It’s publishing day for Ali Blythe’s Hymnswitch, and we couldn’t be more excited. When his debut collection, Twoism, came out in 2015 from icehouse poetry, it received critical acclaim, and Blythe continues to impress. His new release revisits themes of identity and the body again at places of recovery and transition from new emotional awareness.

We’ve gathered some of the initial reactions to the collection as well as examples of Blythe’s poetry to whet your appetite for this intimate exploration.

Happy publishing day to Matthew Walsh and their poetry collection These are not the potatoes of my youth. This collection takes a long, hard look at what queer means to them and how the world has shaped them, set against the backdrop of their grandfather’s potato garden.

We at Goose Lane Editions wanted to take some time to showcase this amazing debut and we’ve planted a few recent seeds we found online which compliment this impressive crop of poetry.

Summertime is traditionally a time devoted to vacations, and travel. Sometimes to distant lands, sometimes down the street for a barbecue.

But what if you're having a "staycation" this year. How will you travel? Through the magic offered every Poetry Friday, of course.

And so we embark upon a new poetic vacation to take our minds to places new and strange, led by our intrepid guide M. Travis Lane and her poem "Departures" (from Reckonings).

Summertime! Outdoor dining! Juicy burgers! Vegan hot dogs! Ketchup and mustard everywhere!

Let's face it, we're in the middle of another heat wave, so let us embrace it with some eating of foods in the outdoors.

So, this Poetry Friday, a'cooking we will go with Peter Richardson's "Cloud Puffs above a Ridge-top Barbecue Grill" (from Bit Parts for Fools).

And yes, we've got beer for everyone this time.