At once it struck me what quality went to form a Man of Achievement, especially in Literature, and which Shakespeare
possessed so enormously - I mean Negative Capability, that is, when a man is capable of being in uncertainties,
mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason.
– John Keats
Featured Poet – Shelby Stephenson
North Carolina Poet Laureate Shelby Stephenson didn’t set out to become a poet; first, he had to leave the three-room shanty in Benson where he was born in 1938. And although he pursued a series of jobs and studies, the words caught up with him, landing him positions at university English departments and eventually bringing him…
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Negative Capability Press is pleased to announce that after careful deliberation, notable poet and judge Amy King of New York, has chosen Shanti Weiland’s Sister Nun as the winner of our 2015 Book Competition. Weiland’s Sister Nun is about a woman who joins a Buddhist convent in response to a broken heart. The manuscript begins…
Thank you for coming over, darling. Rufus has been pining for Rome and been a bit under the weather. Let’s go in the cat-free room, shall we? We can talk a little bit and then…
Negative Capability Press is pleased to announce the five finalists for our 2015 Book Competition…
Matthew Nickel, a Mid-Hudson Valley native, earned his PhD in English from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He is currently an Assistant Professor of English at Misericordia University in Northeast Pennsylvania. He has edited numerous anthologies of poetry, including
Negative Capability Press is pleased to announce the forthcoming 34th issue of our Negative Capability Journal: The Body in D[is]ress. Our first full-color issue will feature 39 talented poets, writers and visual artists
Karrie Waarala's work has appeared in journals such as Iron Horse Literary Review, PANK, The Collagist, Southern Indiana Review, and Vinyl. She is a poetry editor for the museum of americana and holds an MFA from the Stonecoast Program at University of Southern Maine. Recipient of…
Shanti Weiland is a poet by nature but sometimes enjoys a visit to the other team's dugout, where she dabbles in prose. She received her BA in English from the University of California, Davis and later moved to the desert, pursuing a Creative Writing MA at Northern Arizona University. She then traveled to the humid and friendly south, where
Emily Schulten's first book entitled, Rest in Black Haw, appeared in 2009 from New Plains Press. Her work has appeared in nationally recognized journals including…


The 34th issue of Negative Capability Journal: The Body in D[ist]ress, edited by Sue Brannan Walker and curated by Megan Cary, features 41 talented poets, writers and visual artists from around the world approaching the topic of the body in a variety of perspectives. Negative Capability's first full-color issue will provide you with a visual experience and thoughtful conversation on the body in d[ist]ress.