Current
Issue
Fall 2026 / Volume 13.1
Rodrigo Toscano
—
New Stance
Quiet punches in the gut, quiet pain
Quiet soothing from intimates, or worse
No soothing from no one, an added punch
Quietly endured, straight from the rule book.
You could make this place—plenty socialist
But that’s against the prime directive, so
Make of it what you can. Perhaps, purdy
Straight from the rule book, elementally
The magic of half-quiet—from the gut
And out the butt (sorry for the crudeness)
Sorry for the lack of decorative poise
Sorry for the gong of the working class
Sorry (but not really) for the New Stance
Like a Scott Joplin rag when you need it.
Rodrigo Toscano is a poet based in New Orleans. He is the author of thirteen books of poetry. His latest books are Salvage Nation: 100 Sonnets (Winter Editions, 2026) WHITMAN. CANNONBALL. PUEBLA (Omnidawn, 2025, National Poetry Series finalist, NYPL best books of 2025). The Cut Point (Counterpath, 2023), The Charm & The Dread (Fence, 2022). Forthcoming is. His Collapsible Poetics Theater was a 2008 National Poetry Series selection. His poetry has appeared in over 25 anthologies, including, Best American Poetry and Best American Experimental Poetry. Toscano received a New York State Fellowship in Poetry. He won the Edwin Markham 2019 prize for poetry. He works for the Labor Institute in conjunction with the United Steelworkers. He has been on the board of the New Orleans Poetry Festival since 2015. rodrigotoscano.com
