Shadows of Words: Our Twelfth Annual Look at Debut Poets
Our annual look at the most exciting first books of poetry published in 2016, including Night Sky With Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong and nine others.
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Article Archive
Articles from Poet & Writers Magazine include material from the print edition plus exclusive online-only material.
The Deepest Stuff: A Q&A With Susan Orlean
The New Yorker staff writer and bestselling author of The Orchid Thief talks with musician Ben Arthur about her music, inspiration, distraction, adaptation, and her new book about the Los Angeles Public Library fire in 1986.
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The Heart-Work: Writing About Trauma as a Subversive Act
Writing about trauma is sometimes called “navel-gazing,” particularly for women writers. An essayist and memoirist confronts this stigma, and calls on writers to explore their personal traumas and truths.
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Agent Advice: Anna Ghosh of Ghosh Literary
Anna Gosh answers readers’ questions—from why poetry agents are seemingly nonexistent to whether or not it is possible to be “too young to write.”
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Writing the Self: Some Thoughts on Words and Woe
A writer recalls his family’s history of depression as well as his own, and explores how writing through the darkest periods can serve as inspiration.
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Q&A: Hayden Leads America’s Library
Carla Hayden, the nation’s new Librarian of Congress, talks about her role and what she hopes to achieve during her tenure. Hayden is the first woman, and the first African American, to hold the position.
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The Written Image: The Art of the Affair
Novelist Catherine Lacey’s latest book, The Art of the Affair: An Illustrated History of Love, Sex, and Artistic Influence, maps romantic entanglements, collaborations, and friendships between famous writers and artists, and features original artwork by Forsyth Harmon.
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Literary MagNet: Aaron Gilbreath
Literary MagNet highlights an author alongside the journals that have published that author’s work. This issue’s MagNet features Aaron Gilbreath, who takes us through five journals that first published essays appearing in his debut essay collection, Everything We Don’t Know (Curbside Splendor).
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Sharing Louisville’s Untold Stories
The Louisville Story Program, a nonprofit dedicated to publishing unheard voices in Louisville, Kentucky, focuses on book projects in which community members tell their stories. Their latest project, We Can Hear You Just Fine: Clarifications From the Kentucky School for the Blind, features essays from seven visually impaired teenagers.
Page One: Where New and Noteworthy Books Begin
With so many good books being published every month, some literary titles worth exploring can get lost in the stacks. Page One highlights the first lines of a dozen recently released books, including Roxane Gay’s Difficult Women and Kevin Wilson’s Perfect Little World, offering a glimpse into the worlds of these new and noteworthy titles.
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Muslim Americans Take the Mic
“The M Word: Muslim Americans Take the Mic,” a new series of readings and events from PEN America, aims to give voice to Muslim American writers and advance the conversation about the challenges that Muslims face today.
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Dear Readers, You Are Not Alone
A new literary trend is gaining traction across the country: Silent Book Clubs, parties in which a group of people gather at a bar, library, or private home to read together silently.
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Small Press Points: Phoneme Media
Small Press Points highlights the innovation and can-do spirit of independent presses. This issue features Los Angeles–based Phoneme Media, which publishes poetry in translation, with a focus on books from lesser-known countries and those written in uncommon languages like Isthmus Zapotec and Uyghur.
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Widening the Path: The Importance of Publishing Black Writers
Novelist Elizabeth Nunez discusses the historical and contemporary challenges that Black writers face in the publishing industry, and urges publishers to address those challenges by publishing more diverse authors.
Q&A: John Freeman Reimagines the Journal
John Freeman, founder and editor of the new biannual Freeman’s, discusses his goals for the journal, including durability, an international focus, expansive themes, and superlative storytelling.
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Writing Programs That Fit the Form
At community writing centers across the country, new workshop models offer sustained support for writers undertaking book-length projects, including novels and memoirs, satisfying a demand left unmet by MFA programs and shorter-term writing courses.
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Literary MagNet
Literary MagNet highlights an author alongside the journals that have published that author’s work. This issue’s MagNet features poet Paisley Rekdal, who takes us through five journals that first published poems appearing in her forthcoming collection, Imaginary Vessels.
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The Shakespeare Sonnet Project
The New York Shakespeare Exchange is working with filmmakers and directors to produce collaborative video adaptations of Shakespeare’s sonnets, bringing the Bard’s timeless poems to a new audience.
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Lit Mag Gives Voice to Homeless
Now in its fifth year, the Pilgrim features original writing from members of Boston’s homeless community, who come together on a weekly basis to share their stories, hone their craft, and support each other’s personal and literary growth.
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Agents & Editors: Rob Spillman
Editor Rob Spillman talks Tin House—the magazine, the books, the summer workshop—and the pleasures, perils, and surprises of independent publishing.
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Nine New Lit Mags You Need to Read
The next generation of literary journals—including these nine new publications, all founded within the past two years—is bringing new voices and editorial visions to a traditional form.
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5 Over 50 Reads 2016
Read excerpts of the debut books by 2016’s 5 Over 50: Desiree Cooper, Sawnie Morris, Paul Vidich, Paula Whyman, and Paul Hertneky.
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Page One: Where New and Noteworthy Books Begin
With so many good books being published every month, some literary titles worth exploring can get lost in the stacks. Page One highlights the first lines of a dozen recently released books, including Zadie Smith’s Swing Time and Fanny Howe’s The Needle’s Eye, offering a glimpse into the worlds of these new and noteworthy titles.
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The Written Image: The African Svelte
Writer and editor Daniel Menaker compiles over one hundred amusing verbal blunders in his new book, The African Svelte: Ingenious Misspellings That Make Surprising Sense (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016), illustrated by New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast.
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