“State Finals” by Sunil Iyengar
The poems in Sunil Iyengar’s A Call from the Shallows—classical motifs fixed in contemporary language—display an elegance rarely encountered in an era of professionalized, informal verse, as when his “roses in bloom,… Read More
Ernest Hilbert’s Storm Swimmer Selected by Rowan Ricardo Phillips as Winner of the Vassar Miller Prize in Poetry
It is with considerable delight that I announce that my manuscript for a collection titled Storm Swimmer was selected by Rowan Ricardo Phillips as winner of this year's Vassar Miller Prize in… Read More
Free Caligulan Tour Shirts
We have unearthed a long-rumored cache of Caligulan tour shirts (created for my third book) deep in the basement. If you'd like one, please message me directly. I'm happy to send as… Read More
“After Learning of the Death of a Roommate I Hadn’t Seen in Forty Years” by David Sanders
avid Sanders is the author of two poetry collections from Swallow Press, Compass and Clock and Bread of the Moment. For twenty years he was the general editor of the Hollis Summers Poetry Prize, and he… Read More
Ernest Hilbert Appears on a Special Halloween Episode of Rattlecast
I'll be appearing this Saturday night, October 30th, 8PM EST, to read some "horror" poems from my book Caligulan as well as a newer poem) on a Halloween episode of Rattlecast, the… Read More
“Ian’s Arrow” is Now a T-Shirt!
American Apparel black t-shirt with "Ian's Arrow," a design drawn by 5-year-old Ian Hilbert for use on a signed-limited edition letterpress broadside series of his father's poem "Last Rites," issued in 2021… Read More
Ernest Hilbert’s “Last Rites” Appears as the First Installment of the Tollund Press Poetry Broadside Series (with Art by Ian!)
My poem "Last Rites," which first appeared in The Hudson Review, Autumn 2019, Volume LXXII, No. 3, appears as the first letterpress broadside from the newly founded Tollund Press, accompanied by artwork… Read More
“*YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE*” by Paul Siegell
"'Pay the bill. Leave the credit card behind.' – There is elegance and grace in the light on the cityscapes and salvage yards of The Tongue They Shared. Paul Siegell spins you… Read More
“Voltage Crackles at the Edge” by Ernest Hilbert in The Dark Horse
Three of my poems—"The Study," "Bound Demons," and "Voltage Crackles at the Edge"—appear in the latest issue of The Dark Horse, Summer 2021, Issue 43. Click here to learn more about the… Read More
Ernest Hilbert’s Spoken-Word Album at Best American Poetry
Celebrated essayist, critically-acclaimed poet, and genius podcaster Daniel Nester writes about Ernest Hilbert's 2013 spoken-word album Elegies & Laments (Pub Can Records) over at the Best American Poetry blog today, "Poetry on… Read More
Ernest Hilbert’s “Appeal” Selected as Laureates’ Choice Winner in the 2021 Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest
My blank sonnet "Appeal" has been selected as the Laureates' Choice winner in the 2021 Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest, which is affiliated with the Great River Shakespeare Festival in Minnesota. I… Read More
“Lodge” by Ernest Hilbert Appears in The North American Anglican
The conditions under which a poem comes to life often remain foggy to the poet, who may remember nothing of its genesis. One doesn't require a Person from Porlock to find it… Read More
Poet and Critic Teow Lim Goh Talks About the Making of her New Book, Faraway Places
Faraway Places resides in the spaces between the wild and the tamed, from orchid gardens and immense seas to caged birds and high alpine landscapes. It resists narrative and instead inhabits the… Read More
Ernest Hilbert Reviews The Bookseller of Florence: The Story of the Manuscripts That Illuminated the Renaissance at the Wall Street Journal
At crucial times in history, bookstores may serve as meeting places, where visitors gossip, share ideas, perhaps dispute pressing issues of the day. In “The Bookseller of Florence,” Ross King relates the… Read More
Congratulations to Rebecca Wisniewski, Winner of the 2021 Poetry Out Loud Delaware State Championship with Poems by Ernest Hilbert, Emily Dickinson, and Ada Limón
