BOA Blog

"'I still think it might have ruined the book if I’d known at the start how the story would end, and that’s one reason it needed to be fiction': Robert Thomas chats with Lynette D'Amico about his poetic new novel, Bridge (BOA Editions)."In a thorough and captivating interview with Lynette D'Amico of Fiction Writers Review, BOA author Robert Thomas talks about the cross-genre nature of Bridge; the fine lines between poetry, prose, and fiction; and the reasons why the book starts with a gun and ends with a gun.D'Amico says: "Bridge came as a complete surprise to me. A poet friend...

AWP 2016 is just around the corner! In honor of our 40th anniversary, BOA will be the Presenting Sponsor for this year's AWP Conference and Bookfair in Los Angeles from March 31 to April 2—and we are committed to making it an unforgettable experience.Our Bookfair booths this year will be 800 and 802 at the entrance, where we will have author signings, special book pricing, giveaways, and more! At the conference, we will also debut Li-Young Lee's new poetry chapbook, The Word from His Song, a limited edition collectible featuring eight new poems and a beautifully designed letterpress cover. See...

BOA Editions and the University of Rochester invite the public for a special poetry reading at the university's Rush Rhees Library on Wednesday, April 6, from 5:30pm - 7:00pm—during National Poetry Month.This celebratory kickoff to the university's BOA Editions exhibit—running through July 29, 2016—will commemorate BOA's milestone 40th anniversary, as well as the university's recent acquisition of the press' last decade of publishing archives. Bringing together many of Rochester's brightest lights—including Mayor Lovely Warren, writers, readers, students, professors, and media—the event will feature a group poetry reading with representatives from both the university and BOA communities, followed by a light...

Derrick Austin's highly-anticipated poetry collection Trouble the Water has been in the recent spotlight, garnering a rave review from Publishers Weekly, as well as a Booklist starred review.According to PW: "Austin maintains that fraught balancing act of being lighthearted, even convivial, in the face of worry and distress. He also deftly manipulates the tension between beauty and artlessness, sensitivity and violence."This collection is well-suited to readers prepared interrogate what they love and what they distrust. In Austin’s hands, the exquisite can be ominous while the grotesque can turn charming, and his poems wisely assert that the world is unforgiving and...

Aracelis Girmay's new collection the black maria just received a new starred review from Publishers Weekly, which calls the book a "collection of lyrical, image-thick poems that balance on the knife edge separating vulnerability and unapologetic strength."Deep, connecting, and sharp in its analysis, the review continues: "The lives of Eritrean refugees and immigrants serve as the collection’s thematic foundation, though Girmay also thoughtfully dissects and examines blights of America’s current sociopolitical climate, particularly police brutality and the murders of such young black women and men as Renisha McBride and Jonathan Ferrell. . . . Girmay effortlessly slips between collective history...