Breaking into Blossom: Poems with Extraordinary Endings
An Online Poetry Reading & Conversation

Featuring acclaimed poets and a live conversation on the art of poetic endings.

• Date: Wednesday, April 8, 2026
• Time: 6:00 PM (CT)
• Location: Online (Registration Required)

Join TRP: The University Press of SHSU for a conversation with Breaking into Blossom co-editors Luke Hankins and Nomi Stone, moderated by TRP Director J. Bruce Fuller, followed by poetry readings from contributors including José Antonio Rodríguez, Keith Flynn, francine j. harris, Ellen Bass, Mathew Olzmann, Ross White, and Nathan McClain.

Breaking into Blossom: Poems with Extraordinary Endings gathers contemporary poems that showcase a wide range of approaches to ending the poem—lines that surprise, reverse expectation, unfold gradually, or resonate beyond the page. In their introductory essay, the editors explore the craft, ethics, and power of poetic closure, offering a framework for thinking about how poems conclude and continue.

Featuring work that spans themes of love, violence, identity, and transformation, the anthology brings together both celebrated and emerging voices. Some poems break into blossom; others fracture or linger—leaving readers in wonder at what endures.