Ten Questions for Akwaeke Emezi
“Having to insist on that center and refuse, over and over again, to compromise the work in service of a white gaze was one of the most brutal experiences of my career.” —Akwaeke Emezi, author of Dear Senthuran
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Radical Poetry Reading
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In this virtual event for the Brooklyn Rail, Jorie Graham curates the thirty-fifth installment of the Radical Poetry Reading series focused around the topics of illness, injustice, and truth featuring poets Jericho Brown, Victoria Chang, Forrest Gander, D. A. Powell, and Claudia Rankine.
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Demystifying the Agent Search
Join Michael Bourne, a contributing editor of Poets & Writers Magazine, on Saturday, July 10, at 3PM ET for “Demystifying the Agent Search,” a ninety-minute online class designed for writers who are ready to approach agents for representation. In this session we’ll drill deep on how literary agencies work, how to get on gatekeepers’ radar, how to craft a query, and how to find an agent who is right for you, with plenty of time to field your questions.
How the Word Is Passed: Clint Smith in Conversation With Destiny O. Birdsong
Join poet and scholar Clint Smith and poet and novelist Destiny O. Birdsong for a reading and discussion of Smith’s new book, How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America, on Thursday, July 8, at 7PM EDT.
Writer Mother Monster: Stephanie Burt
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“I was raised with the expectation that I would excel in a career and have time left over for kids, rather than the reverse, because the people who raised me didn’t know I was a girl.” In this episode of the Writer Mother Monster podcast, Stephanie Burt discusses gender, motherhood, and writing with host Lara Ehrlich. Ehrlich, author of Animal Wife (Red Hen Press, 2020), speaks about the origins of her podcast in a Q&A in the May/June issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.
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Pamela Sneed With Tommy Pico
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“If we are always the threat / To whom or where do we turn for protection?” In this Litquake festival video from 2020, Pamela Sneed reads from her book Funeral Diva (City Light Books, 2020), for which she won the 2021 Lambda Literary Award’s lesbian poetry prize, and speaks with Tommy Pico about breaking apart genres and writing about pandemics.
Punctuation
In an article published by Literary Hub, Emily Temple compiles statements by famous writers on what their most loved and hated punctuation marks are, including Donald Barthelme on hating the semicolon, R. L. Stine on loving the em-dash, and Toni Morrison fighting over commas. In each, there is a distinct preoccupation the writers have with the technical and emotional resonances the given punctuation mark has on their prose, often revealing how they compose their sentences. Write a statement for each punctuation mark listed in the article—the semicolon, the exclamation point, the em-dash, the comma, the hyphen, and the period—characterizing the effect they have on your work. Do you use one more than the other? What does this say about your writing?
Artists on Writers: Wayne Koestenbaum and Anthony Roth Costanzo
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“The minute I’m within a sentence, I’m within an orbit of urgencies and rules that to some extent leave me in a position of caginess and wiliness,” says poet and critic Wayne Koestenbaum about the presence of spontaneity in writing in this conversation about fables, expressions of queerness, and process with countertenor and actor Anthony Roth Costanzo. The Artists on Writers | Writers on Artists series is coproduced by Artforum and Bookforum, and sponsored by the Morgan Library & Museum.
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Live Events Return to New Orleans
Now that many are getting vaccinated and New Orleans has its lowest number of COVID-19 cases since last year, I am expecting to see more in-person events happening in the city.
Arts and culture are the pulse of New Orleans and its economy. Many writers and artists have struggled during the pandemic, but this summer will usher in more outdoor events to showcase and support their work. In addition, the New Orleans Book Festival, the Louisiana Book Festival, and the New Orleans Words & Music Festival are just a few literary events that have recently announced dates for live events in the fall that you can plan to attend in person. In the meantime, you can always stop by a local bookstore to give them an economic boost and support your favorite authors. See the Literary Places database for bookstores to order books from or visit.
The pandemic showed us how technology can close the gap of social distancing and offer access to incredible virtual programming. We will likely see a combination of in-person and virtual events in the future, but I’m sure many of us are looking forward to taking part in live events, whether on a stage or in the audience. Whatever your comfort level may be for socializing, there are always plenty of ways to enjoy writing and support the literary community. Check out the Literary Events Calendar for upcoming readings, workshops, and other literary events.
Kelly Harris is the literary outreach coordinator for Poets & Writers in New Orleans. Contact her at [email protected] or on Twitter, @NOLApworg.Rita Dove Reads Ingeborg Bachmann
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“Whatever comes to pass: the devastated world / sinks back into twilight,” reads Rita Dove from the poem “My Bird” by Ingeborg Bachmann, translated from the German by Mark Anderson, at her study in Charlottesville, Virginia in this installment of the Paris Review’s Poets on Couches series. Get more inspiration from a writing prompt based on this poem in The Time Is Now.
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