Plainsongs, currently edited by Eric Tucker, has been published continuously since 1980. Its title suggests not only its location on the Great Plains, but also its preference for the living language, whether in free or formal verse. Published twice a year by Hastings College Press in Hastings, Nebraska, Plainsongs presents poems that seem to be aware of modernist and post-modernist influences, not necessarily by imitation or allusion, but by using the tools provided by that rich heritage. Featuring poetry that runs the gamut from traditional to experimental, from realist to surrealist, Plainsongs strives to capture the multiplicity of voices--including those of feminist, nonwhite, immigrant, and LGBTQ+ writers--that make up this vibrant and diverse Midwestern soundscape. Poets from all 50 states and many foreign countries contribute regularly to Plainsongs.
Each spring, Plainsongs hosts a reading at The Lark in downtown Hastings, Nebraska. 'Rona threw a wrench in this year's celebration, so we had to go virtual. Check out the videos below for performances and readings from our associate editors and contributors.
Turner McGehee
Kiara Nicole Letcher
Devon Clements
Hailing from Kansas City, MO, but having lived and studied along the West Coast, Devon Clements strives to make sense of the changing socio-political atmosphere through the written word. Particularly focused on the continually changing relationship between technology, culture, the fluid and connotative definition of the American Dream, and how these facets weave together and their affects on mental and emotional health. Some of his work is autobiographical; other pieces come from witnessed experiences and a catalogue of portraits of what it means to be human in this day and age. We all struggle. Some struggles are big, others are small, but don’t worry, Later, it will be fine.
Becky Faber
Becky Faber holds a Ph.D in English from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She is the author of One Small Photo. Her poems have been published in the anthologies How It looks from Here: Poetry from the Plains; Voices from the Plains, Volume III; Nebraska Presence (One Book One Nebraska 2018); Women Write Resistance; and Rural Voices: Literature from Rural Nebraska. She has also been published in The Midwest Quarterly (Special Issue—Three Generations of Nebraska Poets); Platte Valley Review; Small Brushes; Blue Collar Review; So to Speak; Plains Song Review; The Nebraska English Counselor, Lyrical Iowa; and Plainsongs.
Becky Faber holds a Ph.D in English from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She is the author of One Small Photo. Her poems have been published in the anthologies How It looks from Here: Poetry from the Plains; Voices from the Plains, Volume III; Nebraska Presence (One Book One Nebraska 2018); Women Write Resistance; and Rural Voices: Literature from Rural Nebraska. She has also been published in The Midwest Quarterly (Special Issue—Three Generations of Nebraska Poets); Platte Valley Review; Small Brushes; Blue Collar Review; So to Speak; Plains Song Review; The Nebraska English Counselor, Lyrical Iowa; and Plainsongs.
Michael Catherwood
Michael Catherwood is a Nebraska Poet and the author of three books: Dare, If You Turned Around Quickly, and Projector. He is an Associate Editor at Plainsongs, where he writes essays.
Eleanor Reeds
Having studied at the undergraduate level at the University of Cambridge, Dr. Reeds received her PhD from the Department of English at the University of Connecticut. Her scholarly interests span Romantic and Victorian British literature, genre theory, children’s literature, and creative writing. She has also been a Writing Center Coordinator and continues to advocate for composition’s crucial role in the liberal arts curriculum. Dr. Reeds, Assistant Professor of English at Hastings College, has published in a range of peer-reviewed journals including Victorian Poetry, Twentieth-Century Literature, American Literary Realism, and Children’s Literature Association Quarterly. Her current project explores issues of genre, voice, and the reader in the nineteenth century. She is also working on a poetry chapbook and enjoys watching baseball in her spare time.