by Karrie Waarala
A man who should know better
says, Write a poem about me.
The notes of a train whistle
crowd against each other just
so, refracting bone-dark howl
or slow summer escape with
a harmony of river
depending on which angle
you hold your ear to the light.
Karrie Waarala’s work has appeared in journals such as Iron Horse Literary Review, PANK, The Collagist, Vinyl, and Southern Indiana Review. She serves as a poetry editor at the museum of americana and holds an MFA from the Stonecoast Program at University of Southern Maine. Recipient of the Pocataligo Poetry Prize and a multiple Pushcart nominee, Karrie has also received critical acclaim for her one-woman show, LONG GONE: A Poetry Sideshow, which is based on her collection of circus poems. She really wishes she could tame tigers and swallow swords.
“What can you tell us about the origin of this poem?” I was simultaneously working on a “30 poems in 30 days” challenge and beginning to date a younger writer one April. The latter had this recommendation about the former. The former turned out more successfully than the latter.
Check out the write-up of the journal in The Writer.
Matter Press recently released titles from Meg Boscov, Abby Frucht, Robert McBrearty, Tori Bond, Kathy Fish, and Christopher Allen. Click here.
Matter Press is now offering private flash fiction workshops and critiques of flash fiction collections here.
Submissions
Poetry, creative nonfiction, and fiction/prose poetry submissions are now closed. The reading period for standard submissions opens again September 15, 2025. Submit here.
Upcoming
05/04 • Leath Tonino
05/11 • Chris Pellizzari
05/18 • Chris Clemens
05/25 • Clayton Eccard
06/01 • TBD
06/08 • TBD
06/15 • TBD
06/22 • TBD
06/29 • TBD
07/06 • TBD
07/13 • TBD
07/20 • TBD
07/27 • TBD
08/03 • TBD
08/10 • TBD
08/17 • TBD
08/24 • TBD
08/31 • TBD
09/07 • TBD
09/14 • TBD
09/21 • TBD