BOA Editions Blog

Insightful and astute in his examinations of Alan Michael Parker’s writings, Colin Winnette of WordRiot.org had an illuminating interview with the BOA author earlier this month. The conversation between the two elicited discussion about the “boundaries between what a reader knows and learns,” specifically when it comes to interpretations of various genres: poetry, fiction, non-fiction.

Winnette asks fantastic questions which really get to the core of Parker’s thoughts, recurring themes, and literary elements. In a way, this piece is a thorough and captivating review of Parker’s work, as much as it is an interview with the author.

Parker, who has written works of poetry, novels, short fiction, non-fiction essays and criticism, and edited collections, tries to explore the boundaries between what a reader knows and learns. Poems should teach the reader how to read. All writings: poems, novels, short stories, should put your perceptions at risk; though some genres do this through sentences, and some through lines. Some works have music-like quality, like poetry, while others – like paragraphs – have wholeness as acts of thought.

What can we expect from a piece or collection of poetry? What is it that poetry can and should do to and for the reader? What is the fundamental difference between poetry and fiction? Is it structural, aesthetic? Find out how Parker and Winnette approach these problems and more over at WordRiot.