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Marcus Wicker

@poetmarcuswicker.bsky.social
1.7K followers 344 following 85 posts

Maybe the Saddest Thing & Silencer @eccobooks. Former Harvard @RadInstitute Fellow & @NEAarts Fellow. @uofmemphis MFA Prof. Boxing fanatic. Human as all get-out.

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Marcus Wicker @poetmarcuswicker.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
A new poem in @literaryhub.bsky.social 🌺 lithub.com/late-summer-...
lithub.com
“Late Summer in the Anthropocene,” a Poem by Marcus Wicker
& our hibiscus is on that bullshit again. You know the story. She picked us. Date night at the roadside nursery. The one made entirely of good vibes & floor-to-ceiling chain link, so that s…
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David Gutowski @largeheartedboy.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
"My playlist is comprised of songs that soundtrack the ATLien’s journey, but also the seven years I spent writing the rest of the book..." Marcus Wicker shared a playlist for his poetry collection Dear Mothership at Largehearted Boy largeheartedboy.com/2026/09/09/m...
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Marcus Wicker @poetmarcuswicker.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
New micro essay up at Oxford American today!🙌🏾
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Marcus Wicker @poetmarcuswicker.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
Woke up today with this Charles Simic poem front of mind🪞
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Poetry Foundation @poetry.foundation · 16/03/2026
Don't miss this beautiful piece by @poetmarcuswicker.bsky.social!
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skip intro @upfromsumdirt.blacksky.app · 10/03/2026
oh, this is gon be good! DEAR MOTHERSHIP the new poetry collection by @poetmarcuswicker.bsky.social dropping Sept. 8th...
photo of bookcover for Dear Mothership. poems by Marcus Wicker. cover is a colorful painting featuring a brown-skinned man wearing an unfastened button down shirt with t-shirt beneath and large sunglasses with blue circular lenses. pink flowers dangle at his ears like earrings with a matching crown of pink flowers on top of his head.
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Marcus Wicker @poetmarcuswicker.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Coming in September!
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Marcus Wicker @poetmarcuswicker.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
A new essay about Nate Dogg, a week shy of the 15th anniversary of his passing✨ www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/177...
poetryfoundation.org
An Ode to "Nobody Does It Better"
Poems, readings, poetry news and the entire 110-year archive of POETRY magazine.
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Marcus Wicker @poetmarcuswicker.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
That was the most beautiful, cinematic, lit as hell half time show I’ve ever seen. And understood maybe three words.
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Jennifer Savran Kelly @jsavrankelly.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
We're hiring a new *remote* director of editorial, design, and production @cornellupress.bsky.social! Come work with us! jobs.hr.cornell.edu/us/en/job/WD...
jobs.hr.cornell.edu
Director of Editorial, Design, and Production (REMOTE) in Ithaca, New York, United States of America | Communications & Marketing at Cornell University
Apply for Director of Editorial, Design, and Production (REMOTE) job with Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, United States of America. Communications & Marketing at Cornell University
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Maya C. Popa @mayacpopa.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
Every time I re-read Mueller, I'm reminded I should teach a class on her work:
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niina pollari @niina.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
Re-sharing this today! I wrote about an emerging millennial poetics of work, as represented through three great poetry books. fencedigital.com/2026/01/30/c...
A millennial poetics of work in late capitalist america. Feat. Works & Days by gina myers, I Was Working by Ariel Yelen, and Making a Living by Rosalie Moffett
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Marcus Wicker @poetmarcuswicker.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
Introduce yourself with 5 concerts you’ve seen: Common & John Legend Esperanza Spalding A Tribe Called Quest reunion show at Rock the Bells Chicago Roy Hargrove Frankie Beverly
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The Associated Press @apnews.com · 19/01/2026
Rachel Eliza Griffiths is releasing her memoir, "The Flower Bearers," after enduring profound personal tragedies.
bit.ly
The pain, and joy, of Rachel Eliza Griffiths' writing journey
Rachel Eliza Griffiths is releasing her memoir, “The Flower Bearers,” after enduring profound personal tragedies.
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Marcus Wicker @poetmarcuswicker.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
Aren’t you?
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Marcus Wicker @poetmarcuswicker.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
My 1-month-old son is instantly soothed by Luther Vandross’ “Never Too Much.” So basically we’re nailing parenthood over here.
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Susan L. Leary @susanlleary.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
Aracelis Girmay ♥️
To Waste My Hands

Three years ago, I stood on the dock near my father's house while the small shark suffocated & was killed.

