Each year I lose a little more of it,the spaces between the vertebraeslowly sighing closedlike an accordion that aftera full day of playing danceslets out a long atonal breath—the exhalationof every song it ever madeas the musician preparesto lay the instrumentgently in its box.
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Julien Strong
Feature Date
- August 22, 2023
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Copyright © 2023 by Julien Strong.
All rights reserved.
Reproduced by Poetry Daily with permission.
Photo:
Gwen Gersick-Seward
Gwen Gersick-Seward
Julien Strong is the author of four books, including the poetry collections The Mouth of Earth (University of Nevada Press) and Tour of the Breath Gallery (Texas Tech University Press). Their poetry has appeared widely, including in The Nation, The Southern Review, Poetry Daily, River Styx, Southwest Review, and The Sun. An Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Central Connecticut State University, they live in Hamden, CT. Website: www.julien-strong.com
Spring 2023
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Louisiana State University
Co-Editor & Poetry Editor
Jessica Faust
The Southern Review is one of the nation’s premiere literary journals. Hailed by Time as “superior to any other journal in the English language,” we have made literary history since our founding in 1935. We publish a diverse array of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry by the country’s—and the world’s—most respected contemporary writers.
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