Poets of the Dark: Interview with Hillary Dodge

Hillary Dodge is an award-winning editor and author of several speculative short fictions and poetry, as well as three nonfiction books. She spends a good deal of time traveling, going places that are forbidden, and eating. She once had tea with a Roma in a cave in the mountains of Spain. Another time found her eight hours from civilization in the heart of the Atacama with a mad desert hermit. She has been published in online magazines, podcasts, and print anthologies, including Pseudopod, the HWA Poetry Showcase, Space Squid, Hellbound Books, D&T Publishing, & Hex Publishers. She is a co-editor…

Poets of the Dark: Interview with K. H. Vaughan

K. H. Vaughan is a refugee from academia with a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. In that life he taught and worked in a variety of settings, and was particularly interested in the methodology and philosophy of science, decision theory, forensic issues, mass violence, and psychopathology. He is a writer of dark fiction and poetry and Director of Programming for NecronomiCon - Providence. What sparked your interest in horror poetry? Was there a particular event or work that inspired you to delve into the darker side of poetry? I had little interest in poetry of any kind for a very long…

Poets of the Dark: Interview with Jacqueline West

Jacqueline West’s poetry has appeared in Mythic Delirium, Dreams & Nightmares, Liminality, Enchanted Living, and Star*Line. Her collection Candle and Pins: Poems on Superstitions was released in 2018. She is also the author of the New York Times-bestselling middle grade series The Books of Elsewhere, the YA horror novel Last Things, and several other dark and twisty books for young readers. A three-time nominee for both the Rhysling Award and the Pushcart Prize, Jacqueline lives with her family in Minnesota. Find her on Instagram @jacqueline.west.writes or at jacquelinewest.com.  What sparked your interest in horror poetry? Was there a particular event…

Poets of the Dark: Interview with R. Leigh Hennig

R. Leigh Hennig is an author, editor, and poet living amongst the memories of witches and other dark things in coastal New England. His work has appeared in anthologies that have been finalists for the Bram Stoker Award, and that have won the Saturday Visitor Award for works inspired by Poe (so named after the prize won by Poe himself). Find him at https://semioticstandard.com, Twitter, or Mastodon. What sparked your interest in horror poetry? Was there a particular event or work that inspired you to delve into the darker side of poetry? I never really understood poetry. I struggled with…

It’s National Poetry Month—How Incredibly Frightening!

by Denise Dumars Now that I’ve got your attention, April is National Poetry Month. Naming the month thusly implies that something of great value is being overlooked. Every poet in America knows what I’m talking about. Poetry has never had the huge following in the U.S. that it boasts in some other cultures; in fact, if you are an HWA member who lives in another country, I’d love to hear how poetry is viewed by the general public where you live. I know some countries where it is very much a part of the national conversation, and is not reserved…