Button Poetry 2016 Chapbook Contest Semifinalists

Button Poetry Chapbook Contest Semifinalists

Exciting news! We’ll be announcing the finalists for the chapbook contest next week. For now, we’d like to recognize our semifinalists. We were very impressed by these manuscripts, and we wish we could’ve passed them on to the final round.

Nic Alea, SUMMER IN THE HOUSE OF ICHTHYO
Jackson Burgess, HOLY SMOKES
Elizabeth Catanese, RULES FOR SWIMMING
Amara Chaudhry, A SILENT EMANCIPATION
Ethan Chua, THERE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN STORMS
Keno Evol, SO PLEASE NO POETS IN THE CHURCH
Hazem Fahmy, RED//JILD//PRAYER
Megan Foley, DEIXIS
Mo Fowler, RAISED TO BE SAVED
Geula Geurts, ALL THE GLORY OF THE KING’S DAUGHTER
Darla Himeles, FLESH ENOUGH
Khary Jackson, WANION
Perry Janes, THE ONLY HOME
LynleyShimat Lys, APPROPRIATE CITIES OF ORIGIN
Chrissy Montelli, HEART FLOAT
Jae Nichelle, LETTERS FROM MY DEMONS TO COMFORT ME
Jason Rusch, PROBLEMATIC QUEER LOVE
Sea Sharp, NEGROX
Andrea Vaughan, MAYBE & MEMORY
Junious Ward, BOY;LOUD

Danez Smith – “If They Find A Lake on Mars I’m Getting the Fuck Out”

Performing at Inside Voices

“My body is an asteroid destroyed even when it’s speeding
away from the the earth.”

Don’t miss this excellent poem from Danez Smith, featuring at Inside Voices in Minneapolis. Check out Danez’s book here. And if you’re in the Twin Cities, don’t miss the next Button Poetry Live show, first Monday of every month in downtown Saint Paul.

While you’re here, head over to the Button store to check out our books and merch, including books by Neil Hilborn, Hanif Abdurraqib, Jacqui Germain, Sam Sax & more.

J. Scott Brownlee

Originally from rural Texas, J. Scott Brownlee is a founding member of The Localists, a literary collective that emphasizes place-based writing of personal witness, cultural memory, and the aesthetically marginalized working class.  His poems appear in The Kenyon Review, Narrative, West Branch Wired, Beloit Poetry Journal, Hayden’s Ferry Review, Devil’s Lake, RATTLE, The Greensboro Review, Borderlands: Texas Poetry Review, and elsewhere.  The winner of the 2013 Button Poetry Prize for Highway or Belief, he is also the author of Ascension, which won the 2014 Robert Phillips Poetry Chapbook Prize from Texas Review Press.  A former NYU Writers in the Public Schools Fellow, he lives and writes in Brooklyn.

Thadra Sheridan – “Blow Job” (100K Views!)

“In my defense he said, “Would you” which I took at the time
to be a hypothetical. Would I do it, like, if the situation arose,
if I were called upon, like, for my country?”

Congratulations to Thadra on topping 100,000 views on this hilarious poem. Check out more from Thadra here and here.



And while you’re here, make sure to check out our other books and merch as well, including our awesome t-shirts and poster and new books by Jacqui Germain, Hanif Abdurraqib, and Aaron Coleman!

Amanda Pressman – “Pepper Spray” (Southern Fried 2016)

Performing at Southern Fried 2016.

“We can’t pretend that weapons will protect us from the people
we convince ourselves we can trust.”

Don’t miss this amazing poem from Amanda Pressman, performing at the 2016 Southern Fried Poetry Slam in Greensboro, NC. Support Button on Patreon so we can continue to broadcast these amazing poets!
While you’re here, head over to the Button store to check out our books and merch, including Button t-shirts in both female and unisex cuts, and books and more by many of your favorite Button artists.

Kevin Yang – “Fourth” (Button Live)

Performing at Button Poetry Live.

“Money will not save us. Imitation will not save us.
Our silence will not save us.”

Don’t miss this incredible poem by Kevin Yang, performing at Button Poetry Live, December 2016. If you’re in the Twin Cities, don’t miss the next Button Poetry Live show, first Monday of every month in downtown Saint Paul.

While you’re here, head over to the Button store to check out all our books and merch, including books by Neil Hilborn, Danez Smith, Hanif Abdurraqib, Jacqui Germain, Sam Sax & more.

Sabrina Benaim – “How to Unfold a Memory” (Button Live)

Performing at Button Poetry Live.

“My tongue is well-trained in the sit-still, it’s my hands
that can’t keep a secret.”

Don’t miss this excellent new poem from Sabrina Benaim, featuring at Button Poetry Live, January 2017. Keep an eye out for Sabrina’s forthcoming book, Depression & Other Magic Tricks, out Fall 2017 with Button!

While you’re here, head over to the Button store to check out our books and merch, including books by Neil Hilborn, Mahogany L. Browne, Hanif Abdurraqib, Jacqui Germain, Aaron Coleman & more.