BOA Blog

photo courtesy of poesiefestival.org In perhaps one of the coolest interviews we at BOA have heard in a long time, host and notable poet Ilya Kaminsky discusses with Nikola Madzirov, award-winning Macedonian poet and author of BOA book Remnants of Another Age, "the poetics of war and its aftermath, and the nature of memory and rediscovering." The extensive audio recording of the interview is truly a once-in-a-lifetime glimpse into linguistic, cultural, and historical concepts currently ongoing in the studies of so many scholars, all from the fascinating lived experiences and memories of Madzirov. Madzirov has been called "one of the...

Naomi Shihab Nye, called "one of the most spirited voices in American poetry" by The Philadelphia Inquirer, is consistently in the headlines for her newest collection of poetry, Transfer. While she has been best known for her poetry collections Fuel, You and Yours,  and an extensive list of other writings, The Philadelphia Inquirer calls Transfer (published by BOA in 2011) "her most powerful to date." Reviewer Thomas Devaney calls the collection an ongoing elegy, which draws on her Palestinian-American heritage to "[chart] three central journeys: the journey of her father’s life in exile in America, the journey of his death,...

[caption id="attachment_1515" align="alignleft" width="144" caption="Kim Addonizio, photo by Joe Allen"][/caption] Kim Addonizio released Tell Me in 2000. The title invites us to sit and let it all out... and that's exactly what Addonizio does. The poems in part 1, "The Singing," introduce us to Kim's" letting it out," night after night wondering who else is still awake in her neighborhood of bars and weary voices.  In "Target" Addonizio shoots a gun with so much satisfaction that we wonder when we'll get our chance to fire. Come to think of it, maybe it's about that time: It feels so good to shoot a gun, to stand with your...

Adam McOmber, BOA poet NewPages Book Reviews had high words for Adam McOmber's most recent short story collection, This New and Poisonous Air, which blends historical fiction with fantasy and the macabre. NewPages critic, Patricia Contino praises McOmber's eye for detail as well as his sense of storytelling, stating that "every page has a paragraph or more worth savoring." However, "McOmber's gift for detail never infringes on the narrative." Stories such as "Fall, Orpheum" - in which "a small town movie palace becomes the temple for an entire town’s devotion and sacrifice" - not only exemplify McOmber's sense of narrative...

[caption id="attachment_1015" align="aligncenter" width="200" caption="Your Father on the Train of Ghosts. Poems by G.C. Waldrep and John Gallaher."][/caption] Your Father on the Train of Ghosts is the culmination of a year-long exchange of poems between the poets John Gallaher and G.C. Waldrep.  Over the past few weeks, the poets discussed the process of this collaborative endeavor. The conversations have tread a wide range of territory, and now, in the final of those exchanges between Your Father on the Train of Ghosts authors  the pair revisit their haunting experience at The International Circus Hall of Fame, providing personal stories that helped...