New year, new books: 2026 releases to look forward to

Graphic by Quill Nishi-Leonard ’27, reference image courtesy of Pixabay via Pexels

By Honora Quinn ’27

Staff Writer

“An Arcane Inheritance” by Kamilah Cole, out Dec. 30, 2025 

“An Arcane Inheritance” is technically a 2025 release, but it was originally slated for January 2026. Regardless, this late 2025 entry should still be considered for your early reads in the new year. The author of the “Divine Traitors” duology, a Jamaican-inspired young adult fantasy, returns with her adult debut novel. Pitched as a “dark academia fantasy … perfect for fans of ‘Babel’ and ‘A Deadly Education,’” “An Arcane Inheritance” is set at the fictional Ivy League institution, Warren University: A school  steeped in secrets going back centuries. The plot follows freshman Ellory Morgan as questions begin to arise. She believes she’s been at Warren University before, but she’ll need some help to uncover the truth, which of course takes the form of the brooding legacy student that seems to hate her guts. 

According to her author website, “Kamilah Cole is a national bestselling author who has been nominated for a Lodestar Award, a Lambda Award and a Dragon Award. Jamaican-born and American-raised, she works in publishing by day, and by night she writes like she’s running out of time.” 

“Half His Age” by Jennette McCurdy, out Jan. 20, 2026

Even if you’re not on the literary side of the internet, it’s possible you’ve heard of the former Nickelodeon star’s memoir, “I’m Glad My Mom Died,” a #1 New York Times bestseller and winner of the 2023 American Library Association Alex Award. “Half His Age” follows 17-year-old Waldo and her desire to seduce her creative writing teacher, Mr. Korgy, regardless of the fact that he has a wife and kid and is way too old for her. From the sexual implications of the cover to the age of the protagonist, this book has gotten a lot of heat despite not yet hitting shelves, with some presuming that the underage relationship will be romanticized in the novel. However, if McCurdy taught us anything with her memoir, it’s to literally not judge a book by its cover.

And according to her publisher, Penguin Random House, “McCurdy is creating, writing, executive producing, directing and show running an Apple TV+ series loosely inspired by “I’m Glad My Mom Died,” starring Jennifer Aniston. “Half His Age” is her debut novel.”

“Out Of The Loop: A Mystery” by Katie Siegel, out Feb. 10, 2026

Have you ever wondered what happens after you get out of a time loop? Well, Katie Siegel’s third novel, “Out of the Loop,” hopes to answer that question while raising some more. After two years being stuck inside a time loop, Amie Teller finds herself finally freed. At last, she can move on and live a day beyond September 17th. But then she learns that one of her neighbors was murdered during the loop, on the day that Amie knows better than anyone else. But Amie won’t be solving the case alone: According to the publisher, Penguin Random House, joining her is “an ex-girlfriend who wants to make their friendship work, and a grumpy neighbor who spends his days building Rube Goldberg machines,” as she “sets out to track down who killed (and killed and killed and killed) Savannah Harlow.”

“Katie Siegel (she/they) is a creative from New Jersey. Her debut novel, “Charlotte Illes Is Not A Detective,” was published in June 2023 by Kensington Books. Her second book, “Charlotte Illes is Not A Teacher,” was released in July of 2024 and was a finalist for the 2025 Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ+ Mystery,” according to Siegle’s website.

“The Encore” by Juliet Izon, out March 3, 2026 

Another debut novel on this list is Juliet Izon’s “The Encore,” which takes place across past and present times. In the past, the novel introduces us to Anna Buckley and Will Pendleton, two rising stars at the Brookfield Conservatory in Boston. Both have big dreams and aspirations, and after a chance encounter, their stories become permanently linked. In the present, 16-year-old piano virtuoso Lottie Thomas is struggling under the stress of her prep school and the mystery of her mother’s true identity. Another chance encounter lands her back in the path of both her birth parents, sending them all on a cross-country adventure in the most perfect transport for the circumstances: a tour bus. 

According to her author website, Juliet Izon “is a New York City and Hudson Valley-based journalist and author. Her work has appeared in national newspapers such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, and magazines like Travel + Leisure, Food & Wine and Architectural Digest.”

“Whidbey” by T Kira Madden, out March 10, 2026

From the author of the memoir “Long Live The Tribe of Fatherless Girls” — and a former Visiting Lecturer of English at the College — comes her debut novel “Whidbey,” which charts the stories of three women who have never met, yet whose lives intersect through the murder of a man who they had all known. Birdie Chang knew Calvin Boyer as a child, Linzie King wrote about him in her memoir and Mary-Beth was his mother. His death had ripple effects in all their lives, sending them scrambling to put the pieces together and to discover who truly gets to own the narrative. 

