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Writers on their favorite books of 2018; Mystery Writers of America rescind prize from Linda Fairstein; Jericho Brown and Tracy K. Smith talk poetry; and other news.
Space Cowboy Books is a science fiction bookstore in Joshua Tree, California. Open since 2016, the bookstore hosts readings, book launches, movie screenings, art shows, and live music.
“I can’t remember the last time / someone commented on my sunny disposition. / That doesn’t mean I’m not trying to juice / the sun for every holy drop.” In this video, Andrea Gibson reads “Living Proof” from their poetry collection Lord of the Butterflies (Button Poetry, 2018) at the Westcott Theater in Syracuse, New York.
“I pay attention to what requires courage to say, and I do my best to try to say it.” —Andrea Gibson, author of Lord of the Butterflies
“I have always grown up in a world where there were things one did not understand, because there were languages that were not completely accessible,” said Meena Alexander in an interview with Ruth Maxey for the Kenyon Review in 2005. “It just gives you a particular sense of being in a world where you can be comfortable even though linguistically the world is not really knowable.” Write a poem that touches upon something unknown or that you may have misunderstood in the past. With the help of a dictionary or online research, try incorporating words from a language you are unfamiliar with to add to the ambiguity.
“There’s something in the lyric moment that really ruptures the taken for granted-ness of the world.” Meena Alexander discusses her writing process, artistic collaborations, and the sensory experience of being a poet in this 2015 interview for CUNY TV. The author of five books of poetry, including most recently Atmospheric Embroidery (TriQuarterly Books, 2018), Alexander died at the age of sixty-seven on November 21, 2018.
“I do come back to poets from the Caribbean especially, who gave me permission to be a writer.” In this interview with City of Asylum, Kwame Dawes talks about the writers whose work he revisits, his writing routine, and why he doesn’t use the word “inspiration.” Dawes is the editor in chief of Prairie Schooner and is featured in “Telling a Different Story: How to Cultivate Inclusivity at Literary Magazines” in the November/December issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.
Barnes & Noble will open ten to fifteen new stores in 2019; BuzzFeed News surveys more than 1,400 librarians about their work; a store of rare Black books opens in Atlanta; and other news.
Founded in 1997 with three floors of books and media, Prospero’s Books is housed in a historic 1890 building in Kansas City, Missouri. The store hosts readings, book releases, and other performance events.
Rainy Day Books is a full-line, full-service bookstore, carrying an array of carefully selected new books for adults and children alike. This bookstore hosts more than three hundred author events each year. Since Vivien Jennings first opened the doors in 1975, Rainy Day Books has provided the Greater Kansas City community with a gathering place, a wellspring for ideas and creative thought, and an ongoing voice for literacy and awareness.
