Judith Mikesch McKenzie
Recently Released
Plainsongs Magazine, "Deliberations," November 2025
October Hill Magazine, "A Road Called Noquisi" October 15 2025
Cirque, a Journal of the North Pacific Rim, "The Seventh Path" August 2025
Free State Review, "If We Have to Stop You, We'll Put Up A Sign, (for Jean Marie)" Online release July 21, 2025
Upcoming Publications
Orchards Poetry Journal, "You and I Have Only One Name" Winter 2025/26
Bookends Review, January 12, 2026, "Highlands Bar and Grill"
Monterey Poetry Review, "Visiting Cape Perpetua at Seventeen" Spring 2026
Clackamas Literary Review, "Community Standards" and "Having Faith In The Speed of Light", May 2026
Honors/Awards/Nominations
Pushcart Prize, Nominee, 2026 "How To Identify A Body" (Burningword Literary)
Best Of The Net, Nominee, 2025 "Degrees Of Freedom When Your Phase Space Is An Auto Shop" (South Florida Poetry Journal)
Cunningham Short Story Contest, Finalist, Published, (A Perfect Circle Around The Moon)
Tilie Olsen Short Story Contest, Second Place, published, (A Matter Of Rocks)
Three-time Resident at Cottages At Hedgebrook Retreat For Women Writers
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AS Of May 2023, the full list of PUBLISHED Poems has been moved to the "All Publications" page - the list was getting a bit long and cumbersome for this page. Here instead I will be listing links to some of my favorite poems already published:
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MY FAVORITES
Monterey Poetry Review, Spring 24 release, "Impersonating the Carpenter's Apprentice" and "Learning the Apostles Creed."
October Hill Magazine, Summer issue "The Forest of the Bitterroot" page 91
Cathexis NW Press, January 2023 Issue, "How It Was When the Comet Came."
The Bookends Review, Sept 17 2021, “Ten Seconds On The Santa Monica Pier, Long Past Midnight”
Happy to announce....
The editor of "Poetic Bond X" offered this commentary about my work in that anthology in a Press Release: "Judith Mikesch McKenzie’s “Post Hoc” moves from refrain to refrain, like an echoing prayer, looking to the future, each negative word ‘poisoned’ ‘twisted’ ‘wounds’ countered by a positive ‘spring’ ‘sing’ ‘hearts’, a concise, beautiful poem. In “Looking Out the Upstairs Window” the longing to be outside is palpable, but when imagination does reign, Judith lets loose like a warrior before resting again to a whisper. Sweeping and uplifting." Like any writer, I'm grateful and elated to receive such commentary. To see the works, see the "All Publications" page for a link to "Poetic Bond X"
More good news from Willowdown Books - who've published my story "A Perfect Circle Around the Moon" in their Anthology "Who We Are"