BOA Blog

  Recently, book reviewer Craig Santos Perez interviewed Barbara Jane Reyes about her poetic process and recent book, Diwata, for part of his series through Jacket2, Last Commentator In Paradise. They talk extensively and thoughtfully about many elements of her creative process and focus. They talk also about where she's been, as a writer, and where she's going next. When asked about the mythos of her writing, she talks about the complexities of storytelling and perspective, and her great love of traditional storytelling methods. Among many other things, she says, "I am always looking for someone other than myself to...

[caption id="attachment_1038" align="aligncenter" width="241" caption="Barbara Jane Reyes. BOA Poet. Photo by Peter Dressel."][/caption] In Craig Santos Perez's recent interview,  Barbara Jane Reyes, author of Diwata,  discusses with her trademark candor and precision the origins of her poems, her relationship with the traditions of story-telling, and her ever expanding vision of poetry. The interview begins with an exploration of Barbara's cultural concerns in which she acknowledges that she is "always looking for someone other than [herself] to 'tell the story,' or to be the speaker," exploring those stories "within the context of these larger cultural and historical narratives." The scope of...

[caption id="attachment_1016" align="aligncenter" width="200" caption="Remnants of Another Age. Poems by Nikola Madzirov."][/caption]   3:AM Magazine writer SJ Fowler recently conducted an interview with BOA Editions poet Nikola Madzirov. Madzirov's new book, Remnants of Another Age, came out March 15th, but, as Fowler points out in his introduction, Madzirov is already a significant, seasoned author in Macedonia. The interviewer poses questions that span the length and breadth of Madzirov's poetic career, but also asks him to consider what it means to be a Macedonian poet, and what the feeling for poetry is in his home country. Madzirov's response is charcteristically lyric...

[caption id="attachment_1036" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Matthew Shenoda. BOA Poet "][/caption] Adrian Matejka recently interviewed Matthew Shenoda, author of Seasons of Louts, Seasons of Bone for the Ploughshares blog, noting that it is "[t]hrough Matthew's work, we learn poetry is both about speaking up and about surviving and as long as we do these things, 'they just cannot touch us.'" In the thought-provoking interview, Matthew's discussion with Adrian Matejka centers on the political dimensions of Matthew's writing, asking for Matthew's thoughts on the recent turmoil in Libya and Egypt as well as how the worlds of art and politics intersect.  For Matthew,...

The Black Warrior Review recently interviewed author G. C. Waldrep who responded openly and insightfully to prompts about his life and work.  In the interview, Waldrep discussed the effort and energy that went into his forthcoming collaboration with John Gallaher (Your Father on the Train of Ghosts) and also the difficulty of tandemly revising these poems. Waldrep also addresses his spirituality and his time spent living in the Amish community in an in-depth and reflective way.  As he says, "since [he] had devoted so much of [his] life at that point spiritually and temporally to community--not having a community, it was like...