Brave Words: On Jan Beatty’s “Red Sugar” and Finding Courage in Poetry
Lesley Wheeler reckons with vulnerability, loss, and family through a close reading of Jan Beatty’s poem “Red Sugar."
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Article Archive: Online Exclusive
Articles from Poet & Writers Magazine include material from the print edition plus exclusive online-only material.
Wildness and Containment: A Conversation on Formal Structure and Poetic Surprise
Jay Hopler and Kimberly Johnson discuss their new books, the techniques and craft decisions they used in writing these collections, and the occasion to which both books respond: Hopler’s diagnosis of terminal prostate cancer in 2017.
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Stories Around the Campfire: A Q&A With Leigh Newman
Leigh Newman discusses her short story collection, Nobody Gets Out Alive, and the wild terrains of parenthood, Alaska, and the emotional lives of her characters.
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The Superpower of New Zealand Poetry: A Q&A With Kate Camp
The 2021 guest editor of Ōrongohau: Best New Zealand Poems 2021 discusses the editorial process behind the anthology and what it reveals about contemporary New Zealand poetry.
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Finding and Amplifying New Voices: Affecting Change as an Editor
Sally Kim, senior vice president and publisher of G. P. Putnam’s Sons, on amplifying her own voice to amplify the voices of others.
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National Book Foundation Unveils New Science + Literature Program
A collaboration between the National Book Foundation and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Science + Literature highlights three books a year that deepen readers’ understanding of science and technology.
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All the Secrets of the World
An excerpt from All the Secrets of the World by Steve Almond, who writes in the March/April 2022 issue about the unpublished novels he wrote before this one, all of which were essential to showing him his ultimate job as a writer.
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Running a Marathon: Writing Lessons in 26.2 Miles
An author finds similarities between training for a marathon and finishing a book: Both require stamina, perseverance, good habits, maybe a ritual or two, and the ability to keep fear at bay.
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The Art of Revision: Black Box
An excerpt from The Art of Revision: The Last Word by Peter Ho Davies, published in November 2021 by Graywolf Press.
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The Legacy of June Jordan
An excerpt from The Essential June Jordan, edited by Jan Heller Levi and Christoph Keller and published in May by Copper Canyon Press.
Andy Weir and the Digital Revolution in Publishing
An excerpt from Book Wars: The Digital Revolution in Publishing, published in May by Polity.
Resources for Writers in Support of the AAPI Community
Resources and ideas for volunteering, donating, reading, writing, and taking action to support the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.
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On Teaching While Black in the Time of COVID and Emboldened Racism
What is the role of a teacher during a pandemic? What is the role of a Black woman teaching in a red state during the Trump presidency? A poet, essayist, and professor considers the unpaid labor of women and faculty of color.
The Workshop Should Be a Model of Diversity—It’s Not
The novelist and author of Craft in the Real World traces the historical origins of the creative writing workshop and its tradition of silencing writers of color.
Agents & Editors: Sarah McGrath
The editor in chief of Riverhead Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House, talks about her start in publishing, acquiring books, editing as a creative process, and more.
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Ten Author Readings to Mark the End of 2020
Ten author readings that reflect the beauty, hope, resilience, and strength of writers to confront the failures of the past and to rejoice in the promise of what lies ahead.
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Former Poets House Workers and Board Dispute Reasons for Suspension
A look inside the dispute between the former workers and board of Poets House over why the poetry nonprofit and library temporarily closed and laid off staff in November.
Poets House Suspends Operations
Poets House, a beloved New York City public poetry library, announced yesterday that it will suspend operations, effective immediately, due to financial issues brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Year of the Villain: Discovering the Engine of Story Through Your Antagonist
Valuable lessons about characterization, the fundamental core of storytelling, can be found in the panels of superhero comics.
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Balkan Spring: Report From Literary Sofia, Bulgaria
In a continuing series on international writing communities, contributing editor Stephen Morison Jr. spends time with writers in the capital city of Bulgaria.
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Unstoppable: The Writer’s Pursuit of Purpose
The author of Fifty Words for Rain reflects on learning to forge her own unique path through the world.
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Five Cinematic Author Events
For an alternative movie night, view these extended readings and conversations with literary luminaries Zadie Smith, Édouard Louis, Min Jin Lee, Ocean Vuong, and Joy Harjo.
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Five Hot Summer Fiction Readings
Leah Hampton’s F*ckface: And Other Stories, Megha Majumdar’s A Burning, Marie-Helene Bertino’s Parakeet, Karen Tei Yamashita’s Sansei and Sensibility, and C Pam Zhang’s How Much of These Hills Is Gold.
Sideways Ghost Stories: A Q&A With Laura van den Berg
The author of the story collection I Hold a Wolf by the Ears talks about ghost stories, writing in the direction of the unknowable, and creativity during quarantine.
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Zen and the Art of Quicksand: My Twenty-Three-Year Descent Into Literary Failure, Rejection, and Redemption
A novelist recalls the challenges and rewards of publishing a second novel—twenty-seven years after his debut.
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