Ten Questions for Phillip B. Williams
“I would write the scene and shake my head in disbelief that a character wanted to do that.” —Phillip B. Williams, author of Ours
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Article Archive
Articles from Poet & Writers Magazine include material from the print edition plus exclusive online-only material.
Crayoned Fire: In Praise of Book-Length Poems
The author of Midwhistle explores the power of the epic poem.
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Book Sanctuary Movement Grows
In response to the nationwide book-banning movement, libraries and other literary institutions are adopting the “sanctuary” label to show their commitment to protecting book access for readers.
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Page One: Where New and Noteworthy Books Begin
The first lines of a dozen noteworthy books, including There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension by Hanif Abdurraqib and Glitter Road by January Gill O’Neil.
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Writers Collaborate for Authors Guild
At a time when the writing world faces serious challenges, the coauthored novel Fourteen Days brings together thirty-six noted writers to raise money for the Authors Guild and its battle against book bans and copyright infringement.
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The Anthologist: A Compendium of Uncommon Collections
An introduction to four new anthologies, including The Weird Sister Collection: Writing at the Intersections of Feminism, Literature, and Pop Culture and You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World.
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Small Press Points: Bull City Press
With an all-volunteer staff and a “pay what you want” policy for select titles, Bull City Press is dedicated to concise expression and making great books available to anyone who wants to read them.
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Literary MagNet: Nicole Haroutunian
The writer behind Choose This Now, a novel-in-stories, introduces some of the journals that first published her work, including Pigeon Pages and Joyland.
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The Written Image: The Backyard Bird Chronicles
A testament to best-selling novelist Amy Tan’s obsession with birds, The Backyard Bird Chronicles spotlights hundreds of excerpts of illustrations and prose from Tan’s observations over the years.
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Q&A: Francisco Aragón of Letras Latinas
The founder and director of Letras Latinas, the literary arm of the Institute for Latino Studies at the University of Notre Dame, reflects on twenty years of groundbreaking work and what’s next for the organization.
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Agents & Editors: Tanya McKinnon
The principal agent of McKinnon Literary talks about how publishing can be a form of activism, the different ways agents and authors can use comp titles, and how the future of the book business still holds many wonderful possibilities.
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Ghosted: How an Agent Helped Me Write About My Disability—Then Disappeared
Rejection of your work can be crushing, especially when the subject of your writing is personal. A writing teacher and book coach recounts her experience being guided and then stood up by an agent who expressed interest in her book.
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Ten Questions for Omotara James
“Your instinct to wait to publish is right. You only get one debut.” —Omotara James, author of Song of My Softening
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What Herbie Hancock Taught Me About Formal Poetry
The author of Midwhistle contemplates the common ground between jazz music and poetry.
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Ten Questions for Margot Livesey
“The computer I write on is never allowed to go online.” —Margot Livesey, author of The Road From Belhaven
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Approaches to Titling Your Poem
The author of Midwhistle considers how a poem’s title can frame, deepen, or complicate the reader’s experience of it.
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The Antithesis of Inspiration: Why ChatGPT Will Never Write a Literary Masterpiece
Even though ChatGPT can replicate and regurgitate the texts it has consumed, it still lacks the unique inspiration that lived experience provides for writers. A teacher of creative writing puts the AI chatbot to the test.
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Ten Questions for Diana Khoi Nguyen
“Don’t stop writing, no matter what.” —Diana Khoi Nguyen, author of Root Fractures
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Ten Questions for Zachary Pace
“In the intimacy of the book, I feel very vulnerable.” —Zachary Pace, author of I Sing to Use the Waiting: A Collection of Essays About the Women Singers Who’ve Made Me Who I Am
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Family Stories: Alternatives for Load-Bearing Clichés
The author of Family Family explores why tired tropes proliferate in fiction—and how to avoid them.
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Ten Questions for Kimberly Blaeser
“I tend to expect the path to be straightforward. It seldom is.” —Kimberly Blaeser, author of Ancient Light
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Ten Questions for Cynthia Zarin
“Start with what interests you, and keep going.” —Cynthia Zarin, author of Inverno
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It Takes a Lot of Nerve: A Q&A With Bonnie Jo Campbell
Award-winning author Bonnie Jo Campbell discusses magical realism, balancing hot button issues, and the resilient and rascally women in her latest novel, The Waters.
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Ten Questions for Erika Howsare
“By the time I finished I actually felt that the topic had chosen me.” —Erika Howsare, author of The Age of Deer: Trouble and Kinship With Our Wild Neighbors
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Ten Writers on Writing Advice: 2023
Ten authors answer the question: What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received?
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