Vox Populi
A curated webspace for Poetry, Politics, and Nature with over 20,000 daily subscribers and over 8,000 archived posts.
Vox Populi: Most Popular Posts of 2023
Founded in April 2014, Vox Populi is a community of writers, artists, teachers and activists who share a vision of what American life is and what it could be. By exposing problems and proposing solutions, we are part of a growing movement in America that believes in environmental responsibility, empowerment of the disadvantaged, peaceful co-existence, and reform of the corrupt institutions that put the short term interests of the few over the long term needs of the many. These topics, which are interdependent, are explored through imaginative work that displays a love of craft and a dedication to truth. In short, we look for the poetry in everything.
In 2023, Vox Populi published 674 posts, about half of them poems, and the other half made up of essays, reviews, film, art, music, dance and humor.
We now have approximately 18,000 email subscribers, one third outside the United States, and our posts are picked up by social media where they often go viral. For example, Zeina Azzam’s poem Write My Name, published in November 2023, has been translated into Arabic, Spanish, French, and Japanese, as well as other languages, and read by millions.
I’m very proud of all our authors and artists, and I encourage you to sample their creative work. Below are listed our most popular posts of the past year, as well as additional posts I recommend.
— Michael Simms, Founder and Editor
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Poems:
Zeina Azzam, Andy Young, David Adès: Three poems about Gaza
Mosab Abu Toha, et al: Ceasefire Cento (curated and composed by Kathryn Levy & Kathy Engel)
Naomi Shihab Nye: Little Farmer
Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer: An Open Thank You Letter to Kristen Who Works at the Cemetery
Cynthia Atkins: Apocalypse in Twitter-Verse
Editor’s Choices:
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Political Essays
D.W. Fenza: Why the Department of English Needs a Drastic Renovation
Abby Zimet: A Hand Here, A Head There | Israel’s Tremendously Positive War In Gaza
Nicholas Kristof: What we get wrong about Israel and Gaza
Penny Rosenwasser: A Jewish American Says “Not in My Name!”
Editor’s Choice:
George Yancy and H.A. Nethery Discuss White Supremacy and “White Innocence”
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Personal Essays
David Hassler: Spaghetti Dinners
James Crews: A Few Things I have Learned
Editor’s Choice:
Rebecca Gordon: Rain and Heat, Fire and Snow
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Health and Wellness:
Frank Sabatino, DC, PhD: Alzheimer’s Disease and Women
Desne A. Crossley: Transfer of Courage | 1968 & 1950
Matthew J. Parker: A Junkie By Any Other Name
Derrick Z. Jackson: US Supreme Court Guts Wetlands Protections
Editor’s Choice:
Daniel Lawless: The Gun My Sister Killed Herself With
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Art and Cinema
Video: A mysterious design that appears across millennia
Video: Wangechi Muttu | The Timeless, Ancient Language of Art
Video: Soft Animals by Renee Zhan
Editor’s Choice: Video: Birdsong | The dying whistled language of the Hmong people in northern Laos
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Art and Literary Criticism:
Dawn Potter: A Small Celebration of Baron Wormser and Teresa Carson
Angele Ellis: Midnight in the Backyard of Lust and Longing
David Kirby: The Questions that Matter Most by Jane Smiley
Editor’s Choice:
Stuart Sheppard: The War Against Aesthetics in Contemporary Art
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Posts Written by the Editor:
Michael Simms: Sometimes I Wake Early
Editor’s Choice:
Michael Simms: Strangers at the Door | Robert Gibb, Laure-Anne Bosselaar and Jose Padua
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Thank you for posting this list, Michael. I plan to teach a number of these choices in my Writer as Witness class❣️
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Thank you, Lisa!
M.
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I agree with the other comments. Vox Populi has enriched the life of this person who must continually push against withdrawing from a bewildering world. I will hope to keep this email and review my favorites of those I missed. ( How do I miss some when I read every morning?) wishing you and your readers hope and happiness in the New Year.
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Thanks, Barbara, for your clarity in a bewildering world. I always look forward to your responses, and often I post a piece wondering what you’ll think about it.
Warmly, M.
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Michael, I share Jackie’s sentiments. Your contribution to my life and to the world has been immense. Thank you for sharing such beautiful work with us (including, or especially, yours)!
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Thank you, Beth, for your long dedication to this project. You were one of our first subscribers many years ago, and you’ve remained with us!
Warmly, Mike
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Michael – Your introduction/overview of Vox Populi at the beginning of this post is as strong and moving as any of the works listed below it. Your achievement over all this time is just plain wonderful. Bravo! Many thanks for all that these posts do for us. Daily gifts for your readers/fans.
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Thank you, Jackie. For all you do as a writer and reader!
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