To Our Readers Regarding “Scholls Ferry Rd.” by Michael Dickman

Poetry subscribers recently received their July/August print editions and members of our communities have expressed outrage due to racist language used in this poem.

We acknowledge that this poem contains racist language and that such language is insidious, and in this case is particularly oppressive to Black, Pacific Islander, and Asian people, and we are deeply sorry. We are grateful to readers who have reached out with their questions and criticisms of the decision to publish this poem.

This poem centers whiteness and employs racist language, which is hurtful and wrong. We published this poem because we read it as an indictment of racism within white families; this was a mistake. We clearly have more work to do in considering how poems center certain voices and affect our readers. We regret not taking serious action sooner to interrogate the editorial process, and we apologize. Our commitment to this work is ongoing, and changes in the magazine’s structure and process are imminent.

—The Editors