Rattle Poetry

Latest Episodes:

ep. 330 - Morri Creech Feb 17, 2026

Show notes

Morri Creech is the winner of the 2025 Rattle Poetry Prize. He is the author of four collections of poetry, most recently The Sentence. His book Field Knowledge (Waywiser, 2006) received the Anthony Hecht Poetry prize and was nominated for both the Los Angeles Times Book Award and the Poet’s Prize. The Sleep of Reason was a 2014 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. A recipient of NEA and Ruth Lilly Fellowships, as well as grants from the North Carolina and Louisiana Arts councils, he is the Writer in Residence at Queens University of Charlotte, where he teaches courses in both the undergraduate creative writing program and in the low residency M.F.A. program. He lives in Charlotte, North Carolina with his wife and two children. Find more at his website: https://www.morricreech.com/ As always, we'll also include the live Prompt Lines for responses to our weekly prompt. Submit your poems through Submittable by midnight Sunday for a chance to be invited: https://rattle.submittable.com/submit/269309/rattlecast-prompt-poems-online For links to all the past episodes, visit: https://www.rattle.com/page/rattlecast/ This Week’s Prompt: Quick! Write a poem that moves fast. Include as many unique verbs as possible. Next Week’s Prompt: Write a poem that examines a surprising aspect of a job you otherwise generally love to do. The Rattlecast livestreams on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, then becomes an audio podcast. Find it on iTunes, Spotify, or anywhere else you get your podcasts.

ep. 329 - Luisa Muradyan Feb 10, 2026

Show notes

Luisa Muradyan is originally from Odesa, Ukraine and is the author of I Make Jokes When I'm Devastated (Bridwell Press, 2025), When the World Stopped Touching (YesYes Books, 2027), and American Radiance (University of Nebraska Press, 2018). She holds a Ph.D. in Poetry from the University of Houston and won the 2017 Raz/ Shumaker Prairie Schooner Book Prize. Additionally, Muradyan is a member of the Cheburashka Collective, a group of women and nonbinary writers from the former Soviet Union. Additional work can be found at Best American Poetry, the Threepenny Review, Ploughshares, and Only Poems among others. Find more at her website: https://www.luisamuradyan.com/ As always, we'll also include the live Prompt Lines for responses to our weekly prompt. Submit your poems through Submittable by midnight Sunday for a chance to be invited: https://rattle.submittable.com/submit/269309/rattlecast-prompt-poems-online For links to all the past episodes, visit: https://www.rattle.com/page/rattlecast/ This Week’s Prompt: Write a Petrarchan, Shakespearean, Spenserian, or Miltonic sonnet. Use an exclamation mark at some point, and don't forget the volta! Next Week’s Prompt: Quick! Write a poem that moves fast. Include as many unique verbs as possible. The Rattlecast livestreams on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, then becomes an audio podcast. Find it on iTunes, Spotify, or anywhere else you get your podcasts.

ep. 328 - Rhina P. Espaillat Feb 03, 2026

Show notes

Note: Due to technical difficulties, Rhina wasn't able to join us. Instead, Timothy Green and Katie Dozier talked about her work and read poems with her friends Alfred Nichol and Pedro Poitevin. Rhina P. Espaillat is a bilingual poet, essayist, short story writer, translator, and former English teacher in New York City’s public high schools. Her newest book is For Instance, just out from Wiseblood Books. She has previous published twelve books, five chapbooks, and a monograph on translation. Her most recent works include the poetry collections: And After All, The Field, and Brief Accident of Light: A Day in Newburyport, co-authored with Alfred Nicol. Her numerous translations include work by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, San Juan de la Cruz, Garcia Lorca, Miguel Hernandez, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, Robert Frost, Richard Wilbur, and many contemporary poets of the Americas and the Hispanic diaspora, among others. Find For Instance here: https://www.wisebloodbooks.com/store/p173/For_Instance%3A_Poems_by_Rhina_P._Espaillat.html As always, we'll also include the live Prompt Lines for responses to our weekly prompt. Submit your poems through Submittable by midnight Sunday for a chance to be invited: https://rattle.submittable.com/submit/269309/rattlecast-prompt-poems-online For links to all the past episodes, visit: https://www.rattle.com/page/rattlecast/ This Week’s Prompt: Write a poem that explores how one of the cognitive biases has shaped your life. Next Week’s Prompt: Write a formal sonnet—choosing between a Petrarchan, Shakespearean, Spenserian, or Miltonic sonnet. Don’t forget the volta and at some point, use an exclamation mark! The Rattlecast livestreams on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, then becomes an audio podcast. Find it on iTunes, Spotify, or anywhere else you get your podcasts.