Congratulations to Rebecca Wisniewski, who won the 2021 Poetry Out Loud Delaware State Championships reading Ernest Hilbert's poem "Domestic Situation" along with poems by Emily Dickinson and Ada Limon. … Read More
Ernest Hilbert’s NFT Poem “Riddle Me” Listed on OpenSea
Ernest Hilbert's poem "Riddle Me," written specifically for use as NFT (non-fungible token) art, is available for sale using the cryptocurrency Bitcoin through OpenSea, a peer-to-peer marketplace for rare digital items and… Read More
“Here Comes the Sun” by Olga Dugan
Olga Dugan is a Cave Canem poet. Nominated for Best of the Net and Pushcart prizes, her award-winning poems are forthcoming or appear in Channel (Ireland), Relief: A Journal of Art and… Read More
“COVID-19 Dating Tips” by Warren C Longmire
Warren C Longmire is a writer, software engineer and educator from the bad part of North Philadelphia. His writing has been published in American Poetry Review, Eleven Eleven, The Painted Bride Quarterly.… Read More
“We’re All Mad Here” by Christina Rosso
Christina Rosso lives and writes in South Philadelphia with her rescue pup, Atticus Finch, and bearded husband, Alex, where they run an independent bookstore and event space called A Novel Idea on… Read More
Ernest Hilbert Reviews Richard Ovenden’s Burning the Books at The Wall Street Journal
My review of Richard Ovenden's fabulous book, Burning the Books: A History of the Deliberate Destruction of Knowledge, appears in this weekend's Wall Street Journal. … Read More
“Cows” by Steven Kleinman
Steven Kleinman is the author of Life Cycle of a Bear, winner of the 2019 Philip Levine Poetry Prize. His poems have appeared in the American Poetry Review, the Gettysburg Review, Beloit… Read More
Ernest Hilbert’s Last One Out Reviewed in the Raintown Review
"Hilbert’s work attains a high level of intensity through laser-sharp vision focused unsparingly on the detritus of post-modern life . . . . He has a pitch-perfect ear."… Read More
“The Knot” by Dan O’Brien
Dan O’Brien's fourth collection of poetry, Our Cancers, is forthcoming from Acre Books in 2021. His previously published collections are War Reporter (Hanging Loose Press in the US & CB Editions in… Read More
Christopher Bakken’s “Duet with D. H. Lawrence” Appears on the Dark Web
Christopher Bakken's poem "Duet with D. H. Lawrence" appears in the latest installment of Ernest Hilbert's Cocytus: A Dark Web Magazine. To visit and read it, simply follow the instructions below.… Read More
“The Demon” by Ernest Hilbert Appears in the New Raintown Review
Ernest Hilbert's poems "The Demon," "The Knife," and "Above the Salt Springs" appear in the latest issue of The Raintown Review, Number 1, New Series. Also included in the issue are an… Read More
“Hoop Earrings, Bare Legs” by Alexis Sears
Alexis Sears is a graduate of the MFA program in poetry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and she earned her Bachelor’s degree from Johns Hopkins University, where she majored in Writing Seminars.… Read More
Ernest Hilbert’s Poem “Drink Me” Appears in The Moth
Ernest Hilbert's poem "Drink Me" appears in The Moth, Issue 43, Winter 2020, an issue that includes artwork by Craigie Harper, Sarah Leonard, and Simon Quadrat; cover by Elisa Filomena; interviews with… Read More
“K 265” by Ernest Hilbert
" . . . the voice most characteristic of Mr. Hilbert's work sounds something like a punk-rock Wordsworth, or a heavy-metal Milton, melding grandeur and the Grand Guignol, squalor and prophecy, in… Read More
Ernest Hilbert Selected as “Celebrity Judge” for the 2021 Montgomery County Poet Laureate Competition
It is a signal honor to have been asked to judge next year's Montgomery County Poet Laureate competition. They even flatter me by calling me a "celebrity judge," which may stretch the… Read More
“There Will Be No Babies” by Tamara Oakman
Tamara Oakman, a neo-confessional writer and also English, writing, ESL and humanities professor, has had work appear in such magazines as Many Mountains Moving, Philadelphia Stories and Best of Anthology, Mad Poets… Read More