Beauty is made my fear

Jane Huffman

A few notes on a misprinted poem by Laura Jensen

What slips from me is whatslips from me. Slippageis the hinge on which my lifehinges. When the textemerges with a mark missing,I kiss it. The error ablatesthe face I was makingwhen making it. Eros, a mistake.When I faced it, I lost it.When it slipped from me,it slipped from me, and I let itslip from me: errant tear.

Feature Date

Series

Selected By

Share This Poem

Print This Poem

Color headshot of poet Jane Huffman, author of this week's What Sparks Poetry essay

Jane Huffman is the author of Public Abstract (American Poetry Review, 2023) and Dilemma, forthcoming from Vanderbilt University Press in 2027. Her poems have been published in The New Yorker, Poetry Magazine, and elsewhere. Online: www.janehuffman.com | IG: @somuchdepends

Cover image for Midway Journal, 20: 2. Urban Palimpsest by Tetiana Yatsechko-Blazhenko

Volume 20, issue 2

Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota

Editor-in-Chief
Ralph Pennel

Poetry Editor
Samantha R. Sharp

The Midway is a vibrant neighborhood located off I-94 that borders the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. It’s also the home to the Minnesota state fairgrounds. Alive with a mix of energies and people, The Midway is a place of boundary crossing, reflecting our vision for this journal.

Our goal is that Midway Journal act as a bridge between aesthetics (and coasts), and, like any good fair, that it also creates an engaging sense of place for our readers. The work we publish aims to complicate and question the boundaries of genre, binary, and perspective. It offers surprises and ways of re-seeing, re-thinking, and re-feeling: a veritable banquet of literary fare.

We seek to publish a variety of styles and diverse voices, and we are honored to present work by new and established writers alike. We especially welcome marginalized voices and authors from underrepresented communities to submit their writing.

We publish four issues annually with new issues going live on the 15th of January, April, July, and October. Experience the wide range of prose, poetry, and artwork/photography in Midway Journal.

Poetry Daily Depends on You

With your support, we make reading the best contemporary poetry a treasured daily experience. Consider a contribution today.