According to her website, T Kira Māhealani Madden (she/her) “is a diasporic Kanaka 'Ōiwi (Native Hawaiian) writer and author of the novel “Whidbey,” forthcoming with Mariner in winter 2026. Her memoir, “Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls,” was named a New York Times Editors' Choice, among many other accolades. Winner of the 2021 Judith A. Markowitz Award, she served as the Distinguished Writer in Residence at University of Hawai'i at Mānoa and currently teaches at Hamilton College as an assistant professor in Creative Writing and Indigenous literatures.” 

Abigail McKeon ’26 contributed fact checking. 

Interview with upcoming Glascock Judge, Diannely Antigua

Photo by Sarah Grinnell ‘26

Diannely Antigua, former Poet Laureate of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, will serve as the judge of the yearly Glascock Intercollegiate Poetry Contest at Mount Holyoke College next semester in April 2026.

BY AMELIA D’ACHILLE-POZNIAK

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Diannely Antigua is a Dominican American poet from Massachusetts and former poet laureate of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Her poetry collections “Ugly Music ”published by YesYes Books in 2019 and “Good Monster” published by Copper Canyon Press in 2024 are amongst her many accomplishments.

In April 2026, Diannely will serve as a judge of the Glascock Intercollegiate Poetry Contest. This October she answered questions for Mount Holyoke students about her career and experience in the literary field in an email interview with Mount Holyoke News. 

Q: We are so excited at Mount Holyoke to have you as a judge for this year's Glascock Intercollegiate Poetry Contest. As Poet Laureate of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, you pioneered efforts to “demystify poetry, making it truly accessible to all in a way that nourishes the soul.”  How does your upcoming role as a Glascock judge support this goal?

A: My mission has always been to make poetry feel less like an ivory tower and more like a kitchen table. Judging this contest feels like an extension of that work. I get to witness the wide range of what poetry can look and sound like in the hands of emerging voices. What excites me most is the conversation these poems will create not just among poets, but among listeners, readers and community members. For me, accessibility doesn’t mean simplifying art. It means expanding the invitation.

Q: You currently teach writing at the University of New Hampshire. What intrigues and inspires you as a writer in the position of professor?

A: Teaching keeps me humble and curious. My students remind me every day that poetry is alive and evolving, questioning, shapeshifting. They take risks that reinvigorate my own practice. I’m especially drawn to the dialogue that happens in a classroom: those moments when a student discovers something about their own voice, or when we realize that language can hold grief and joy at once. We recently read “Song of My Softening” by Omotara James, and I could see how my students were challenged and changed. And it is through witnessing this transformation that I, too, am changed. Being a professor allows me to constantly re-enter the world of wonder that made me a writer in the first place.

Q: Your most recent book, “Good Monster,” has an oxymoron in its title. What was your process in deciding on this title to reflect the collected works?

A: “Good Monster” emerged from my fascination with contradiction — the way tenderness and terror can coexist in a single body. The title came after realizing that every poem was orbiting around that tension: what it means to hold goodness and monstrosity at once, to be both the wound and the healer. I wanted the title to make readers pause, to feel the discomfort of those two words together and to recognize that in that friction lies our humanity. My monster is my anxiety, depression and boundless need—a trinity of my shame. This book is a love letter to her and to what she has survived, even when the enemy was me.

Q: The playlist for “Good Monster” is available to the public on Spotify. What inspired you to create a musical accompaniment for your writing?

Music has always been a parallel language for me. When I write, I often have a song looping in the background, something that shapes the emotional weather. I created a playlist for my first book, “Ugly Music,” which felt appropriate given the title and that the sections are named after parts of a song. Translating the frequency of each poem into music was so immersive and transformative for that book that I wanted to do the same with “Good Monster.” To me, the playlist feels like an extension of the book’s emotional arc: joy, grief, desire, rage, recovery. It’s also a way for readers to experience the work sonically and to feel its pulse. Sometimes, the right song says what a line can’t.

Q: On your podcast Bread & Poetry you said, “Poetry will find you again.” For those apprehensive about opening that door, how would you recommend they connect with poetry?

