Rattlecast #35 features Wendy Barker and her new book Gloss. Wendy Barker’s seventh full-length collection of poems, Gloss, is due out in 2020 from St. Julian Press. Her sixth collection, One Blackbird at a Time, was chosen for the John Ciardi Prize and was published by BkMk Press in 2015. Recipient of an NEA fellowship, a Rockefeller residency fellowship in Bellagio, as well as other awards in poetry, she has also been a Fulbright senior lecturer in Bulgaria. Her work has been translated into Hindi, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, and Bulgarian. She is Poet-in Residence and the Pearl Lewinn Endowed Chair at the University of Texas at San Antonio, where she has taught since 1982.For more information, visit: https://www.wendybarker.net/As always, we'll also include live open mic for responses to our weekly prompt. For details on how to participate, either pre-recorded, via Skype, or by phone, go to: https://www.rattle.com/rattlecast/Warm-up Poems:“The Preakness” by John Colasaccohttps://www.rattle.com/the-preakness-by-john-colasacco/“Bob the Bear” by Frank Colasaccohttps://www.rattle.com/bob-the-bear-by-frank-colasacco/This Week's Prompt:The first word must start with the letter “z,” the last word must end with the letter “z.”Next Week's Prompt: A happy love poem. (It’s harder than it sounds!) Try to avoid cliches.