Josh Tvrdy (he/him) is a writer, editor, and teacher from Tucson, Arizona. He recently graduated from North Carolina State University with an MFA in Poetry. Winner of a 2021 Pushcart Prize and Gulf Coast’s 2018 Prize in Poetry, his work can be found in POETRY, New England Review, Image Journal, The Georgia Review and elsewhere. He lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, hard at work on his first novel.

Performed at The Roxbury Poetry Festival in Boston, MA

“I wonder if dressing up as a scarecrow was a metaphor the entire time.”

Don’t miss this poem from Anita Dias, performing at The Roxbury Poetry Festival in Boston, MA

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Performed at WOWPS 2023 in Baltimore, MD

“Incarcerated individuals carry stigma like disease, and you’ll never be free if you’re not curable.”

Don’t miss this poem from Muhazza, performing at WOWPS 2023 in Baltimore, MD

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“Maybe love stays, maybe love can’t. Maybe love shouldn’t.”

Don’t miss this week’s Best of Button playlist. Today’s additions: Ollie Schminkey, Reagan Myers, Ty Chapman, and Patrick Roche! Congrats Poets!

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Performed at the Button Studio in Minneapolis, MN in 2023.

“I have this dream over and over, he dies but he’s still sick forever.”

Don’t miss this poem from Ollie Schminkey, performing at the Button Studio in Minneapolis, MN in 2023.

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Performed at the Button Studio in Minneapolis, MN in 2023.

“the stench of dying, of an animal reborn.”

Don’t miss this poem from Ollie Schminkey, performing at the Button Studio in Minneapolis, MN in 2023.

Get Ollie’s book, Where I Dry the Flowers.

Performed at Icehouse in Minneapolis, MN

“The spirit aches most days. Immense blood cost of godhood. Our ichor free flowing fresh from the spigot.”

Don’t miss this poem from Ty Chapman, performing at Icehouse in Minneapolis, MN

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Performed for Poetry Observed & Button Poetry in Minnesota

“No wonder we dream of being crucified on crosshairs, no wonder we love to stand in the scope. How could you want anything else?”

Don’t miss this poem from Sam Van Cook, performing performed for Poetry Observed & Button Poetry in Minnesota

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Performed at WOWPS 2023 in Baltimore, MD

“There was a little Black girl so full of words that spilled like coffee stains to her mama’s blouse.”

Don’t miss this poem from Bri Esoteric, performing at WOWPS 2023 in Baltimore, MD

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