A: I’d say: start small. Read one poem out loud in the morning while sipping coffee. Or write one sentence a day. Let the words live in your mouth, not as something to analyze, but something to feel. Poetry doesn’t ask for perfection; it asks for attention. It’s okay to not “get it.” Sometimes the poem is working on you in ways you don’t yet understand. And if the door feels heavy, remember: poetry isn’t just on the page. It’s in conversation, in music, in prayer, in the quiet moments. This year has been one of deep grief, and poetry has been waiting patiently for me to return to her when I’m ready. It’s also okay to rest. Poetry isn’t a jealous god. 

Q: For The Bread & Poetry Project you brought together food and language on the notion that, “Bread sustains life, and poetry has the power to do the same.” Is there one type of bread you couldn’t live without?

A: To choose just one feels like blasphemy. I adore bread in all its forms! But if I must choose, I’d say sourdough. I’m fascinated by its process, how it begins with a living starter, how it requires patience, care, and trust. You feed it, and it feeds you back. It’s wild, unpredictable and yet deeply sustaining. That symbiosis feels like poetry to me — the slow fermentation of language, the waiting, the surprise of what rises. Both sourdough and poetry are alive, shaped by air, time and touch. Each one teaches me how to nurture something that, in turn, nourishes me, even when the world feels uncertain.

Q: From your experience as poet laureate of Portsmouth, what has been the most unexpected experience to come from your career as a poet?

A: The most unexpected gift has been the deep sense of community that poetry creates. When I first started writing, I thought of poetry as a solitary act: me, my notebook and my monsters. But being Poet Laureate taught me that poetry thrives in conversation. It can gather people in a room, at a park or in a café and transform how they see each other. I’ve seen people cry, laugh and find language for something they’ve never said aloud. That shared vulnerability, that collective exhale, has been the most beautiful thing to witness. When I became Poet Laureate, I set out to use poetry to change the world, but instead, the world changed me.

Q: What advice would you give to emerging writers in 2025? Is there any advice you wish you had received in undergrad?

A: My advice is to edit toward strangeness and surprise. In early drafts, we often write toward what feels safe or familiar, but the real electricity lives in the moments that unsettle us—the images or phrases that feel a little uncertain. When revising, ask yourself: Where is the poem behaving too politely? Where can I risk wonder instead of control? In a workshop led by Juan Felipe Herrera, he told us to write the “wild sister” version of the poem we’d just written. Now, I want every one of my poems to be the wild sister. I wish someone had told me that revision isn’t about sanding down the edges of a poem, but about sharpening them. The goal isn’t perfection — it’s discovery. Let your work startle you first. Only then will it have the power to startle someone else.

Cat McKenna ‘28 contributed fact-checking.

A look at the internet’s new least favorite adaptation: ‘Wuthering Heights’

Graphic by Isabelle Peterson ’28

By Honora Quinn ’27 and Cat McKenna ’28

Staff Writers

“I didn’t know ‘Wuthering Heights’ was the fourth installment of the ‘50 Shades of Grey’ franchise,” @Silverfields1 posted under the YouTube trailer for Emerald Fennel’s 2026 adaptation of the Emily Brontë novel.

The film is slated for a February 13 release. But the trailer, posted on Sept. 3, 2025, has already amassed over 11 million views; and that’s not taking into consideration the mountains of articles, video essays and online discourse that have emerged over the last several months as the first set of pictures were released.

The film has been mired with public controversy since it was announced the year following the release of Fennell’s sophomore feature “Saltburn”, with the most notable critique being the casting of the two stars: Margot Robbie as Catherine Earnshaw and Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff. Elordi’s casting in particular has drawn criticism from fans of Brontë’s novel. Heathcliff — whom Brontë alludes to as being racially ambiguous, “dark-skinned” and from Yorkshire in Northern England — will be portrayed by a white, Australian actor.

To get an academic perspective on this controversy and the legacy of the novel, Mount Holyoke News sat down with Mary Lyon Professor of Humanities and Chair of the English Department at Mount Holyoke, Kate Singer.

“I was also disappointed because I think that Heathcliff … people have talked about him in different ways, as being a Romani character, as being racially ambiguous, and, therefore, a product of some sort of mixed race parentage,” Singer said on the casting of Elordi in particular.

Robbie’s casting has also attracted controversy, although primarily due to her age. Robbie, 35 years old and Australian, is portraying an 18-year-old and English Cathy.

Fennell, however, defended the casting in an interview with People Magazine. She referred to Robbie as “somebody who has a power, an otherworldly power, a Godlike power, that means people lose their minds.”

Well, people are certainly losing their minds over what we’ve seen thus far of Robbie’s portrayal of Cathy. Critics are wondering how these castings will affect more complex themes surrounding her character’s relationship with Heathcliff. Particularly, the social and racial differences between the Earnshaws and Heathcliff as explored in the 1847 novel.