He was like an angel culled up from the purple sea. & the air smashed into him like an anvil

& his muscles sank desperately into the ribs. Terrible

terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible to watch him that way. More terrible to waste my hands, just
standing.
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Oxford American @oxfordamerican.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
“I’ve got the blues and I don’t, but I do.” — @poetmarcuswicker.bsky.social details the National Guard’s arrival in Memphis, Tennessee, where the governor has authorized federal government intervention to carry out anti-immigration initiatives. 🔗: shorturl.at/rOP5B
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Shelagh Rowan-Legg @shelaghrowanlegg.northsky.social · 04/01/2026
this weekend's #poetry book from @upfromsumdirt.bsky.social
The cover of 'The Second Stop Is Jupiter' by upfromsomedirt, featuring an astronaut-maiden wearing a white dress with a nlue sash, a transparent helmet with a tube attached to an oxygen tank, shaking hands with tentacled beings.
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Marcus Wicker @poetmarcuswicker.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
I’ve been giving myself permission to complete some essays on my first love, music. Thanks to @oxfordamerican.bsky.social for running this piece about how the blues can become a sanctuary & rallying cry, an outlet for communal joy in a moment of political tension. oxfordamerican.org/oa-now/a-blu...
oxfordamerican.org
A Bluff City Blues
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Luvell Anderson @luke-rage.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
the incomparable Marcus Wicker @poetmarcuswicker.bsky.social I love the way this begins: "Protected by contoured sunglasses, body armor, and Military Police shields stitched to their backs, the National Guard have come to combat crime at the Bass Pro Shop." oxfordamerican.org/oa-now/a-blu...
oxfordamerican.org
A Bluff City Blues
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Litbowl @litbowl.bsky.social · 01/01/2026
Another perfect New Year's Day poem. From Jane Hirshfield's book, After: bookshop.org/a/862/9780060779191 #poem #books #writing
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The American Poetry Review @ampoetryreview.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
⏰ Last call for entries! Deadline is 11:59pm EST Jan 1! The Stern Prize is open to all poets age 50+, regardless of previous publication history. The prize of $2,000 will be awarded in 2026 with publication by APR in partnership with Copper Canyon Press in the following year. More: loom.ly/JUkTfFM
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Marcus Wicker @poetmarcuswicker.bsky.social · 25/12/2025
Started my Christmas by dancing around the living room with baby in my arms to the Marcus King Band at 4 AM & then working on a poem🎄🎅🏾
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The Slowdown @slowdownshow.org · 28/11/2025
"Today’s poem charmed me immediately with its imagination and its restraint," host @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social shared in today's episode of The Slowdown, number 1406. "It’s also a poem I want to read again as soon as I finish it." Read "Paperweight" by Ryan Teitman: bit.ly/4oZE6fH
Text graphic featuring a portion of Ryan Teitman's poem: Every few months or so, I turn into a rock. First, my joints stiffen as if there’s weather coming. Then, I get the urge to read some doorstop novel. Finally, I become a rock. A smallish one, usually. My wife isn’t surprised anymore. She picks me up from the kitchen floor or the driveway and sets me on her desk as a paperweight. It’s nice to have a singular purpose.Photograph of poet Ryan Teitman. He's a bearded white man and is wearing glasses and a blue sweater.
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Marcus Wicker @poetmarcuswicker.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
No matter what, an hour spent talking shit in the barbershop is alway gonna lift me up. It’s also always mad insightful, for better or worse. & when it’s worse, man…
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The Slowdown @slowdownshow.org · 16/10/2025
"Today’s poem is so relatable, because the speaker is doing what I so often do: watching videos on the internet in the middle of the night," says host @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social in episode 1375. Read “Dear Absent," by @poetmarcuswicker.bsky.social and our full episode transcript: bit.ly/4nUopG3
graphic featuring a portion of Marcus Wicker's poemphotograph of poet Marcus Wicker
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The Slowdown @slowdownshow.org · 24/09/2025
"Today’s poem speaks to the ways we can care for one another, and of how profound and meaningful even the smallest gestures are,” shares host @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social in today’s episode. Read “Lotioning My Mother’s Back” by Ama Codjoe: bit.ly/3KCwVKR 📖: @milkweededitions.bsky.social
Graphic featuring a portion of Ama Codjoe's poem "Lotioning My Mother's Back"Headshot of poet Ama Codjoe
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Marcus Wicker @poetmarcuswicker.bsky.social · 28/08/2025
Just got to email zero. It may never happen again this year, & that’ll have to do.
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Marcus Wicker @poetmarcuswicker.bsky.social · 25/08/2025
Fit check for the first day, year 9 in Memphis
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Read A Little Poetry @readalittlepoem.bsky.social · 24/08/2025
Today’s poem is selected by Emily Skaja (@emilyskaja.bsky.social‬) as part of the 20th anniversary of Read A Little Poetry. It appeared in The Master Letters by Lucie Brock-Broido, published by Alfred A. Knopf, 1995. Shared here with deep gratitude.
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Marcus Wicker @poetmarcuswicker.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
My favorite poet showing out, showing her whole heart❤️ @emilyskaja.bsky.social
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Marcus Wicker @poetmarcuswicker.bsky.social · 08/08/2025
I’ve worn my Blowout Comb shirt in NYC, Detroit, & Chicago. But in the last 10 minutes 4 people have stopped me to say “Digable Planets changed my life.” Which is to say, Memphis is a real ass music town & people forget to say that part. When I say people I mean media. & people who don’t go outside.
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D. A. Powell @dapowell.bsky.social · 12/07/2025
Only just now discovering this Lucille Clifton poem dedicated to Clark Kent.
if i should

to clark kent

enter the darkest room
in my house and speak 
with my own voice, at last, 
about its awful furniture, 
pulling apart the covering 
over the dusty bodies; the randy
father, the husband holding ice
in his hand like a blessing, 
the mother bleeding into herself
and the small imploding girl,
i say if i should walk into 
that web, who will come flying
after me, leaping tall buildings?
you?

