BOA Blog

“America made us heroines/not wives” An exclusive Publishers Weekly interview with Kevin Young and Michael S. Glaser, co-editors of The Collected Poems of Lucille Clifton 1965-2010, was in the PW spotlight of Monday's issue. While Kevin Young discusses Lucille Clifton’s mentoring and literary influence, Michael Glaser talks about their enduring friendship. Ultimately, the co-editors and friends of Ms. Clifton tell about "the labor of love that this book represents." This new interview offers insight into the landmark volume The Collected Poems of Lucille Clifton 1965-2010 (BOA, 2012), spirit writing, the “lost poems” of Clifton, and the late poet’s literary legacy....

Want to make August hum a little longer? Join award-winning BOA poet Dorianne Laux and novelist Cai Emmons on Late Night Library, the all-hours home of debut fiction and poetry, as they discuss Keetje Kuipers’ debut poetry collection Beautiful in the Mouth (BOA, 2010). While poet Thomas Lux praises Kuipers for her “boldness of imagination… strange cadences, and wild music” in her collection, Laux and Emmons "will look at the strong and contrasting sense of place in Kuiper's work as well as the poet's deft use of language and haunting imagery." When: August 31 Where: Listen live or download the...

Every fall, poets and readers alike gather in New York City for the Poets Forum, a three-day celebration of poetry hosted by the American Academy of Poets. This year, the 6th annual Poets Forum will take place October 18-20 on the campuses of New York University and The New School, and will feature over 30 major American poets, including BOA poets Naomi Shihab Nye and Craig Morgan Teicher! Forum events include a Chancellor's reading by the Academy's fifteen Chancellors (including Nye), a series of discussion panels with major poets on topics and issues in contemporary poetry, guided walking tours revisiting...

The Washington Post turned their book pages over to poetry yesterday and The Collected Poems of Lucille Clifton 1965-2010 was the star. Calling her works “small, precise, and chiseled,” the review aptly notes the synonymy between the personal and the political in Ms. Clifton’s poetry, as well as the complexity and intelligence thriving beneath a guise of simplicity. While her poetry is often associated with the African American experience, The Washington Post calls that characterization “limiting and unfair,” claiming that her later works extend “beyond the interests or history of any particular cultural community.” Instead, her innovative poetry seeks to...

If you've been anywhere near a television, computer, magazine stand, radio, or have stepped outside your house within the past month, it's probable that you've been exposed to the Olympic fever. One of the greatest examples of international cooperation and achievement, the Olympics are a true testament to human accomplishment. (It also doesn't hurt that they're so darn exciting to watch!) In the era of superstar-athletes and tweet-worthy national rivalries, there is also a creative ancient Olympic tradition that has, to some extent, fallen by the wayside; it is a tradition of poetry walking hand-in-hand with Olympic sport. This year,...