Tina Cane | The Common

October 2025 Poetry Feature: From DEAR DIANE: LETTERS FOR A REVOLUTIONARY

October 23, 2025 Poetry

Photo of Tina Cane by Cormac Crump

On DEAR DIANE: LETTERS FOR A REVOLUTIONARY
Between May 1968 and December 1971, poet Diane Di Prima wrote a poetry collection comprised of sixty-three “Revolutionary Letters.” Several years ago, I purchased a rare set of the first thirty-four of Di Prima’s letter poems—typed on long sheets of construction paper, stapled, and hand-corrected in ballpoint pen. Bought as a celebratory gift for myself, after having been awarded a fellowship, it’s a humble yet fierce extravagance. While the booklet appears sturdy, its yellowed pages are somewhat delicate. I rarely handle it—too worried about spilling coffee, or having someone in my house mistake the unassuming bundle for recycling. Most of the time, my sheath of Di Prima poems sits in my bookcase, atop a row of books by Marguerite Duras.

The Most-Read Pieces of 2023

January 30, 2024 News and Events

As our new year of publishing and programming picks up speed, we at The Common wanted to reflect on the pieces that made last year such a great one! We published over 200 pieces online and in print in 2023. Below, you can browse a list of the six most-read pieces of 2023 to see which stories, essays, and poems left an impact on readers.

Two Poems from The Spring of Plagues by Ana Carolina Assis, translated by Heath Wing

“i wish I could / prevent your death / and bury your body alive / in the puny damp / earth
we tended / so that it kept on living / mandioca corn banana / would not sprout forth /
but instead / acerola cherry blackberry pitanga hog plum.”

Read more.

January 2023 Poetry Feature, with work by Tina Cane, Myronn Hardy, and Marc Vincenz

“Sheila had IHOP     delivered to her apartment     in El Alto, NY / on January 6th
so she could kick back     self-proclaimed terrorist / that she is     and eat pancakes
     while watching white supremacists / storm the Capital.”

Read more.

A Minor History of Potato Chips

May 8, 2023 Issue 25, Issue 25 Poetry, Issues, Poetry

By TINA CANE

Ray Liotta was listening to tapes of Henry Hill talking through a mouth

full of potato chips to the FBI around the same time I high and hunched

over a bowl of Lucky Charms was listening to my father lecture me on sex

Friday Reads: April 2023

April 7, 2023 Reviews

Curated by SOFIA BELIMOVA

Things are finally warming up here in Western Mass: old snow banks are melting and fuzzy buds are popping up on the trees. Our spring issue—which features a portfolio of stunning fiction from Kuwait, apocalyptic poetry, a Ramadan romance, and a story about a dog in a Texas barrio—launches in just a few short weeks. If you’re wondering where these writers get their inspiration, look no further than this round of Friday Reads.

Cover of Jane Wong's "Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City" with a picture of a colorful crab on beige background.

January 2023 Poetry Feature

January 13, 2023 Poetry

New poems by our contributors TINA CANE, MYRONN HARDY, and MARC VINCENZ

Table of Contents:

            Tina Cane
                        —You Are Now Interacting as Yourself
                        —The Subject Line

Myronn Hardy
—Among Asters

Marc Vincenz
—An Empire in the Ground

You Are Now Interacting As Yourself
By TINA CANE

Sheila had IHOP     delivered to her apartment     in El Alto, NY
on January 6th     so she could kick back     self-proclaimed terrorist
that she is     and eat pancakes     while watching white supremacists
storm the Capital on T.V.     a coup

Cheetos and Rimbaud: An Interview with Tina Cane

November 14, 2022 Interviews

MATT W. MILLER interviews TINA CANE

Tina Cane’s Year of the Murder Hornet was published in spring of 2022 by Veliz Books. In this interview, Tina discusses her new collection with Matt Miller. Threaded through by grit and lyrical beauty, the book weaves survival, strength, and hope out of this pitched moment of American politics, the Coronavirus pandemic, and popular culture.

Breakfast of Champions

May 2, 2022 Issue 23, Issue 23 Poetry, Poetry

By TINA CANE

I woke up in a panic this morning thinking what if my love language

is granola? I found a quiz online but was too chicken to take it having had

Russian bots once read my face and place me alongside a woman holding a mango

or some bullshit in Gaugin
nothing exotic for me today

Issue 23 Virtual Launch Party

April 18, 2022 News and Events

The Common Spring Launch Party

Wednesday, May 4, 2022
5:00 pm
Via Zoom

On May 4th at 5pm EDT, join The Common for the virtual celebration of Issue 23! We welcome fiction writer Fernando Flores, poet Tina Cane, Palestinian writer Eyad Barghuthy, and Arabic translator Nashwa Gowanlock for brief readings and conversation about place, culture, and translation. The event will be hosted by the magazine’s editor in chief Jennifer Acker, in partnership with the Amherst College Creative Writing Center and Arts at Amherst Initiative.

Please Register in Advance for the Virtual Event. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the event.