Sneak Peek of What's New from BOA in the Fall!
BOA Editions has five new publications coming this Fall: The Collected Poems of Lucille Clifton 1965-2010 (September 11), To Keep Love Blurry by Craig Morgan Teicher (September 11), Theophobia by Bruce Beasley (October 16), Diadem by Marosa di Giorgio (November 13), and Passwords Primeval by Tony Leuzzi (November 13). We're hard at work bringing these wonderful publications to life, and super excited for all of these new additions to the BOA family! In an effort to share the excitement with you (why should we have all the fun?), we're putting some spotlight on one of our forthcoming books, revealing to you some of our favorite and most memorable excerpts!
Hitting the BOA Bookstore November 13 is Passwords Primeval: 20 American Poets in Their Own Words by Tony Leuzzi. This book is a collection of interviews held over the course of five years by Tony Leuzzi. The author is an Associate Professor of Literature and Composition at Monroe Community College in Rochester, NY (BOA's hometown!). He's won a National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) Award and The Wesley T. Hansen for Excellence in Teaching and loves poetry as much as we do (maybe).
The book is constructed in a way you may not be used to or familiar with. Though it's made up of interviews, the questions are aimed to promote in-depth discussion rather than gather quick and to-the-point information. Leuzzi gets up close and personal with the writers and their writing process, doing an extensive amount of research and planning before each interview to get the best of each poet. The results are fascinating, and we'd like to share some of the best with you.
Here are some quotes from Passwords Primeval:
Peter Davis:
"To me, real beauty develops from some sort of flaw, some sort of limitation that is twisted into something new and surprising. I like art that uses its own flaws to elevate itself—to turn every weakness into a strength."
Gary Young:
"The problem, and one of the joys of writing poetry, is that none of us can really count on entering the canon. The chances are that none of our work will survive long after we’re gone. That’s just the way it is. To feel otherwise is foolish. We write in competition with the dead for the attention of the unborn."
Robert Gluck:
"Each poem is an instance of possession. When you read someone in a deep way your thoughts and your rhythms are taken over."
Scott Cairns:
"The goal of poetry is primarily to observe the beautiful, to glimpse the beautiful. That’s why I’m doing it anyway—to serve my own desire to glimpse the beautiful. It’s gravy if anyone else bothers with them."
Stephen Dobyns:
"Poetry is not a form that is embraced wholeheartedly by many. So I have had to imagine that there is someone out there who is listening, which is basically a paranoid thought."
Don't prove Dobyns paranoid thought right--be the first to check out this inspiring and thoughtful piece of literature when it becomes available!
Excited yet? Look for more news about our latest in-the-works, and make sure to check back for more quotes from Passwords Primeval!
- Categories: BOA News