Some rather cheering Monday news for y’all: the latest issue of Borderlands: Texas Poetry Review is out now—and yes, we have copies! As always, Borderlands is packed with awesome poetry, essays, and art, including work from keynote poet Sasha West, author of Failure and I Bury the Body (winner of the National Poetry Series and the Texas Institute of Letters First Book of Poetry Award), and art from Noah Baumwoll, who creates stunning steel sculptures of Hindu deities (that’s an image of his sculpture of Radha on the cover, at right).

We were thrilled to host a launch party for the new issue on Saturday afternoon, and were more than happy to pack our stage with charming members of the Borderlands crew, including (below, from left to right) Daniel Priest, James Gregorski, Christian Rees, David Meischen, Sam Sax, Sasha West, Ryan Sharp, and Graham Stewart. 

Check out our footage below of readings from Sasha West, David Meischen, Christian Rees, and Sam Sax. And if you’d like to see yourself in the next issue of Borderlands… you need to submit your work by December 15th, so get a wriggle on!

If you haven’t picked up a copy of the latest Borderlands: Texas Poetry Review, you’re missing out—and you really should come to Malvern Books at once and rectify this shameful situation! Issue #40 is beautifully produced and chock-full of awesome poetry, reviews, essays and photography. Highlights include new work from Laurie Ann Guerrero, winner of the 2012 Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize and author of the collection A Tongue in the Mouth of the Dying (also reviewed in this issue), and photography from Joel Salcido, including the issue’s stunning cover photo, Atotonilco el Alto.

But you don’t have to take my word for the brilliance of Borderlands, because the lovely folks from the journal held a launch party at Malvern Books on Sunday afternoon, with music, readings, and art—and we have a ton of fantastic footage from the event to share with you! Check it out, and then come stock up on your weekend reading.