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stevenratiner.bsky.social @stevenratiner.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Sorry for the long silence - busy with the production of 8 grand readings/concerts: WE (too) THE PEOPLE to celebrate America's 250th and the power of diversity in the arts. to view the recordings: www.youtube.com/playlist?lis... But... #WE(too)THEPEOPLE #poetry

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We (too) The People - YouTube

It’s the sweetest poetic phrase in American democracy: “We the People.” History reminds us that, from the beginning, the founders set the nation on a path of...

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stevenratiner.bsky.social @stevenratiner.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

...but I'm delighted to have Ted Kooser return to the Red Letters with a marvelous new poem about his Midwestern upbringing. To receive the new installment, subscribe, or submit poems: stevenratiner.com/category/red... or view at: dougholder.blogspot.com #TedKooser #RedLetters #poetry

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The Red Letters Archives - Steven Ratiner

I’ve come to see the Letters as an anthology evolving in real-time, responsive to the emotional and imaginative weather that affects all of our lives.

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stevenratiner.bsky.social @stevenratiner.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

It's my pleasure to announce that Dzvinia Orlowsky has been awarded a Pushcart Prize for her poem “Шум,” published as Red Letter #275. - part of a sequence reclaiming Ukrainian words from Russification. Congrats, Dzvinia! stevenratiner.com/tag/dzvinia-... #RedLetters #DzviniaOrlowsky #Ukraine

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Dzvinia Orlowsky Archives - Steven Ratiner

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stevenratiner.bsky.social @stevenratiner.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

I've been remiss! The last two Red Letters were gems: #294 - Susan Donnelly’s delightful meditation on Bach, automotive emergencies, and the freedom of what comes next. #SusanDonnelly #RedLetters #poetry And…

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stevenratiner.bsky.social @stevenratiner.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

…and RLP#295 - Jennifer Clarvoe’s diminutive spiritual travelog, between Keats and Freud, covering a tiny swatch of London. To receive the new installment, subscribe, or submit poems: stevenratiner.com/category/red... or view at: dougholder.blogspot.com #JenniferClarvoe #RedLetters #poetry

stevenratiner.com

The Red Letters Archives - Steven Ratiner

I’ve come to see the Letters as an anthology evolving in real-time, responsive to the emotional and imaginative weather that affects all of our lives.

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stevenratiner.bsky.social @stevenratiner.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

The Red Letters is beginning its 7th year - a vibrant community of poets&readers - marked with a poem from my own Grief's Apostrophe. To receive the new installment, subscribe, or submit poems: stevenratiner.com/category/red... or view at: dougholder.blogspot.com #RedLetters #StevenRatiner #poetry

stevenratiner.com

The Red Letters Archives - Steven Ratiner

I’ve come to see the Letters as an anthology evolving in real-time, responsive to the emotional and imaginative weather that affects all of our lives.

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stevenratiner.bsky.social @stevenratiner.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

A new poem from poet/translator Carolyne Wright: "Making Love in a Cemetery" - teenage lust shaped into an Italian sonnet. To receive the new installment, subscribe, or submit poems: stevenratiner.com/category/red... or view at: dougholder.blogspot.com #CarolyneWright #RedLetters #poetry

stevenratiner.com

The Red Letters Archives - Steven Ratiner

I’ve come to see the Letters as an anthology evolving in real-time, responsive to the emotional and imaginative weather that affects all of our lives.

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stevenratiner.bsky.social @stevenratiner.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

Linda Bamber's new poem (Red Letter #286), by turns sardonic and solemn, takes us back to Covid & our shared brush with mortality. #LindaBamber #RedLetters #poetry To receive the new installment, subscribe, or submit poems: stevenratiner.com/category/red... or view at: dougholder.blogspot.com

stevenratiner.com

The Red Letters Archives - Steven Ratiner

I’ve come to see the Letters as an anthology evolving in real-time, responsive to the emotional and imaginative weather that affects all of our lives.

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stevenratiner.bsky.social @stevenratiner.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

RLP#282: a poem from former US Poet Laureate Ted Kooser from the new chapbook FELLOW CREATURES--a benefit for the Red Letters. To receive the new installment, subscribe, or submit poems: stevenratiner.com/category/red... or view at: dougholder.blogspot.com #TedKooser #RedLetters #poetry

stevenratiner.com

The Red Letters Archives - Steven Ratiner

I’ve come to see the Letters as an anthology evolving in real-time, responsive to the emotional and imaginative weather that affects all of our lives.

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stevenratiner.bsky.social @stevenratiner.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

Red Letter#277: a marvelous new poem from acclaimed poet Carol Muske-Dukes' next book,(BAD) SCHEHERAZADE. #CarolMuske-Dukes #RedLetters #DragQueenStoryTime To receive the new installment, subscribe, or submit poems: stevenratiner.com/category/red... or view at: dougholder.blogspot.com

stevenratiner.com

The Red Letters Archives - Steven Ratiner

I’ve come to see the Letters as an anthology evolving in real-time, responsive to the emotional and imaginative weather that affects all of our lives.