ep. 327 - Liz Robbins Jan 27, 2026

Show notes

Liz Robbins won the 2025 Rattle Chapbook Prize for her book Backlit. She's author of four previous collections, including Night Swimming, which won the 2023 Cold Mountain Press Annual Book Contest, and Play Button, which won the Cider Press Review Book Award, judged by Patricia Smith. She lives in St. Augustine, Florida, where she works as an editor, as well as a poetry screener for Ploughshares. Find more on Liz at her website: https://www.lizrobbins.net/ As always, we'll also include the live Prompt Lines for responses to our weekly prompt. Submit your poems through Submittable by midnight Sunday for a chance to be invited: https://rattle.submittable.com/submit/269309/rattlecast-prompt-poems-online For links to all the past episodes, visit: https://www.rattle.com/page/rattlecast/ This Week’s Prompt: Write a poem about a time something was put somewhere that it didn’t belong. Include an unusual detail about the person that found it. Next Week’s Prompt: Write a poem that explores how one of the cognitive biases has shaped your life. The Rattlecast livestreams on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, then becomes an audio podcast. Find it on iTunes, Spotify, or anywhere else you get your podcasts.

ep. 326 - Billy Collins Jan 20, 2026

Show notes

Billy Collins has contributed frequently to Rattle over the years, including an interview in issue 15. He is the author of 16 collections of poetry, including Sailing Alone Around the Room, Aimless Love and, most recently, Dog Show. He served two terms as United State Poet Laureate and is a former Distinguished Professor of English at Lehman College and New York State Poet. He is a New York Public Library Literary Lion and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is currently “between dogs,” his most recent an Australian Shepherd mix named Jeannine. He lives in Winter Park, Florida, with his wife Suzannah. Find Dog Show here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/790238/dog-show-by-billy-collins/ As always, we'll also include the live Prompt Lines for responses to our weekly prompt. A Zoom link will be provided in the chat window during the show before that segment begins. For links to all the past episodes, visit: https://www.rattle.com/page/rattlecast/ This Week’s Prompt: Write a poem that describes the taste of a surprising food as creatively as possible. Next Week’s Prompt: Write a poem about a time something was put somewhere that it didn’t belong. Include an unusual detail about the person that found it. The Rattlecast livestreams on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, then becomes an audio podcast. Find it on iTunes, Spotify, or anywhere else you get your podcasts.

ep. 325 - Jen Karetnick Jan 13, 2026

Show notes

Poet, writer, food-travel journalist, dining critic, and educator Jen Karetnick is the author/co-author of 22 books, including seven full-length poetry collections, including Organ Language (Lit Fox Books, forthcoming September 2026); Domiciliary (Sheila-Na-Gig Editions, forthcoming October 2026); and Inheritance with a High Error Rate, winner of the 2022 Cider Review Press Book Award. She is co-founder/co-curator of the non-profit organization, SWWIM (Supporting Women Writers in Miami), which offers residencies and a reading series for women-identifying poets, and Managing Editor of its publishing arm, the daily online literary journal, SWWIM Every Day. Find more on Jen here: https://jkaretnick.com/ As always, we'll also include the live Prompt Lines for responses to our weekly prompt. A Zoom link will be provided in the chat window during the show before that segment begins. For links to all the past episodes, visit: https://www.rattle.com/page/rattlecast/ This Week’s Prompt: Write a poem that explores something left behind. Include as many tactile details as possible. Next Week’s Prompt: Write a poem that describes the taste of a surprising food as creatively as possible. The Rattlecast livestreams on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, then becomes an audio podcast. Find it on iTunes, Spotify, or anywhere else you get your podcasts.

