In celebration of the release of their new record, Eight Belles, the band Jessie Murphy in the Woods did something truly, impressively unusual: they interviewed a poet. More specifically, BOA's own Keetje Kuipers. Why, you ask, would a band do something like that? Good question. Here's what they say: "We – Jessie Murphy In The Woods – have just completed the great adventure of releasing our first record, Eight Belles. We’ve put it out, we’ve played shows in homage to it, we’ve been interviewed about it, and we’ve traveled in support of it. Now it’s time for something new. It’s time to turn our attention from out put to input. We are seeking new sounds, words, ideas and inspirations. Part of our process of doing that is conversing with other artists and persons of serious intrigue. We’d like to share some of these conversations with you, 10 of them to be exact, in a series we call Thank You, Please, and Welcome to The Woods. We will be interviewing ten artists who are (by our lights) total luminaries in their craft. During these late August nights, surrounded by tall pines and whistling winds, we will warm ourselves by the fire of their intellect and we will share that warmth with you." And they started their series with Keetje Kuipers! Wow - a band that's so interested in poetry that they turn the focus away from their own project onto the work of a contemporary poet? Give those folks a prize! Or, at the very least, a hearty round of applause. Read the entire interview here and gain some new insights into Keetje's debut collection, Beautiful in the Mouth, even above and beyond the author's favorite kind of ice cream (one small hint: it's "Peppermint--the kind with the little chunks of candy canes in it.") [Keetje Kuipers interview by Jessie Murphy In The Woods] [caption id="attachment_1004" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Keetje Kuipers. BOA poet."][/caption]