Azar Nafisi’s AWP Keynote, Anticipated Poetry of 2017, and More
Javier Marias on fiction and politics; the social-media team behind the Merriam-Webster dictionary; the resurgence of aphorisms; and other news.
Genre: Poetry
Sondheim Receives PEN Literary Service Award, Artistic Paralysis, and More
How many exclamation points to use in fiction; Swansea University announces the longlist for the 2017 International Dylan Thomas Prize; fiction writer William Melvin Kelley has died; and other news.
Inventory
Caption:
“We gaze into your eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes. / We forget the display is blind.” Sandra Beasley, winner of the 2008 Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award in poetry, reads “Inventory” from her third poetry collection, Count the Waves (Norton, 2015).
Genre:
PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grants Announced
PEN America has announced the recipients of the annual PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grants. This year the judges awarded fifteen grants of $3,870 each to assist in the completion of translation projects spanning thirteen different languages. PEN also announced the winner of the inaugural $5,000 Grant for the English Translation of Italian Literature.
The 2017 PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grant recipients are:
Nick Admussen for his translation from the Chinese of Ya Shi’s poetry collection Floral Mutter
Polly Barton for her translation from the Japanese of Misumi Kubo’s novel Cowards Who Looked to the Sky
Elizabeth Bryer for her translation from the Spanish of Aleksandra Lun’s novel The Palimpsests
Vitaly Chernetsky for his translation from the Ukrainian of Sophia Andrukhovych’s novel Felix Austria
Iain Galbraith for his translation from the German of Raoul Schrott’s Selected Poems
Michelle Gil-Montero for her translation from the Spanish of Valerie Mejer Caso’s poetry collection Edinburgh Notebook
Sophie Hughes for her translation from the Spanish of Alia Trabucco Zerán’s debut novel, The Remainder
Elisabeth Jaquette for her translation from the Arabic of Rania Mamoun’s story collection Thirteen Months of Sunrise
Kira Josefsson for her translation from the Swedish of Pooneh Rohi’s novel The Arab
Adam Morris for his translation from the Portuguese of Beatriz’s Bracher novel I Didn’t Talk
Kaitlin Rees for her translation from the Vietnamese of Nhã Thuyên’s poetry collection A Parade
Dayla Rogers for her translation from the Turkish of Kemal Varol’s novel Wûf
Christopher Tamigi for his translation from the Italian of Mauro Covacich’s novel In Your Name
Manjushree Thapa for her translation from the Nepali of Indra Bahadur Rai’s novel There’s a Carnival Today
Joyce Zonana for her translation from the French of Tobie Nathan’s novel This Land That Is Like You
The recipient of the inaugural $5,000 PEN Grant for the English Translation of Italian Literature is Douglas Grant Heise, for his translation of Luigi Malerba’s novel, Ithaca Forever.
PEN’s prize advisory board selected the fifteen grantees from a pool of 224 applicants. For more information about the winners and the Translation Fund, which is now in its fourteenth year, visit PEN’s website.
Salman Rushdie’s Next Novel, Immigrant Poets, and More
The reading styles of slam poets versus page poets; tips and strategies for surviving AWP; John Rechy on mystery in fiction; and other news.
Ox-Bow Fall Writers Residency
The Ox-Bow School of Art offered two-, three-, and five-week residencies from September 7 to October 11 to poets, fiction writers, and nonfiction writers on the Ox-Bow campus in Saugatuck, Michigan, located near the shores of Lake Michigan and the Kalamazoo River. Residents were provided with private lodging, work space, and meals. Stipends for travel, supplies, and time away from work were also available. Writers submitted up to 15 pages of poetry or prose, a brief project description, a statement of purpose, a résumé, and contact information for two references by May 2.
Type:
RESIDENCY
Ignore Event Date Field?:
yes
Event Date:
July 31, 2025
Rolling Admissions:
ignore
Application Deadline:
July 31, 2025
Financial Aid?:
no
Financial Aid Application Deadline:
July 31, 2025
Free Admission:
yes
Contact Information:
Ox-Bow Fall Writers Residency, Ox-Bow School of Art, 3435 Rupprecht Way, P.O. Box 216, Saugatuck, MI 49453. (269) 857-5811.
Contact City:
Saugatuck
Contact State:
MI
Contact Zip / Postal Code:
49453
Country:
US
The Legacy of Laura Ingalls Wilder, Poet Thomas Lux Has Died, and More
The books Steven Bannon reads; Paul Auster on solitude and his 866-page novel; Tongue relaunches; and other news.
Thomas Lux
Caption:
“The voice you hear when you read to yourself / is the clearest voice: you speak it / speaking to you.” In this 2010 video, Thomas Lux reads a selection of poems for Georgia Institute of Technology's Poetry at Tech. Lux passed away at the age of seventy on February 5, 2017.
Genre:
The Bop
The Bop is a form of poetic argument consisting of three stanzas, each followed by a repeated line or refrain. The first stanza is six lines and presents a problem; the second stanza is eight lines and further expands upon the problem; and the third stanza is six lines and either resolves or documents the failure of resolving the problem. Read a Bop poem by Afaa Michael Weaver, who created the form during a Cave Canem writing retreat, and then try writing your own.
Celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday Through the Arts
Brenda Collins was raised, educated, and currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia. She holds the position of Community Relations Chair at the Shambhala Meditation Center of Atlanta.
“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.”
―Thomas Merton, No Man Is an Island (Harcourt, Brace, 1955)
At the Shambhala Meditation Center of Atlanta, we create activities to support the primary focus of the Community Relations Committee—to bridge communities together for the purpose of creating a culture of kindness. We host events that foster cultural understanding through the arts and conversations about race relations, environmental issues, economic disparity, gender issues, the criminal justice system, sexual orientation, education, and more.
We decided there was no better way to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday than through the arts. We were granted the opportunity with the support of Poets & Writers to honor this day, January 15, with poets, musicians, and performers from all walks of life. Featured poets and performers included Srimati Shahina Lakhani, Nnenne Onyicha-Clayton, Debra Hiers, Waqas Khwaja, BMichelle Tilman, A’nji Sarumi, Jennifer Denning, and the Atlanta Interplay Performers. The Interplay Performers used improvisational tools to express themselves in the moment. The poets read their own works, as well as the work of others revealing their own voices of wisdom.
This event included an open mic and a reflective conversation segment, which directly connected to the conversations the Shambhala Meditation Center hosts about issues that are important to the people of our city and our world. These topics include income disparity, a sustainable relationship with our environment, and improving our many broken systems (i.e. criminal justice, healthcare, education).
From Pakistan to Islam, from Europe to America, all forms of expression were heard and human emotions were experienced leaving us with hope and a sense of renewal. People were so inspired, they did not want to leave. They wanted to continue expressing themselves through poetry and other forms of art. The most memorable moment, for me, was when we all formed a circle for a unity prayer and improvisation session led by BMichelle Tilman.
I thank Poets & Writers for their support in making this project a success, bringing hope and inspiration to all of humanity.
Photo: Brenda Collins. Photo credit: Florence Lemon.
Support for Readings & Workshops events in Atlanta, Georgia is provided by an endowment established with generous contributions from the Poets & Writers Board of Directors and others. Additional support comes from the Friends of Poets & Writers.
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