ep. 324 - Ron Koertge Jan 06, 2026

Show notes

Ron Koertge first appeared in episode #47. A prolific writer, Ron began publishing in the ’60s, including many novels for young adults, and is a two-time winner of the PEN Literary Award for Children’s Literature. Author of over 20 books of poetry, his most recent is Pandora's Kitchen, just out from Red Hen Press. Find more on Ron here: http://www.ronkoertge.com/ As always, we'll also include the live Prompt Lines for responses to our weekly prompt. A Zoom link will be provided in the chat window during the show before that segment begins. For links to all the past episodes, visit: https://www.rattle.com/page/rattlecast/ This Week’s Prompt: Write a villanelle that involves a trip. Next Week’s Prompt: Write a poem that explores something left behind. Include as many tactile details as possible. The Rattlecast livestreams on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, then becomes an audio podcast. Find it on iTunes, Spotify, or anywhere else you get your podcasts.

ep. 323 - Manuel Iris Dec 23, 2025

Show notes

Manuel Iris served as Poet Laureate of Cincinnati, Ohio, and as Writer-in-Residence at both the Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library and Thomas More University. In 2021, he was named a member of Mexico’s National System of Art Creators, one of the country’s highest honors for artists. Author of six poetry collections, Iris has been awarded the Mérida National Poetry Prize (2009) for Cuaderno de los sueños and the Rodulfo Figueroa Regional Poetry Prize (2014) for Los disfraces del fuego, a book that was also a finalist for Ecuador’s International Poetry Prize Ciudad de la Lira. In 2025, Iris received the Ambroggio Prize from the Academy of American Poets for his book The Whole Earth is a Garden of Monsters/Toda la tierra es un jardín de monstruos. Manuel Iris has given readings, lectures, and talks across Mexico, the United States, and Europe. He currently resides and writes in Cincinnati, Ohio. Find more on Manuel here: https://manueliris.com/ As always, we'll also include the live Prompt Lines for responses to our weekly prompt. A Zoom link will be provided in the chat window during the show before that segment begins. For links to all the past episodes, visit: https://www.rattle.com/page/rattlecast/ This Week’s Prompt: Think about the biggest improvement you’ve made as a poet this year and write a poem that showcases your skill. Include what you’ve learned in the notes with your submission. Next Week's Prompt: Write a villanelle that involves a trip. The Rattlecast livestreams on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, then becomes an audio podcast. Find it on iTunes, Spotify, or anywhere else you get your podcasts.

322-Julia-B-Levine Dec 16, 2025

Show notes

Julia B. Levine has appeared twice in Poets Respond, and she has a new chapbook, Lullaby for the Sixth Extinction, is just out from Wolfson Press. Her poetry awards include the 2015 Northern California Book Award for her fourth collection, Small Disasters Seen in Sunlight (LSU 2014), a 2024 Pushcart Prize, the 2024 Terrain Poetry Prize, the 2023 Oran Robert Perry Burke Award from The Southern Review, as well as a 2022 Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship for her work in building resiliency in teenagers in the context of climate change. Her fifth collection, Ordinary Psalms (LSU 2021), won a Nautilus Silver Award in Poetry. Find more on Julia here: https://sites.google.com/view/juliablevine As always, we'll also include the live Prompt Lines for responses to our weekly prompt. A Zoom link will be provided in the chat window during the show before that segment begins. For links to all the past episodes, visit: https://www.rattle.com/page/rattlecast/ This Week’s Prompt: Write a poem that’s all about breaks. Next Week’s Prompt: Think about the biggest improvement you’ve made as a poet this year and write a poem that showcases your skill. Include what you’ve learned in the notes with your submission. The Rattlecast livestreams on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, then becomes an audio podcast. Find it on iTunes, Spotify, or anywhere else you get your podcasts.

ep. 321 - Special Open Mic Dec 09, 2025

Show notes

Our scheduled guest, Billy Collins, was sick with a cold, so he postponed to January 19, 2026. Instead, we'll reveal this year's Pushcart Prize winners, and invite you to share your favorite poem that you wrote or published this year. You can still find Billy Collins' new book, Dog Show, here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/790238/dog-show-by-billy-collins/ As always, we'll also include the live Prompt Lines for responses to our weekly prompt. A Zoom link will be provided in the chat window during the show before that segment begins. For links to all the past episodes, visit: https://www.rattle.com/page/rattlecast/ This Week’s Prompt: Write a poem that begins at the kitchen table and interrupts itself. Next Week’s Prompt: Write a poem that’s all about breaks. The Rattlecast livestreams on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, then becomes an audio podcast. Find it on iTunes, Spotify, or anywhere else you get your podcasts.

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