Taiwan, including the Lin Rong-San Literary Award in Essays, and the Times Literary Award. Named one of the Ten Most Anticipated Writers born in the 1990s by Wenhsun Magazine, Chen is the author of The Scientists (interviews), The Bubbles Maker (essays), and two poetry collections, mini me and The Art of Rivalry. His recent publications include The Basement Tapes, a book of collaborative texts and illustrations with Kuo Chien Yu. His Chinese translation of Robert Hass’s Summer Snow was published in 2022. He currently lives in Taipei. IG:

Nicholas Wong is a poet, translator and visual artist from Hong Kong. He is the author of Crevasse, winner of the Lambda Literary Awards in Gay Poetry, and Besiege Me, also a Lammy finalist in the same category. His poems and translations are forthcoming in The Georgia Review, Five Points, American Poetry Review, among others. He is an International Writing Program resident at the University of Iowa in Fall 2024, and currently teaches at the Education University of Hong Kong. IG:

17/01/2025

🌟 Poetry Northwest is proud to present our Pushcart Prize nominations!

From Poetry Northwest’s Winter & Spring 2024 issue:
- .bolina ’s “Second City Autumnal”
- .natalie.shapero ’s “Spacewalk”

From Poetry Northwest’s Summer & Fall 2024 issue:
- T. Le’s “A is for Apple”
- Bryan Thomas Daly’s “King of Monsters”
- ’s “Under the gun”
- ’s “I Try to Write About the Sea but Instead Write Another Dead Brother Poem”

04/01/2025

Submissions are OPEN for poems in translation for the month of January 🏔️

Please share your work with us through Submittable! We require that you have the copyright-holder’s permission for your translations.

21/12/2024

“We are gathered here at this table of words” —

Volume XIX | Issue 2 | Winter & Spring 2025
Cover art by Lukas and Zoë Phelan 🐑

Featuring .docx .ap_ .mpk .patrick .aetitia .lessley .moon Miriam Akervall, Dante Alighieri, Stephanie Burt, Julia Conner, Luiza Flynn-Goodlett, Mara Hampson, Sam Krieg, Cristoforo Landino, Małgorzata Lebda, Juj E Lepe, Marie Lundquist, Lauren Mackinnon, Mrityunjay Mohan, John Okrent, Daniel Phair, D.A. Powell, Omar Ramadan

16/12/2024

The James Welch Prize — an annual award for two outstanding poems written by Indigenous poets — is now open for FEE-FREE contest submissions, 12/15-2/15 🌨️

Two first-place finalists will be published in Poetry Northwest, each winning a $1,000 prize and an all-expenses-paid trip to read with the judge. Please check the link in our bio for eligibility information and submission guidelines. We can’t wait to meet the future prize-winners and share the gift of their writing widely!

Huge, heartfelt thanks to the contributors and partnerships who make this prize possible. See PoetryNW.org/James-Welch-Prize for the complete list of contributors.

11/12/2024

Mark your calendar: the James Welch Prize — an annual award for two outstanding poems written by Indigenous poets — is opening for FEE-FREE contest submissions,
12/15-2/15 💌

Two first-place finalists will be published in Poetry Northwest, each winning a $1,000 prize and an all-expenses-paid trip to read with the judge. Please check the link in our bio for eligibility information and submission guidelines. We can’t wait to meet the future prize-winners and share the gift of their writing widely!

Huge, heartfelt thanks to the contributors and partnerships who make this prize possible. See PoetryNW.org/James-Welch-Prize for the complete list of contributors.

14/11/2024

Don’t forget to apply by November 15th for the Garrett Hongo Internship for Young Editors of Color! 💌

Poetry Northwest is seeking two versatile, dedicated, and independent interns to support the editorial team from January 27 – May 23, 2025. The internship is for people between the ages of 18-22. Applicants must self-identify as Black, Indigenous, Hispanic or Latine, MENA, Asian, Pacific Islander, or a person of color. There are no education requirements for the internship, and applicants need not be enrolled in school.

01/11/2024

Poetry submissions are OPEN ❣️ Let us read you! Send up to four poems through Submittable.