Alongside other plots, “Heathcliff is also taking revenge on the fragile middle-class white woman, and also the white aristocrat, or the white landowner who is both in certain ways entrapping that middle-class white femininity and also … denigrating the Heathcliffs of the world,” Singer noted.

Speculations have arisen about Fennell possibly choosing a more colorblind approach to the casting. Edgar Linton, the aristocrat whom Cathy marries, will be portrayed by Shazad Latif, who is a British actor of Pakistani and Scottish descent.

“I just couldn't tell from the trailer ... if they just love him as an actor, or if there was some kind of racial implication with making Edgar Linton be of a racialized origin, if we're supposed to think that he's tied to the British Empire through a certain kind of South Asian ancestry, and if so, what is that saying?” Singer commented.

Based on the trailer, this seemingly colorblind casting raises questions about the overlooked complexity of Brontë's work. Going back to Elordi’s casting, Heathcliff was found by Mr. Earnshaw in Liverpool, a port that was heavily active in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. With Fennell’s whitewashed Heathcliff, the trailer implies that this adaptation may brush over these key complexities in favor of a more romantic and sexually charged narrative.

With the rise of BookTok, some viewers might see “Wuthering Heights” more along the lines of a gothic Colleen Hoover than that of Mary Shelley. While there is a romantic arc between Cathy and Heathcliff, Brontë still weaves in these complex societal concepts around race, class and gender that are left out in a BookTok romance.

That said, we are still months away from Fennell’s release of the film. Maybe it will be as much of a hit as the 2024 gothic reimaging of “Nosferatu,” or maybe it will be, as YouTube user @The OneTrueJack theorized, “50 Shades of Brontë.”

Quill Nishi-Leonard ’27 contributed fact-checking.

Chat with Jen Sookfong Lee on new book ‘The Hunger We Pass Down’

Gabrielle Orta Roman ’28

By Honora Quinn ‘27

Staff Writer

According to her biography on Penguin Random House, “Jen Sookfong Lee was born and raised in Vancouver’s East Side and she now lives with her son in North Burnaby. Her books include ‘The Conjoined’ (nominated for the International Dublin Literary Award and a finalist for the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize), ‘The Better Mother’ (a finalist for the City of Vancouver Book Award), ‘The End of East,’ ‘The Shadow List’ and ‘Finding Home.’ Sookfong Lee acquires and edits for ECW Press.”

Her latest novel “The Hunger We Pass Down” — published by Erewhon Books, an imprint of Kensington Publishing Corp. — comes out on Sept. 30. Pitched by Kensington as Jordan Peele’s “Us” meets “The School for Good Mothers,” the novel follows a single mother living in present-day Vancouver who, when faced with a doppelganger of herself, is forced to reckon with the intergenerational cycles of trauma and violence that haunt her family. 
oke News had an opportunity to conduct an interview with Sookfong Lee ahead of the publication to ask about her return to fiction, what she’s done in the meantime between novels, and advice for aspiring writers on college campuses. 

Q: What’s one word you’d use to describe this novel? What’s one word to describe yourself as a writer?

A: That's hard! How can I choose one word for a whole novel? Okay, perhaps I would go with "atmospheric," which doesn't seem scary enough, but here we are. As a writer, I would say I'm "efficient," which is the most unromantic thing in the world, but I do feel my strength is in knowing what's possible with the time and energy and skills that I have. Trying to do more is just, well, inefficient.

Q: “The Hunger We Pass Down” is your return to adult fiction after almost a decade. Why did you feel it was time to return to fiction now?

A: I published three novels in nine years (“The End of East,” 2007, “The Better Mother,” 2011, and “The Conjoined,” 2016), which left me feeling pretty burned out when it came to fiction. Novels take a lot of work — the kind of immersion that is really fulfilling but also takes a lot of intellectual and emotional energy. I had written a lot about Vancouver's Chinatown and the immigrant experience and I didn't know where else to go. When I first had the idea for “The Hunger We Pass Down,” it really excited me to explore this haunted single mother and her ancestors, in a way that I hadn't been excited in a very long time. This is partly because I am a horror fan and the genre is just inherently exciting, but also partly because I had found a new way to discuss migration, intergenerational trauma and motherhood — topics I have been interested in my whole life. But this time I got to add demons and ghosts!

Q: In the interim between novels, you’ve written and edited a lot of nonfiction works, including your own memoir, “Superfan.” How, if at all, do you think your time in this space has impacted your fiction? 

