Reviewers & Critics: Walton Muyumba
The critic on the importance of respecting the artist’s labor, reviewing books published by independent houses, and more.
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Articles from Poet & Writers Magazine include material from the print edition plus exclusive online-only material.
The critic on the importance of respecting the artist’s labor, reviewing books published by independent houses, and more.
The agent representing Chris Belcher, Kate Broad, Delia Cai, Duy Doan, and others offers advice about working with a coauthor, changing a memoir to fiction, why agents don’t consider previously published work, and how to become an agent.
Felicia Rose Chavez, Viet Thanh Nguyen, and Matthew Salesses join Namrata Poddar to discuss decolonizing the writing workshop and the effects of gatekeeping on BIPOC writers.
The author examines her personal relationship to the professional work of translation, forms of responsibility unique to the genre, and the complex notion of translation as a labor of love.
Kaveh Akbar, the author of Calling a Wolf a Wolf, returns with Pilgrim Bell, a collection of poems that dissolves the border between knowing and not knowing and interrogates ideals of justice, the self, and the divine.
Acclaimed author and agent Catherine Cho discusses her start as an agent; her decision to open her own agency, Paper Literary; and her advice for writers daunted by the process of finding representation.
In a new graphic novel, comic artist Theo Ellsworth adapts Jeff VanderMeer’s tale of a mysterious building where “office culture” connotes secret languages and unspoken rituals.
The author of the new poetry collection Gumbo Ya Ya discusses four journals that first published their work, including BOAAT, TriQuarterly, Southeast Review, and Ploughshares.
The nonprofit press in Asheville, North Carolina, publishes eight poetry, fiction, and nonfiction books a year with a mission to bring an inclusive ethos to books illuminating “the life of the spirit.”
In a new memoir, Poet Warrior, published by W. W. Norton in September, U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo travels the roads, rivers, and rhythms of her life, taking readers on a journey across generations.
Roxane Gay Books, a new imprint of Grove Atlantic, will publish three books a year in a variety of genres, with the author herself casting a wide net in terms of the submissions she’s seeking and dispensing with the usual requirements.
Artist Nathan Langston put a unique spin on a game of Telephone by using a fragment of poetry to inspire one artist then another—growing into a multifaceted project with contributions from artists from seventy-two countries.
To recruit talented BIPOC professionals into literary agenting and ensure social justice in the field, Literary Agents of Change offers a paid internship program as well as a mentorship program focusing on retention.
“Combining unsparing humor with heart is a superpower.” —Jaime Cortez, author of Gordo
Tomás Q. Morín’s Machete, forthcoming from Knopf on October 12, 2021.
“I write when an idea, story, or book commands me to.” —Louis Edwards, author of Ramadan Ramsey
Okezie Nwọka’s God of Mercy, forthcoming from Astra House on November 2, 2021.
“Show up no matter what so your writing knows you are there.” —Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi, author of Savage Tongues
The author of Southbound and The Parted Earth makes time for both community organizing and writing.
Victoria Chang’s Dear Memory: Letters on Writing, Silence, and Grief, forthcoming from Milkweed Editions on October 12, 2021.
“The hardest part of writing Virga was finding the courage to be vulnerable on the page.” —Shin Yu Pai, author of Virga
The author of Southbound and The Parted Earth writes about how authenticity editors have helped enrich her work in all genres.
Andrea Abi-Karam’s Villainy, forthcoming from Nightboat Books on September 14, 2021.
“I only write about the things that haunt me in some way.” —Katie Kitamura, author of Intimacies
The author of Southbound and The Parted Earth shares her approach to balancing projects in multiple genres.