Rattle #89, Fall 2025: Tribute to Late Bloomers

by The Rattle Foundation, Timothy Green (Editor), José A. Alcántara (Contributor)

The Fall 2025 issue of Rattle pays tribute to Late Bloomers—poets who found their voices later in life, proving it’s never too late to begin again. From Michele Herman’s wry Notes on Communication to Tangerine Bell’s moving Epitaph for an Unpublished Poet, these pages are filled with wisdom, wit, and fresh starts. We also feature a rare conversation with Rattle’s elusive founder, Alan Fox, who reflects on 30 years of poetry, publishing, and the power of saying yes. The open section, as always, bursts with variety—don’t miss Richard Siken’s Pain Scale, Crystal Simone Smith’s stunning haiku, or Bruce Weigl’s nostalgic A Fabulous Night for… Whether you’re a lifelong poet or just starting out, this issue offers something to inspire.

Tribute to Late Bloomers
Grandfather Ascending a Staircase by José A. Alcántara
If We Knew Then by Gil Arzola
Art History by Susan Auerbach
Epitaph for an Unpublished Poet by Tangerine Bell
Vacating by Michael Brosnan
Ungently by Charles Carr
Lend Your Heart to No Thing but God by Allisa Cherry
Cul-de-sacs by Charles S. Cobean
Tempera by Spider Dailey
A Woman, a Man by Juditha Dowd
Never Again by Barbara Ford
Hour Children by Caprice Garvin
Notes on Communication by Michele Herman
Field Mouse Dangling from a Red-Tailed Hawk by Ken Hines
Something Coming by Lester Graves Lennon
Making Love at Our Age by Karen Whittington Nelson
Lanterns by Doug Ramspeck
Saudade by Robert Rice
Neighbors by Lisa Seidenberg
Sad Thing by Lazar Trubman


Open Poetry
Deposition by Sherman Alexie
Bullet by Kai Carlson-Wee
Queer Poetry by Gray Davidson Carroll
Penumbra by Brent Fisk
A Senior’s Villanelle by Lynn Hess
Prayer for a Potential Mass Murderer … by Manuel Iris
Old Maid: A Pecha Kucha by Julie Kane
Benny and the Stillness by Gary Lark
Pretty by Suzanne Lummis
The Body by Al Maginnes
Our Marriage Is a Mountain Range of Dusty Rugs by Chelsea McClellan
My Daughter Calls by Michelle Patton
Dementia Sonnet by Justin Rigamonti
Pain Scale by Richard Siken
[honeysuckle breeze] and Other Haiku by Crystal Simone Smith
The Death of My Shadow by J.R. Solonche
The Opportunities Pantoum by James Valvis
A Fabulous Night for … by Bruce Weigl






.

Genres: Poetry

100 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2025

About the author

Rattle is a publication of the Rattle Foundation, an independent 501(c)3 non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the practice of poetry, and is not affiliated with any other organization.
Alan C. Fox is its founder.

Reviews

[DivaDiane SM · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won a subscription to Rattle for one year because I submitted to the Poetry Super Highway contest this year.i have previously read poems from Rattle online, especially the Poet’s Respond section and have even recited a poem by John Philip Johnson, which appeared in Rattle. That was an honor because they usually have their own people do the recitations.
Anyway, this was my first time reading an issue from front to back and I enjoyed it immensely, even though I prefer Speculative Poetry.
The interview with the founder, Alan Fox, was very interesting and the authors’ notes by the Late Bloomers were also fun.

[Ashtyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

some favorite lines:

cul-de-sacs, charles s. cobean
“I can’t tell you how gratifying it is / to be right about something / when I was just as likely to be wrong”

dementia sonnet, justin rigamonti
“Your name is another word / to cross off her list, something she doesn’t need / anymore. Nameless, you hold her hand, relieved / of your story. Relieved of everything but breath.”

[Mike Walter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve subscribed to Rattle for a while now and always devour it when I get my latest copy in the mail. Edition 89 was the usual collection of poems. Some brilliant. Some ok. Some meh. If I’m being honest, sometimes it’s hard for me to read this compilation when I get it because Rattle continues to reject my submissions. So I often find myself finishing a poem thinking, “they accepted this over mine???” But when I’m able to block that jealous streak off I can enjoy the poems for what they are. And the conversation with Rattle founder Alan Fox was very good.

Still, a few of these poems don’t compare to what I submitted. . .

[Michael Heimbaugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really glad I discovered/subscribed to these guys this year. All the stories from folks who became serious poets after 50 were encouraging for this 31-year-old aspiring poet who often frets about his relative lack of life experience. Lots of good poems in here but my favorite would have to be Julie Kane’s devastating tribute to her eccentric aunt in “Old Maid.”

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes the themes of the Rattle issues fall flat, but the section with poems from poets writing seriously after age 50 rescued an otherwise frustrating issue. I absolutely adore Allisa Cherry’s poem “Lend Your Heart to No Thing but God,” but I almost despise the Alexie poem opening the collection, which, given Alexie’s fall from public grace, reads as a whiny diatribe against the hypocrisy of the political left that “cancelled” him. The interview, too, with Rattle’s founder was disappointing. There were a few bits of interesting Rattle history—mainly brought up by Tim Green’s questions—but it seemed as though Fox was reluctant to talk about those memories or feelings or poems with any depth.

[Carrie Cantalupo-Sharp · Rating 5 out of 5]

One to savor and read over and over.

[A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another very nice issue of Rattle, though broadly some of these poems spoke to me a little less than other issues.

[Sasha Rivers · Rating 5 out of 5]

i loved many of the pieces but the interview with the magazine's founder annoyed me a little

[Timothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

always great poetry and a really good interview