A: Non-fiction forces writers to engage in a clarity of thought that fiction doesn't. In “Superfan” and all the non-fiction books I've edited, I always ask the question: what is the thesis here and is it visible on every page? This is harder to do in a novel, of course, but I really wanted “The Hunger We Pass Down” to be sharp and incisive — to make the point very clearly that trauma that is hidden or ignored will always come back to haunt you, and that women are the ones to carry the stories and warnings on their backs as they move countries, give birth and parent. I am not sure I am capable of just exploring themes anymore; I have to stab them!

Q: Your fiction work has time and time again delved into the relationships between mother and child, and generational sagas. “The Hunger We Pass Down” also plays within this space, but unlike your previous work, this novel expands into and explores the more speculative with and through the horror elements. Why did you want to explore this genre space? Do you think you’ll venture further into genre in the future?

A: I love different genres of fiction! “The Conjoined” was a crime novel, so I had dabbled in something other than literary fiction before. But I think here I wanted to write a story where trauma becomes visible and is something (or someone) you can see and talk to and fight, and in that case, it makes sense for that trauma to be a demon. I mean, trauma isn't going to just saunter in and smile at you like Pedro Pascal (although might be nice). I think switching up genres has been a hallmark of my career for a while now, and I have no intention of stopping.

Q: Do you have any advice for the students and readers in terms of writing, editing and working in publishing? 

A: I think it's really important, when you're thinking of working in books in any capacity, to really hone in on what your motivations are. So for me, as an editor, what gets me up in the morning is making space for stories we haven't heard yet, from communities that haven't been given the opportunities to express themselves freely and creatively. If you can figure out your purpose — something that really speaks to who you are at your core — then it makes every decision really clear. I'm not saying that publishing is always fun-times for non-masc people, particularly if you're racialized or queer as well, but your purpose can be greater and more important than what is going on around you, and that is both comforting and inspiring.

Karishma Ramkarran ’27 contributed fact checking. 

UMass hosts Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha in ‘Poems From Gaza’

Graphic by Cat Alexander ’28

By Sarah Grinnell ’26

Books Editor

Trigger warning: this article contains mentions of genocide, violence, and death.

Mosab Abu Toha began his talk at the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a sobering statement: “Today, September 16, 2025, Israel killed 110 people in Gaza.” 

What perhaps made the number given by Abu Toha most harrowing was our prescient awareness as an audience that it would only continue to climb: That, by the time this article has been published, hundreds more refugees will have been killed at the hands of Israel. 

A Palestinian poet, short story writer and Pulitzer Prize-winning essayist from Gaza, Mosab Abu Toha has been using poetry to document the atrocities committed against the Palestinian people since the release of his debut collection in 2022, “Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear,” reminding us that the fight for Palestinian existence has been going on far longer than since Oct. 7, 2023.

Sponsored by various departments at UMass Amherst, ranging from the Political Economy Research Institute to the Asian and Asian American Arts and Culture Program of the Fine Arts Center University Libraries, “Poems from Gaza: An Evening with Palestinian Writer & Librarian Mosab Abu Toha” was far more somber than celebratory, haunted by an overwhelming sense of absence. Indeed, the poems which Abu Toha chose to read represented chilling time capsules of what is no more: poems which continue to author their own obsoletion. 

As Abu Toha repeatedly reminded the audience, many of the people and places he wrote about in 2021 and 2022 simply do not exist anymore. Whether that is Refaat Alareer, the Palestinian writer and poet who inspired Abu Toha’s poem “A Request: After Refaat Alareer,” who was killed in an airstrike in December of 2023. Or Abu Toha’s “many friends and relatives who were killed and buried under the rubble,” to whom he dedicated his poem “Right or Left.” Even the Edward Said Public Library in Gaza, which Abu Toha founded, is now reduced to rubble.

When prefacing “We Are Looking For Palestine,” Abu Toha observed this self-prophesying nature of so many of his poems. 

As he put it, “Sometimes I write things out of my trauma, and now they are happening. Palestine is searching for us. People are buried under the rubble of their houses.”

But while Abu Toha’s reading seemed to reflect an overwhelming futility of language — indeed, he told the audience, “I do not know what is the value of words in the face of this genocide” — the question-and-answer portion of the evening also attested to the integral role that poetry is playing in bearing witness to the atrocities that governments around the world are attempting to turn away from.

