In Conversation: Wendy Wisner & Emily Hockaday

Wendy Wisner’s newest collection, The New Life, came out in fall 2024 with Cornerstone Press, and Emily Hokaday’s newest, Blood Music, came out with Harbor Editions in February 2025. Both collections look at grief and parenting and the juxtaposition and parallels between the two. Emily and Wendy will discuss the inspirations and stories behind their newest books, while considering craft questions on assembly, revision, and creation.

Wendy Wisner

Wendy Wisner is the author of three books of poems, most recently The New Life, published by Cornerstone Press (University of Wisconsin Stevens-Point) and named a finalist for the Foreword INDIES Book of the Year. Wendy’s poems and essays have appeared in Prairie Schooner, Spoon River Review, Passages North, THRUSH, Verse Daily, The Washington Post, Lilith Magazine, and elsewhere. Wendy is currently an Associate Editor at Rise Up Review. Find Wendy at www.wendywisner.com.

Emily Hockaday

Emily Hockaday is the author of Blood Music (Harbor Editions 2025), In a Body (Harbor Editions, 2023), and Naming the Ghost (Cornerstone Press 2022). Her poems have appeared in print and online magazines as well as in anthologies including Poets of Queens and Parks and Points. Emily writes about ecology, the urban environment, chronic illness, feminism, grief, and mental health. Find more about her at www.emilyhockaday.com.