BOA Blog

G.C. Waldrep's book-length poem, Testament, was recently praised in a new Ploughshares review, which calls the book "excellent."The review says: "Waldrep writes for the ear as well as the eye, embracing musicality more freely than many current poets," and that the influencers of this poem, Lisa Robertson, Carla Harryman, and Alice Noley, are of the same vein, though not in the same manner. "In Waldrep’s poem, although references to gender, capitalism, and race are frequent (likewise for history, faith, and the Trillingesque "moral imagination"), questions outnumber answers.”On the complexity of Waldrep’s style and scope, the review says: "The scope of...

Publishers Weekly has included Aracelis Girmay’s The Black Maria on its list of "The Most Anticipated Books of Spring 2016"! Out from BOA in April, Girmay's newest collection was one of only four poetry titles selected for the list."Culled from the 14,000+ titles in PW's Spring Announcements issue, we asked our reviews editors to pick the most notable books publishing in Spring 2016," says PW.Taking its name from the moon’s dark plains, misidentified as seas by early astronomers, The Black Maria investigates African diasporic histories, the consequences of racism within American culture, and the question of human identity. Central to...

Nguyen Phan Que Mai’s The Secret of Hoa Sen was recently praised as "powerful" by David Willson of the Vietnam Veterans of America.The review notes Que Mai’s ability to express unimaginable pain in such beauty: "'Quang Tri' is another powerful one, a poem of loss and death. It should be read by those who are ignorant of the human cost of the war for the Vietnamese. 'Babylift' also brings home, in a hard-hitting but poetic way, how good intentions often sow tragic consequences."Willson discusses the effect that Que Mai’s book can have on readers who themselves served during the Vietnam...

Ray Gonzalez's new collection Beautiful Wall is one of four finalists for the 2016 Minnesota Book Award for Poetry! Beautiful Wall, released by BOA last fall, is an exploration of life in the Southwest and Gonzalez’s Mexican ancestry and American childhood. The collection delves into the realities of life in an all-at-once beautiful and difficult place.Gonzalez is a finalist among Star Tribune journalists, several previous award winners, and the state poet laureate, Joyce Sutphen. All category winners will be announced on April 16 at the Minnesota Book Awards gala in St. Paul.Click here to see the Star Tribune's complete list...

Nickole Brown's Fanny Says has recently been included on two important lists: Over the Rainbow's "2016 Over the Rainbow List: 68 LGBT Books for Adult Readers," and Advocate’s “The 30 Best Books You Missed in 2015."According to Over the Rainbow, Fanny Says is "a biography of a fiesty, bawdy, grandmother told through the poetry of her granddaughter. Funny, powerful, and steeped in truth and love." The 2016 Over the Rainbow Project book list is sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table (GLBTRT) of the American Library Association (ALA).Advocate featured Fanny Says alongside Pelvis with Distance, a new collection...