The Q&A began as a conversation between Abu Toha and George Abraham, the Palestinian American poet and writer-in-residence at Amherst College, where they discussed the written word’s ability to resist what Abraham termed “memoricide.” While Abu Toha noted, “My poetry did not save the lives of my loved ones,” it does have the ability to “save their stories.”

“It is my way to show you what you are not seeing in your mainstream media,” he explained. As poems like “We Are Looking for Palestine” demonstrate the loss not just of life but the erasure of existence — of Palestinians’ houses, neighborhoods, possessions — Abu Toha’s work shows how poetry becomes a way of resisting such “memoricide,” to fill in some of the absences through a commitment to keep “looking for Palestine.”

In the vein of bearing witness, a particularly powerful moment came in the form of Abu Toha playing recordings on his phone of airstrikes he experienced while still living in Gaza. For a few minutes, Bowker Auditorium was filled with the sounds of booms and shots. Yet this could only capture a fractional facsimile of the horror Palestinians are experiencing on the ground. 

“So what can we do?” This was one question asked during the Q&A session, and is perhaps the question on the mind of many Mount Holyoke students. Abu Toha put it quite simply:

No matter what form our action or activism takes in this time — donation, organization or simply uplifting the words of people like Abu Toha — the important thing is that, at the end of all this, “Every one of us should be ready to meet a Gazan child.” 

Karishma Ramkarran ’27 contributed fact checking. 

Charlie Watts ’25 to represent Mount Holyoke College at Glascock Poetry Contest

Photo courtesy of Max Wilhelm

Charlie Watts ’25 has been selected to repesent Mount Holyoke College at the Glascock Poetry Contest. “I would really love for people to feel seen,” she says regarding her poetry reading.

The 102th Kathryn Irene Glascock Intercollegiate Poetry Contest will take place at Mount Holyoke College on Apr. 3 and 4, 2025. It is the oldest continuously-running intercollegiate poetry contest in the country. This year, all of the contestants hail from either historically women’s colleges or gender-diverse women’s colleges. In the days leading up to the contest, Mount Holyoke News will be releasing digital-exclusive profiles of each poet-contestant.

By Isabel Dunn ’27

Books Editor

Charlie Watts ’25 doesn’t remember a time when she hasn’t been writing. This week, she will represent Mount Holyoke College at the 2025 Kathryn Irene Glascock Intercollegiate Poetry Contest. 

“I did not like poetry until high school,” Watts admitted in an interview with Mount Holyoke News. “I had a teacher who showed me some Sharon Olds’ poetry, and that converted me into liking it because it was a much more confessional style.”

In her own writing, Watts hopes to draw on that confessional style. She is inspired by poets like Olds whose writing evokes a realistic, creative nonfiction style. 

“There's a poem of [Olds’] called Cambridge Elegy,” Watts said. “The narrator of the poem is remembering a love interest or boyfriend who's died. And I read it on a train, and I was crying on the train.”

The selection of poems that Watts will present at the contest were written “all in one jumble” during an emotional time. She spoke about how her poetry is often about herself, but how she hopes it can connect to others.

“I would really love for people to feel seen or listened to,” she said. “I guess I write poetry a lot of times, I think, to make myself feel less alone … I would really like people to come out of this feeling more understood if their experiences are anything like mine.”

Beyond Glascock and the College, Watts hopes to continue writing in some capacity. Following her passion for working creatively, she has many artistic goals.

“I would love to be a fiction author one day eventually, just ’cause that's kind of always been the dream,” she said. “I would love to get an MFA in creative writing. I would love to be a professor of creative writing … I would just love to be surrounded by  writing and a reading atmosphere.”

Alayna Khan ’27 contributed fact-checking.

Elani Spencer talks poetry ahead of Glascock contest: “One of the best mediums for change”

Photo courtesy of Elani Spencer

Elani Spencer dreams of starting an artist residency or a slam poetry team in the future. She will represent Hollins University at the competition.

The 102th Kathryn Irene Glascock Intercollegiate Poetry Contest will take place at Mount Holyoke College on April 3 and 4, 2025. It is the oldest continuously-running intercollegiate poetry contest in the country. This year, all of the contestants hail from either historically women’s colleges or gender-diverse women’s colleges. In the days leading up to the contest, Mount Holyoke News will be releasing digital-exclusive profiles of each poet-contestant.

By Jesse Hausknecht-Brown ’25

Staff Writer | Podcast Producer

After her third grade English teacher hung a short story of hers on the wall and bragged about it to her mother, Elani Spencer knew she had to continue writing. 

