On the Poem “What is to be done?”

February 2, 2026

It has come to our attention that the original version of the poem “What is to be done?,” published in Mizna 26.1, 2025—Kindred and attributed to Jna Shelomith, was written in 1987 by poet, activist, and curator Tim Blunk. His original piece can be seen here. 

Shelomith let us know that she pulled the text from an old journal where she had transcribed it many years ago without including the author’s name, and that, in good faith, she thought it was her own. The poem we published can be seen here. 

In informing Blunk, Mizna editors learned that he embraces a radical sharing of authorship where “the words are what matter,” that he is “proud that someone would feel enough of a connection to it to claim it as their own,” and that he supports the poem published in Mizna 26.1.

We are deeply moved by his generous perspective and the poem itself as a generative site. Blunk wrote it while in solitary confinement at US Penitentiary Marion where he had been a political prisoner. Shelomith and now Blunk are dear members of our community. We are attempting to circulate this information as thoroughly as possible via insertions in both the digital and print versions of the journal.

—Mizna Editors