poetry
Alta Journal’s Poetry of 2022

Poems from Crystal AC Salas, John Freeman, and Tongo Eisen-Martin are among the works featured in the past year’s pages of Alta.

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peter orner, jimmy, victor juhasz
Fiction: ‘Jimmy’
bullets
Teach Your Children to Remain Small and Invisible
writer mike davis
For Mike Davis
my chicano heart, daniel a olivas
Fiction: ‘My Chicano Heart’
colored light background
Poetry: ‘A Brief History of Pomona House Parties’
dying patient
Poetry: ‘grief logic #6’
andres guardado
Poetry: ‘Qualifying Animacy’
best of american poetry 2022, james cagney, brenda hillman
Poems Included in The Best American Poetry 2022
marianne wiggins, lara porzak, properties of thirst
You Can’t Save What You Don’t Love
smoky forest
Poem: ‘Friend Poem’
margaret burbidge
Poetry: ‘Lady Stardust’
rain break sky
Poem: ‘Rain Break’
morning sky
Poem: ‘Echoes’
taro, karen tei yamashita, victor juhasz
New Fiction: ‘Taro’
san francisco in fog
Poem: ‘Fog Poem Number 71’
foggy hills
Poem: ‘Friendship’
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he dreams about the bunny ranch illustration
New Fiction: ‘He Dreams About the Bunny Ranch’
night time sky
Poem: ‘Take to the Days a Fist of Starlight’
shadows of people holding hands
Poem: ‘Our Son Comes Over’
year in review, poetry
Alta Journal’s Top Poetry 2021
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year in review, fiction
‘Alta Journal’ Fiction 2021
sleep nights
New Fiction: ‘Sleep Nights’
bees collect pollen from a sunflower on july 25, 2017 near bergheim, western germany afp photo dpa oliver berg germany out photo credit should read oliver bergdpaafp via getty images
Poem: ‘[chiasmus with all the other animals]’
poppies
Poem: ‘[trance poem with the gray stone]’
dandelion blowing seeds in the sky
Poem: ‘[to the voice of the age]’
larry eigner, joanne kyger
‘(Water/Places/A Time)’
oreo arroyo, vanessa hua
‘Oreo Arroyo’
andy warhol, last supper
‘Cancel Culture (The Bardo)’
ada limón
Poem: Calling Things What They Are
ada limón
Poem: The First Lesson
the last lady of california illustration, victor juhasz
The Last Lady of California
stillwater cove poem, ada limón
Poem: Stillwater Cove
mia nolting
Poem: How to Draw the Horizon
poet, james cagney
Preface to a Photograph —Delano, CA 1976
hands
Proof: A Poem
victor juhasz, larry's biggest mistake, carribean fragoza
Larry’s Biggest Mistake
farmers
Portrait of a Bracero as José Olivares
noir story contest winners
Alta Journal’s Noir Story Contest Winners
noir story contest
Noir Winner: Options Narrowed
noir story contest
Noir First Runner-Up: I’m Leavin’ You, Baby
noir story contest
Noir Second Runner-Up: Dirty Secrets
alta, fiction, 2020
Alta Fiction 2020
alta, poetry, 2020
Alta Poetry 2020
artwork by ashwini bhat is designed to complement forrest gander's poem
Not Without
american author james baldwin
“In Case You Forgot, I Am Not Your Negro” 
a two time pushcart nominee, anastacia reneé is the author of five books of poetry
“Aunt Jemima is the Picture of the American Dream”
anastacia reneé served as the seattle civic poet from 2017 to 2019 and was the recipient of the 2018 james w ray distinguished artist award for washington artists
Daughter
seattle based poet anastacia reneé
Low & Leaving
victor juhasz
Time Invents Us
da powell
Summons
da powell
Bat Boy: A Poem
da powell
Imagines*: A Poem
poet matthew zapruder
The Making of a Poem
poet sara borjas
Note for Daughters: A Poem
poet sara borjas lives in los angeles but stays rooted in fresno
To the Woman Who Said She Could Hear My Accent
astronauts and spaceships explore the unknown in this chesley bonestell image
New Fiction: The Turnaround
a couple are seen locked in a steamy embrace only one of them is wearing a wedding ring
New Fiction: Answer
poet tess taylor is the author of several acclaimed collections of poetry, including rift zone
Downhill White Supremacists March on Sacramento
bay area–based poet jane hirshfield has also published two collections of essays
Cold, Clear
poet jane hirshfield stopped writing for eight years to study at the san francisco zen center
Paint
a young girl distracts herself by drawing on butcher paper from her father's work
‘Ribs, Muscle, Bone’
best2019_fiction
Alta’s Best Fiction 2019
Oakland's Tennessee Reed is the author of six books of poetry.
Like an Old Friend Whom You Had Given Up for Dead
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The Gnome
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Above Santa Cruz
This poem by Katie Peterson appears in her book A Piece of Good News. Peterson’s honors include the Howard Mumford Jones Prize, the New Issues Poetry Prize, and the Rilke Prize.
‘Paul Bowles’
Acclaimed poet Ishmael Reed is based in Oakland.
‘Pluto and Luca Walk Into a Bar’
Frank Osen is the winner of the 2012 Able Muse Book Award.
‘November Flea Market’