... but there is space here for bones
a ribcage, brimming like yours.
Detroiter Jamaal May is the author of Hum (Alice James Books, Nov 2013), winner of the Beatrice Hawley Award, as well as two poetry chapbooks (The God Engine, 2009 and The Whetting of Teeth, 2012). His poems have been published widely with his most recent work appearing or forthcoming in Poetry, Ploughshares, Kenyon Review, Blackbird, Michigan Quarterly Review, Gulf Coast, The Believer and New England Review. Honors include scholarships and fellowships from Bread Loaf Writers Conference, Cave Canem, and Callaloo, as well as an International Publication Prize from Atlanta Review and several nominations to both the Pushcart Prize and Best New Poets anthologies. Jamaal is a graduate of Warren Wilson’s MFA program for writers and recipient of the 2011-2013 Stadler Fellowship from Bucknell University. In addition to being a finalist at several national and international poetry slams, he is a three-time Rustbelt Regional Slam champion and has been a member of six national poetry slam teams, including five from Detroit and the 2012 semi-finalist NYC LouderARTS team. Jamaal has served as Associate Editor of West Branch and is currently the series editor, graphic designer and web-manager for the Organic Weapon Arts Chapbook Series.