(By Lucille Clifton)
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Marcus Wicker @poetmarcuswicker.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
Apparently I can only be a morning writer on Fridays, camped out in front of the living room windows at 6 am with a draft & Gatorade bribes for the garbage men who forget our bins whenever I sleep in. Which is honestly some 40-year-old shit I never imagined for myself. #writers
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Patricia Smith @poetpatriciasmith.bsky.social · 19/06/2025
September 30!
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D. A. Powell @dapowell.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
This poem by @aireadee.bsky.social lifted me this morning on its Icarus wings. "Light refracts my name in dialect only moths comprehend."
poets.org
Altitude
Icarus, he advised, heed the warning: don’t fly
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Tom Snarsky @tomsnarsky.bsky.social · 08/06/2025
Wanda Coleman
i see myself thrown heart first into this ruin 

not for any crime 
but being
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Terrain.org @terrainorg.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
Three striking new poems by Ellen Bass: "Call," "Oh honey, oh baby," and "Homage to the Dead Man," with audio. www.terrain.org/2025/poetry/ellen-b… #poetry #poems #poet #fear #despair #praise #heart #death #family
terrain.org
Three Poems by Ellen Bass - Terrain.org
Three striking new poems by Ellen Bass: “Call,” “Oh honey, oh baby,” and “Homage to the Dead Man,” with audio.
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El Norte Recuerda @elnorterecuerda.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
LA/BURBANK! I could not be more excited to talk to aja monet about her latest poetry book, FLORIDA WATER! Come chat with us at Buena Vista Library on July 1, 7pm! burbank.libnet.info/event/13500932
burbank.libnet.info
FLORIDA WATER by aja monet – Book Release
Burbank Public Library proudly presents an evening with celebrated poet and activist aja monet, discussing her new collection Florida Water!
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Dart Adams @dartadams.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
I'm a contributor to Breaking Atoms' "Elements: Searching For DOOM" episode. You can listen to it here: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...
podcasts.apple.com
Elements: Searching For MF DOOM
Podcast Episode · Breaking Atoms: The Hip Hop Podcast · 05/29/2025 · 54m
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Dr. Han VanderHart @hanvanderhart.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
Poetry Daily is trying to add 1000 subscribers to their poem-a-day newsletter this month—it’s free, it’s a diverse reading experience, it’s an email you’ll actually be happy to see. 💫 @poetrydaily.bsky.social Sign up here:
poems.us19.list-manage.com
Poetry Daily
Poetry Daily Email Forms
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Mitchell Nobis @mitchnobis.bsky.social · 16/05/2025
My debut poetry collection is now available for pre-order from @matchfactoryeds.bsky.social, a great new press. I'm thrilled to be in their first round of releases! Check out all their books, and here's the link to mine if you're interested:
matchfactoryeditions.com
The Size of the Horizon, or, I Explained Everything to the Trees by Mitchell Nobis | Books | Match Factory Editions
The Size of the Horizon explores parenting, uncertainty, and injustice, weaving nature, gun violence, and joy into poetry that embraces life’s chaos.
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Marcus Wicker @poetmarcuswicker.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
I’ve got news! My third poetry collection, DEAR MOTHERSHIP, is forthcoming from Ecco in 2026. I wrote this book through grief, lapses in faith, career highs, bouts of disillusionment with the world, & a hard-fought rediscovery of joy. I’m so excited to share it with you!
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Cortney Lamar Charleston @bardsbesidebars.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
I'm elated to share the cover for my next poetry collection, It's Important I Remember, due out 2/15/2026 from Northwestern University Press and now available to pre-order. I pray that these words move you; may they be part of a movement toward one another and away from tyranny.
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Oliver Baez Bendorf @oliverbaezbendorf.bsky.social · 05/05/2025
My essay “After the Rooster Crows” is out today at @literaryhub.bsky.social. It’s about exile, poetry, and what I’ve brought with me. Thank you for reading. lithub.com/after-the-ro...
lithub.com
After the Rooster Crows: Dispatch from a Poet in Exile
There is no other way to say this: I write you now from exile, having (if you are reading this) fled political persecution in my home country, the United (for now) States of America. I say this pla…
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Allison Adair @fascicles.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
How moved to find my sad spontaneous overflow at home in the wonderful Georgia Review, alongside work from writers I admire. Here's my girl, whew, here she is, friends, be gentle, snapped w/ a few other poems that caught my eye. What an issue! 🌾 Grateful for poetry. #nationalpoetrymonth
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Marcus Wicker @poetmarcuswicker.bsky.social · 05/04/2025
She doesn’t miss @emilyskaja.bsky.social
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Marcus Wicker @poetmarcuswicker.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
I’ve decided to think of April as National Write Some Shit Month. Worked on an essay today. Might mess around and write a prose poem tomorrow and a grant narrative Thursday. Get real noncommittal with my dailyness this year.
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