“From then on, I would spend every single independent reading time writing in my journal in the back of the classroom,” Spencer said in an email to Mount Holyoke News. “Quickly, writing became a passion and not just a hobby.”

Spencer, a sophomore at Hollins University, will represent the university at Mount Holyoke College’s Kathryn Irene Glascock Intercollegiate Poetry Contest on April 3, 2025. Spencer is one of six contestants, all of whom are, for the first time in 97 years, from historically women’s colleges or gender-diverse colleges. Spencer is majoring in creative writing with a concentration in multicultural literature and is a business minor.

This won’t be Spencer’s first time competing in a poetry competition. In 2021, they won first place at the secondAnnual Juneteenth Poetry Slam with their poem “11 reasons why this is our home,” which they will read again for the Glascock Poetry Contest. 

“Although I have participated in a poetry competition in the past, this is my first time competing on a regional level,” Spencer said. “I know the room is going to be bursting with talent, and I can’t wait to learn from all the participants, judges, and Mount Holyoke staff. Also, I’m looking forward to sharing my work with new people, and connecting with other young writers.”

Spencer explained that Michelle DeGroot, chair of the Department of English and Creative Writing at Hollins University, believed she would be a good choice to represent Hollins given that she, as Roanoke, Virginia’s inaugural Youth Poet Laureate, has experience performing her poetry.

Through their poetry, Spencer hopes to inspire others to both engage with poetry as a form and to create change. “Poetry is one the best mediums for change, so if everyone partakes in it, I think we can do a lot of good in the world,” Spencer said.

“I explore current events, racial discrimination, intersectionality, familial relationships, ancestry, mental health, poverty, feminism, and generational trauma,” Spencer said. “I delve deep into these serious topics for the purpose of finding healing, encouraging reflection, and creating a safe space for others to feel understood.”

They draw inspiration from Danez Smith’s poem “Dinosaurs in the Hood” because of its critique of Black representation in film and media. In the poem, Smith writes, “I want Viola Davis to save the city in the last scene with a black fist afro pick / through the last dinosaur’s long, cold-blood neck. But this can’t be / a black movie. This can’t be a black movie.”

Spencer states that “through this poem, [Smith] tells his readers that we must advocate for [and] make art that showcases the Black community in a genuine, authentic light. This is exactly what I strive to do within my own poetry by writing about my experiences as a Black woman.”

When she isn’t writing poetry, Spencer also enjoys writing fiction — specifically magical realism — and has a passion for fantasy. Her ultimate goal is to run her own “fantasy-themed artist residency where writers come to create and engage in community together.” As a reader, she also likes the high fantasy genre, especially when it includes “heist plots and a dash of romance, murder mysteries, and literally anything with a queer character.”

While Spencer wants to continue making art and publish her writing in book form, she also wants to ground her work in teaching and mentorship. “I aspire to start my own slam poetry team where I coach young adults to prepare them for competitions,” Spencer said. “Also, I want to teach freelance creative writing workshops for all ages, and inspire more people to engage in poetry.”

Alayna Khan ’27 contributed fact-checking.

Miley Lu, Glascock contestant, explores the inherent “mystery” of poetry

Photo courtesy of Miley Lu

“In poetry, it’s important to keep secrets,” Miley Lu says. They will represent Vassar College at the Glascock Poetry Contest.

The 102th Kathryn Irene Glascock Intercollegiate Poetry Contest will take place at Mount Holyoke College on April 3 and 4, 2025. It is the oldest continuously-running intercollegiate poetry contest in the country. This year, all of the contestants hail from either historically women’s colleges or gender-diverse women’s colleges. In the days leading up to the contest, Mount Holyoke News will be releasing digital-exclusive profiles of each poet-contestant.

By Melanie Duronio ’26

Staff Writer

Since they were in elementary school, Miley Lu has “always written stuff” as a tool of creative expression while growing up. Now, as a senior with an English major and creative writing concentration at Vassar College, they have honed their work to be  showcased in this year’s Kathryn Irene Glascock Intercollegiate Poetry Contest.

“I was so excited when I read that [nomination] email,” Lu said. “I’ll be honest, I really had a severe bout of imposter syndrome … But I’m still very, very excited for it, and at the end of the day, it’s an incredible opportunity. And I would never want to give that up.”

Lu was nominated for the Glascock Poetry Contest by her Vassar professors. She describes the college as “a beautiful place with wonderful people,” who provided a nurturing environment for her creative works. Lu credits her English professor Timothy Liu as a mentor, who “really changed my path in life.”