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stevenratiner.bsky.social @stevenratiner.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

What sly delight in Pam Alexander's "Long Story Short" published in the new Red Letter - a history of Earth and its possible destruction. To receive the new installment, subscribe, or submit poems: stevenratiner.com/category/red... or view at: dougholder.blogspot.com #RedLetters #PamAlexander

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The Red Letters Archives - Steven Ratiner

In ancient Rome, feast days were indicated on the calendar by red letters. To my mind, all poetry and art serves as a reminder that every day we wake together beneath the sun is a red-letter day. ...

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stevenratiner.bsky.social @stevenratiner.bsky.social · 13/10/2025

Celebrating Ted Kooser's new chapbook - published as a benefit for the Red Letters. Read about it in this week's RLP: To receive the new installment, subscribe, or submit poems: stevenratiner.com/category/red... or view at: dougholder.blogspot.com #TedKooser #FellowCreatures #RedLetters #poetry

stevenratiner.com

The Red Letters Archives - Steven Ratiner

In ancient Rome, feast days were indicated on the calendar by red letters. To my mind, all poetry and art serves as a reminder that every day we wake together beneath the sun is a red-letter day. ...

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stevenratiner.bsky.social @stevenratiner.bsky.social · 05/10/2025

Red Letter #271 features a poem from one of China's foremost poets, Wang Jiaxin - utterly relevant to our current situation. To receive the new installment, subscribe, or submit poems: stevenratiner.com/category/red... or view at: dougholder.blogspot.com #WangJiaxin #RedLetters #ChinesePoetry

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The Red Letters Archives - Steven Ratiner

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stevenratiner.bsky.social @stevenratiner.bsky.social · 21/08/2025

Poet-turned-soldier, defending his Ukrainian homeland, Artur Dron' offers us an honest, harrowing glimpse from the frontlines. Published as RLP#266 To receive the new installment, subscribe, or submit poems: stevenratiner.com or view at: dougholder.blogspot.com #ArturDron #Ukraine #RedLetters

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Intro - Steven Ratiner

Poet and educator Steven Ratiner has contributed poetry and prose to numerous magazines in America and abroad. Two of his chapbooks were published in 2002: a retrospective collection from Pudding Hous...

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stevenratiner.bsky.social @stevenratiner.bsky.social · 13/08/2025

Jack Stewart's poem offers yet another fascinating take on the Wicked Witch of the (far) West in his new Red Letter poem. To receive the new installment, subscribe, or submit poems: stevenratiner.com or view at: dougholder.blogspot.com #JackStewart #RedLetters #WickedWitchoftheWest

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Intro - Steven Ratiner

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stevenratiner.bsky.social @stevenratiner.bsky.social · 06/08/2025

Acclaimed novelist Askold Melnyczuk's first love was poetry. The Venus of Odesa collects his poems & translations. RLP#264 depicts conscience clashing with calamity. To receive the new poem, subscribe, or submit poems: stevenratiner.com or view at: dougholder.blogspot.com #Melnyczuk #RedLetters

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Intro - Steven Ratiner

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stevenratiner.bsky.social @stevenratiner.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

Heart-breakingly beautiful - reading Susan Roney-O’Brien's new suite of poems about coping with an awful diagnosis: MS. Red Letter #263 now available. To receive the new installment, subscribe, or submit poems: stevenratiner.com or view at: dougholder.blogspot.com #SusanRoneyOBrien #RedLetters #MS

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Intro - Steven Ratiner

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stevenratiner.bsky.social @stevenratiner.bsky.social · 17/07/2025

A posthumous poem from the dearly-missed Danielle Legros Georges, built upon slave documents from Colonial N. England. Crispus Attucks lives! To receive the new installment, subscribe, or submit poems: stevenratiner.com or view at: dougholder.blogspot.com #DanielleLegrosGeorges #RedLetters #poetry

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Intro - Steven Ratiner

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stevenratiner.bsky.social @stevenratiner.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

RLP#259 is a lovely triparte poem from Susan Donnelly exploring 'the nature of things' (as Lucretius might have phrased it) in our emotional lives. To receive the new installment, subscribe, or submit poems: stevenratiner.com or view at: dougholder.blogspot.com

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Intro - Steven Ratiner

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stevenratiner.bsky.social @stevenratiner.bsky.social · 19/05/2025

Our bitter childhood mistakes - is atonement ever possible? George Kalogeris' beautiful poem considers our shared fate. To receive the new installment, subscribe, or submit poems: steven.arlingtonlaureate@gmail.com or view at: dougholder.blogspot.com #GeorgeKalogeris #atonement #RedLetters