Q&A: Major Jackson of The Slowdown

Following poets laureate Ada Limón and Tracy K. Smith, poet Major Jackson steps into a new role as host of the celebrated podcast, sustaining and encouraging listeners to find new possibilities within poetry.
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Following poets laureate Ada Limón and Tracy K. Smith, poet Major Jackson steps into a new role as host of the celebrated podcast, sustaining and encouraging listeners to find new possibilities within poetry.
“One of the reasons that we write is to see the world reflected in a way that makes sense to us.” In this Furious Flower interview from 2015, Camille T. Dungy speaks about how editing the anthology Black Nature: Four Centuries of African American Nature Poetry (University of Georgia Press, 2009) helped articulate her views on nature poetry. A profile of Dungy by Renée H. Shea appears in the May/June issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.
The author of I Am the Most Dangerous Thing introduces five journals that first published their poems and engaged them in community, including Sixth Finch and Prelude.
The 2023 Orcas Island Lit Fest was held from June 2 to June 3 at the Orcas Center in Eastsound, Washington. The festival featured panel discussions, book signings, author interviews, readings, and live music for poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction writers. Participating writers included fiction writers Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Garth Stein, and Kirstin Valdez Quade; and nonfiction writer Gilbert King. The cost to attend the festival was $65. Registration was rolling through June 2. Visit the website for more information.
Orcas Island Lit Fest, P.O. Box 225, Eastsound, WA 98245.
The 2023 Wyoming Writers Conference was held from June 2 to June 4 at the Historic Plains Hotel in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The conference featured workshops in craft, marketing, and productivity for poets, fiction writers, and nonfiction writers, as well as publisher pitch sessions, roundtable critiques, and open mics. Participating writers included fiction writer Nina McConigley. Poet Matt Mason gave the keynote address. Participating publishing professionals included publisher Bernadette Soehner (5 Prince Publishing) and director of literary development Angie Hodapp (Nelson Literary Agency).
Wyoming Writers Conference, 109 East 17th Street, Suite #5921, Cheyenne, WY 82001.
The 2023 Wordplay festival was held on July 8 in and around Open Book, a literary center in Minneapolis, with some panels livestreamed for a virtual audience. The festival featured panel discussions, author interviews, interactive activities for children and adults, food trucks, and local artists. The theme for this year’s event was “Narrative Power.” Participating writers included poets and fiction writers Fatimah Asghar and Mahogany L.
Wordplay, Loft Literary Center, 1011 Washington Avenue South, Suite 200, Minneapolis, MN 55415. Claire Rekow-McKee, Events and Partnership Coordinator.
The 2023 Catamaran Writing Conference was held from July 30 to August 3 at the Robert Louis Stevenson School in Pebble Beach, California. The conference featured small group workshops, lectures, craft talks, and daily excursions for poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers. The faculty included poets Ellen Bass, Rebecca Foust, and Joseph Millar; fiction writers Josip Novakovich and Gina Ochsner; and creative nonfiction writers Charles Hood and Patrice Vecchione.
Catamaran Writing Conference, Catamaran, 1050 River Street, Studio 118, Santa Cruz, CA 95060.
Photo Credit: Brad Sharek
The 2023 Chautauqua Writers’ Festival was held from June 21 to June 24 at the historic Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York. The conference featured workshops in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, as well as readings and panel discussions. The theme for this year’s festival was “Hope and Its Entanglements.” The faculty included poets Leila Chatti and Oliver de la Paz and fiction writer Akil Kumarasamy. The keynote speaker was nonfiction writer Joseph Osmundson. The cost of the full conference was $500; the registration deadline was June 15.
Chautauqua Writers’ Festival, Chautauqua Institution, P.O. Box 28, One Ames Avenue, Chautauqua, NY 14722.
In her new Planetaria series, artist Monica Ong crafts visual poems in the form of objects that prompt the audience to experience poetry through the lens of astronomy.
A look at three new anthologies, including Between Paradise and Earth: Eve Poems and The Language of Trees: A Rewilding of Literature and Landscape.