Phosphorescence September 2026 featured poets:
Michelle Peñaloza, Jane Wong, Anastacia-Reneé
VIRTUAL PROGRAM
This virtual program is free to attend. Registration is required.
To Emily Dickinson, phosphorescence was a divine spark and the illuminating light behind learning — it was volatile, but transformative in nature. Produced by the Emily Dickinson Museum, the Phosphorescence Contemporary Poetry Series celebrates contemporary creativity that echoes Dickinson’s own revolutionary poetic voice. The Series features established and emerging poets whose work and backgrounds represent the diversity of the flourishing contemporary poetry scene. Join us on a Thursday evening each month to hear from poets around the world as they read their work and discuss what poetry and Dickinson mean to them.
About this month’s poets:
Michelle Peñaloza is the author of All the Words I Can Remember Are Poems (Persea Books, 2025), winner of the 2024 Lexi Rudnitsky Editor’s Choice Award and the James Laughlin Award. She is also the author of Former Possessions of the Spanish Empire, winner of the 2018 Hillary Gravendyk National Poetry Prize, and two chapbooks. Her honors include the Frederick Bock Prize and grants from Barbara Deming Memorial Fund, 4Culture, Artist Trust, and others. Her work appears in Poetry, New England Review, and American Life in Poetry.
Jane Wong is the author of the memoir Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City (Tin House, 2023) and two poetry collections, How to Not Be Afraid of Everything and Overpour. She holds an MFA from the University of Iowa and a PhD from the University of Washington and is an associate professor at Western Washington University. Her work appears in The New York Times, Best American Poetry, POETRY, and McSweeney’s. A Pushcart Prize winner, she has received numerous fellowships and exhibits interdisciplinary art nationally.
Anastacia-Reneé (she/they) is a queer writer, educator, and interdisciplinary artist. She is the author of Side Notes from the Archivist (HarperCollins/Amistad), named a New York Public Library Best Book of 2023 and an American Library Association Notable Book of 2024, along with (v.), Forget It, and Here in the (Middle) of Nowhere. A former Seattle Civic Poet, TEDx speaker, and radio host, she has received the James W. Ray Distinguished Artist Award and fellowships from Cave Canem, Hedgebrook, VONA, and Ragdale.
Support Phosphorescence
While Phosphorescence events are free to attend, they are sustained by the Emily Dickinson Fund, which provides critical, unrestricted support for the Museum’s day-to-day operations. Your generous donation helps us offer immersive poetry programs to a global audience and preserve the historic Dickinson legacy in Amherst. As the Fund supplies 36% of our annual budget, your tax-deductible contribution is essential to our mission. Join us in inspiring learners of all ages by making an immediate impact today.