Copper Nickel is a meeting place for multiple aesthetics, bringing work that engages with our social and historical context to the world with original pieces and dynamic translations. Copper Nickel issue 23 features poetry by two-time Pushcart Prize winner Jennifer Atkinson, Kate Tufts Discovery Award winner Adrian Blevins, National Poetry Series winner Justin Boening, renowned poet and critic Stephen Burt, Ruth Lilly Fellow Chloe Honum, two-time NEA Fellow Christopher Howell, Lambda Literary Award finalist Randall Mann, Stegner Fellow L.S. McKee, and Guggenheim Fellow Eric Pankey, as well as emerging voices such as Belfast, Northern Ireland, based poet Andrew Deloss Eaton and Hong Kong based poet Nicholas Wong; fiction by George Brookings, Dan Mancilla, Evelyn Sommers, and Liz Wyckoff; nonfiction by Bangladeshi-American writer Anuradha Bhowmik and NEA Fellow Traci Brimhall; and translation folios featuring Polish poet, critic, and scholar of Roma culture Jerzy Ficowski (translated by Jennifer Grotz and Piotr Sommer), Bosnian visual and performance artist Soba (translated by Paula Gordon) who "publishes" his prose on Facebook, and Polish poet Gzegorz Wróblewski (translated by Piotr Gwiazda).

The cover of Issue 23 features collage work by Denver-based visual artist Mario Zoots.