January Poetry Curator Emma Must

Poets Are Quite Resilient

Emma Must is a poet living in Belfast. Formerly a full-time environmental campaigner, she was awarded the 1995 Goldman Environmental Prize for Europe for her efforts towards land conservation. She has a PhD in English from Queen’s University Belfast, where she focused on ecopoetry and ecocriticism. Her first full-length poetry collection The Ballad of Yellow Wednesday has been longlisted for the 2023 Laurel Prize and Highly Commended in the 2023 Forward Prizes for Poetry. Zócalo’s poetry curator for January, Must chatted with us about walking along the River Lagan, her …

Our Favorite Essays of 2023 | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Our Favorite Essays of 2023

In the Boxing Ring. At a Parking Lot. Through Prison Glass. These Stories Captured the Sights, Sounds, and Heart of the Year

South Africans got it right when they made “kuning,” the isiZulu word that roughly translates to “it’s a lot,” one of the defining words of 2023.

It was a lot this …

December Poetry Curator Jenny Browne

I Like TV Shows Where Handsome People With Accents Solve Crimes

Jenny Browne is a professor of English and creative writing at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. She served concurrent terms as the 2016-2018 City of San Antonio Poet Laureate, …

November Poetry Curator Cynthia Greenlee | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

November Poetry Curator Cynthia Greenlee

I Always Wanted to Have Hair Like Ida B. Wells

Cynthia Greenlee is a historian, writer, and editor. Based in North Carolina, she writes about anything she likes (or hates—she believes a combination of research and emotion make the best …

The 2024 Zócalo Poetry Prize Recognizes Poems About Place

No-Fee Contest Submissions Accepted November 2023–January 2024

Since 2012, the Zócalo Public Square Poetry Prize has recognized the U.S. writer of a poem that best evokes a connection to place. Zócalo will begin accepting submissions on November …

June Poetry Curator Walela Nehanda

I’m Most Creative When Open to Being Emotionally Eviscerated

Walela Nehanda is a Black, queer, and disabled cultural worker and poet. Their forthcoming debut YA poetry memoir, Bless the Blood, on surviving advanced stage leukemia, will be released next …