Alta Journal editors recommend the titles that best represent the poet’s talent and scope.
This work from leading Native American poet Linda Hogan appeared in Alta’s Winter 2021 issue.
Victoria Chang’s Obit, which was inspired by the death of her mother, frames grieving as a part of life.
In Every Day We Get More Illegal, Juan Felipe Herrera doubles down on hope.
They were the first poems published in a California newspaper. But who wrote them? An improbable friendship may hold the clue.
The poet discusses his home, his inspiration, and his study habits.
The former poet laureate of Los Angeles comes complete, just as he is.
A former poet laureate of the United States shares an excerpt from his Summer Snow: New Poems.
Collected Poems of Bob Kaufman brings back a neglected literary hero.
With the essays in Synthesizing Gravity, Kay Ryan pulls back the covers on her verse.
These two young poets eschew convention with bold voices—and even bolder prose.
Joy Harjo reimagines a national narrative in An American Sunrise.
The poet’s book-length work explores our interior lives by mixing words and photographs.
Works by West Coast poets Katie Peterson, Ishmael Reed, Luis J. Rodriguez, and Tennessee Reed reveal our shared humanity.
In his new collection of poems, Father’s Day, Matthew Zapruder explores the complications of parenthood…and everything.
Celebrate a poetic change of season with essential works from Jim Harrison, Kim Shuck, and Forrest Gander.
These works by California poets capture particular, private moments of life in the Golden State