“He’s a wonderful poet and he is Chinese American, he’s gay, he’s queer … to meet him and to read his poetry was the first time in my life that I was like, ‘Wow, someone like me can do this for a job and a living,’” Lu said. 

While writing, Lu often explores the inherent “mystery” and “confessional booth” aspect of poetry. Unlike when writing an essay or longer form story, Lu wants to leave their readers with an “aftertaste” of an emotion that is familiar yet indescribable. 

With this, they hope the audience can work on “untangling” themselves.

“The tangliness means that there’s something to work apart,” they said. “And I think that’s what makes it important. Not even always to do the untangling, but to recognize that there is something to pry and to poke at.”

This does not stop Lu from keeping secrets of their own in their writing. When writing about a vulnerable topic, they find it is “almost too much to just come out and say it,” and prefer to take advantage of unreliable narration in their prose.

“In poetry, it’s important to keep secrets,” Lu said. “You have to keep a couple cards very close to your chest … you're telling a very intimate story and a very intimate truth, but you are still allowed to keep some things close to you and to ask the reader to figure it out.”” 

Lu will read four poems at the Glascock Contest: “mother : morpho : man”; “smoke point ekphrastic”; “on earth we weigh the same as ever. and”; and “落井 / 下石 (well-fall / cast stone).” She finds that her pieces often turn into portraits of her loved ones, such as her mother and her partner, although does not consider them as love poems in a traditional sense.

“The most important things to you in your life are often what comes out of your writing, whether you mean to or not,” Lu said. “A lot of my poems end up being, or trying to be, portraiture of my loved ones.

“I was told once by Timothy Liu that you have to make the beloved visible,” Lu said.You have to give details or memories or little things that are important and unmistakable, that make this person so that they are  no one else.”  

Moving forward, Lu finds the path of academia to be most appealing. She sees herself continuing to work in poetry as a professor and publishing a collection of her works one day. 

“I would say I want to be a poet, but something I’ve been taught not to say is that,” Lu said. “Everyone who is a poet will say, ‘You’re a poet as long as you write poems.’” 

Sofia Ramon ’27 contributed fact-checking.

AT Rhodes discusses poetry and scripting ahead of Glascock contest

Photo courtesy of AT Rhodes

AT Rhodes, a writer across many genres, will represent Spelman College at the Glascock Poetry Contest. They say their poetry is about “really getting to the heart of the matter.”

The 102th Kathryn Irene Glascock Intercollegiate Poetry Contest will take place at Mount Holyoke College on April 3 and 4, 2025. It is the oldest continuously-running intercollegiate poetry contest in the country. This year, all of the contestants hail from either historically women’s colleges or gender-diverse women’s colleges. In the days leading up to the contest, Mount Holyoke News will be releasing digital-exclusive profiles of each poet-contestant.

By Cat McKenna ’28 

Staff Writer

AT Rhodes’ passion for poetry began in their ninth-grade English class. Now, as a senior at Spelman College, they will represent their school at the 2025 Kathryn Irene Glascock Intercollegiate Poetry Contest in early April. 

Rhodes credits Kevin Young’s poem “Song of Smoke,” a poem about love, as the piece that sparked their interest in poetry. “It was the first time I had realized how there was this whole other language behind just what was written,” Rhodes said in an interview with Mount Holyoke News. “It just really made me appreciate reading into things, looking closer at the world.”

One particularly resonant moment for Rhodes was sharing "Song of Smoke" with their mother. As they discussed the poem, their mother asked if the author was also Black. Their mother had not known Kevin Young’s background prior, but sensed it through the poem’s allusions. Through their mother's inference, Rhodes realized how poetry could reveal other perspectives, propelling their passion for writing.

“I just got obsessed with learning everything I could about poetry … So, I kind of spiraled from there,” Rhodes said. 

Beyond poetry, Rhodes has taken up narrative writing, growing an interest in writing scripts for films, especially video games. “Ever since I got deep into narrative stuff, I'm like, why am I not playing more video games?  So I would love to continue that thread, just writing, pretty much in any way I can.” 

More recently, they have ventured into writing video essays, enjoying the freedom of being able to discuss whatever comes to mind. Additionally, they are an avid reader of manga. 

When it comes to their poetry, Rhodes hopes people walk away with a glimpse into their life and perspective. “I would want them to feel like they're stepping into my world, like they're stepping into my living room. Like, no matter exactly what I'm expressing or feeling, I want them to feel like they're on my couch. Really getting to the heart of the matter,” they said.

Quill Nishi-Leonard ’27 contributed fact-checking.