Archive for June, 2010

In honor of Peters Makuck’s Long Lens: New & Selected Poems, Newsobsersver.com has a wonderful piece about the man and his work:

Congrats to BOA authors Craig Morgan Teicher, Keetje Kuipers, Wyn Cooper, Peter Makuck, and Ece Temelkuran (and translator Deniz Perin) for having their books named on Montserrat Review’s list of Best Books for Summer Reading! We’ve had BOA books listed there before, but not this many – quite an honor!

Read the whole list here [Montserrat Review Best Books for Summer Reading List]

Carpathia by Cecilia Woloch

Bozena U. Zaremba writes about Cecilia Woloch in the new issue of The Cosmopolitan Review:

“Petite figure, dark brown hair – lush and curly. Her slightly slanted eyes are kind, attentive and wide open to people who have come to listen to her poetry. The moment Cecilia Woloch starts to talk, the audience falls silent. This extraordinary gift of attracting people’s attention immediately draws the listeners into the vibrant and powerful world of her poetic imagination. The emotional intensity, the meaning of each phrase and the rhythm of every stanza come across through her reading so forcefully that her poems assume a new, farther-reaching life. Her commentaries are brief yet telling, and Cecilia presents them only when she deems it necessary. Explaining her family roots is one of those instances.”

Read the rest of the article here [Carpathia on Her Mind]

Ece Temelkuran. BOA poet.

In 2002, BOA Editions published the first title in our Lannan Translations Selection Series: The Siege by Ljuba Merlina Bortolani, translated by Michael Palma with an introduction by Alfredo De Palchi.  That book marked the beginning of a fruitful relationship between BOA and the Lannan Foundation that has produced 16 more titles, some by world-renown poets such as Ko Un and Adonis, and many by authors making their American debut such as Jean-Michel Maulpoix and Maya Bejerano. The list of translators for the series is equally distinguished, including Pulitzer Prize-winner Charles Simic, Khaled Mattawa, Gary Gach, and younger translators like Idra Novey, Wayne Miller, and Aaron Zaritzky. The list goes on and on, and we are equally proud of all our Lannan series books, authors, and translators.

Our newest addition to the Lannan series is Book of the Edge, poems by Turkish poet Ece Temelkuran, translated by Deniz Perin (this also marks Deniz’s debut book publication!). Here are a few words about the book taken from the translator’s introduction:

“The poems in Book of the Edge are not overtly political. Some are not political at all. Those that make political statements do so in an understated, allegorical way. Temelkuran’s goal in these poems is to explore the human condition, exposing our weaknesses and our potential. But her insight into, and interpretation of, this human condition are undoubtedly inspired, at least in part, by her socially-involved upbringing and her many years of work as a journalist.
“The book is, to use Baudelaire’s words, an invitation to a voyage. The speaker asks the reader to become an explorer, to leave the city and embark upon a journey of self-discovery. Although each poem stands alone, the poems work together to describe this quest; they turn into a modern, poetic fable, in which speaker, explorer, and reader merge into one. ‘You may not know it yet,’ says the speaker in the prologue, a wink at what is to come. ‘You are just like me.’” 

Of course, we here at BOA encourage you to read a little bit of poetry every day. It’s good for you. It really is. But today – on this beautiful, sunny Friday afternoon in Upstate New York - we encourage you to read some poetry in translation from our Lannan Translations Selection Series. By Monday morning, your world will have expanded just a little bit more.

What else did they say? Find out here:

[Devil's Lake Review of Beautiful in the Mouth]

Painter Steve Smock with BOA Editor Peter Conners and BOA Development Director Melissa Hall

Q: What’s more fun than watching an artist create a painting in two hours flat?

A: Watching it speeded-up to forty seconds flat with time lapse video!

Click the below link to check out Steve Smock painting during BOA’s “Poetry Is Jazz” event on June 15, 2010. This painting will be auctioned off at BOA’s annual Dine & Rhyme celebration on October 16th, 2010. It is signed by the artist and also inscribed with “BOA” and the date it was created.

[Smock Speed Painting]

Beautiful in the Mouth. BOA, dist. by Consortium. 2010. c.96p. ISBN 978-1-934414-33-0. pap. $16. POETRY

Keetje Kuipers' "Beautiful in the Mouth"

Kuipers, Keetje.

In her debut collection, winner of the A. Poulin Jr. Poetry Prize, Kuipers untangles the interwoven discourse between life’s richness and barrenness, its fullness and hollowness. Daily experiences fuel her poems, providing lavish, sensual images rife with exuberant details. Though the concise language sometimes becomes sentimental—“no one/ was coming to give me what I/ needed, but I lay down and waited/ anyway”—the poet ultimately turns what seems to be a standard prose line into true poetry by adding a twist or creating a sudden paradox. Nature plays a vital role in these poems, dictating even their internal music and fluctuation: “I let them chase me into the woods/ dead leaves fly like sparks under my heel.” And though many poems are autobiographical, there’s a skillful braiding of the personal with the impersonal, the real with the unreal. VERDICT This book introduces an original and promising voice that will be a joy for all curious poetry readers.—Sadiq Alkoriji, South Regional Lib., Broward Cty., FL

The day is finally here!

Tonight at 6pm is BOA’s “Poetry is Jazz” event at the Rochester Contemporary Art Center located at 137 East Avenue, Rochester, NY.

Hear:  BOA poet Sean Thomas Dougherty read with musicians Mark Kellogg, Jim Doser, Chris Azzara, and Geoff Saunders!

Watch:  Rochester Artist Steve Smock create an original piece of art!

Schmooze:  With old friends and make some new ones!

Enjoy:  The Rochester Contemporary Art Center’s 6 x 6 exhibit!

To wet your whistle, here’s some shots from the rehearsal last night. It sounded tight!

Everyone here at BOA is excited and gearing up for the big “Poetry Is Jazz” event tomorrow night! Here’s a little information on the musicians who will be playing while BOA poet Sean Thomas Dougherty spins his poetic web:

MARK KELLOGG is the Principal Trombonist of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and a faculty member at the Eastman School of Music. A versatile performer interested in many musical genres, Mark has released a solo jazz CD  (“Upstate Standards”) and has been a featured performer at low brass symposia across the United States and Asia.

JIM DOSER is the Director of Music  in the Penfield Central School district. A gifted jazz performer and dedicated educator, Jim received his musical training at the Eastman School of Music and has been a featured  saxophone soloist with Jeff Tyzik and the Rochester Philharmonic.

Pianist CHRISTOPHER AZZARA is a nationally renowned music educator, specializing in improvisation and the aural learning process. A faculty member at the Eastman School of Music, Christopher has presented solo concerts and delivered lectures ithroughout the United States, Europe and Asia.

GEOFFREY SAUNDERS, bass, is a recent graduate of the Eastman School of Music. Besides performing as a jazz bassist across the northeastern United States, Geoffrey is a respected banjo player with a keen interest in bluegrass  and the music of Appalachia.