BOA Blog

Voices de la Luna calls Jim Daniels a "true master" of his art; and his latest poetry collection Birth Marks (BOA, 2013) displays just that. "Reading Jim Daniels' poems... reminds us that we are facing a muse, a working class poet who speaks from the alleys of Detroit or the narrow country road when he crosses the country with his bike ... I'm mesmerized by the poems in his latest collection, Birth Marks. When it comes to rendering serious poetry, Daniels is a true master who can produce remarkable passages...The poems are from the city streets, from Detroit, and are...

Christine Cody from Gently Read Literature calls Anne Germanacos In the Time of the Girls  (BOA, 2010) "contemporary and timeless." Recalling her first encounter with Germanacos, Cody says: "BOA Editions... builds stunningly gorgeous books. I can recognize their logo, a black and white rendering of Orpheus playing his lyre, from several shelves away. This sometimes is how I select books from the library—not by author, nor by title, but by beloved, trusted small press. And this is how Anne Germanacos found me. A painting by Belinda Bryce of a red dress and a tiny lamb, against a black background graces the front...

   We are thrilled to announce to you that Jillian Weise has been awarded the 2013 James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets for her second poetry collection The Book of Goodbyes (BOA Editions, 2013). Established in 1954, the James Laughlin Award is given annually to recognize and support the year’s most outstanding second book by a U.S. poet. It is the only second-book award for poetry in the United States. As recipient of the award, Jillian Weise will receive a $5,000 prize from the Academy of American Poets. The award ceremony will be held on October 25,...

We are proud to announce that Bruce Beasley's Theophobia (BOA, 2012) has been named a finalist for The Washington State Book Award (Poetry), alongside: Raptor by Andrew Feld (The University of Chicago Press); Here I Throw Down My Heart by Colleen J. McElroy (University of Pittsburgh Press); and Lacemakers by Claire McQuerry (Southern Illinois University Press). Plume by Kathleen Flenniken (University of Washington Press) took home the prize. The Washington State Book Award (formerly the Governor's Writers Award) is given annually for outstanding books published by Washington authors the previous year. The WSBA winners and finalists will be honored at a Book Awards...

In a West Branch Wired review of The Hands of Strangers: Poems from the Nursing Home, Janice Harrington is compared to late political poet Adrienne Rich, for her concern with "how the intersection of the personal and political engenders human dignity." Rich made her mark by adopting "increasingly radical forms in order to better advocate for the disenfranchised." According to the review, The Hands of Strangers shares a "commitment" that Rich also adhered to: "the shattering of a particular kind of silence." "Winding through nursing homes' sanitized rooms and hallways, The Hands of Strangers makes a study of women and...