Poets & Writers Theater

“If you’ve never read my work before, then I would hope when you read it, that you felt the way you did when you were a kid, that you felt a sense of wonder.” Kelly Link, a 2018 MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship recipient, talks about her literary influences and why she incorporates the fantastic into stories of contemporary life.

Kiese Laymon talks to Clemonce Heard about his debut memoir, Heavy: An American Memoir (Scribner, 2018), growing up in Mississippi, the influence of music on his writing, and reckoning with weight in all its different forms. Heavy is featured in Page One in the November/December issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

“It takes facility, it takes brilliance, it takes verve!” Marilyn Chin talks to Joseph Ross about what it takes to write poetry and reads poems from her fifth collection, A Portrait of the Self as Nation: New and Selected Poems (Norton, 2018), which is featured in Page One in the November/December issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

Beautiful Boy is adapted from the memoirs Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey Through His Son’s Addiction (Houghton Mifflin, 2008) by David Sheff and Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines (Antheneum Books for Young Readers, 2008) by Nic Sheff, and chronicles a family coping with addiction over many years. Starring Steve Carell, Timothée Chalamet, Amy Ryan, and Maura Tierney, the film is directed by Felix Van Groeningen.

At OneLife Institute’s World Peace Day event, Alice Walker reads “Loving Oakland” from her tenth poetry collection, Taking the Arrow Out of the Heart (37 INK, 2018), which is featured in Page One in the November/December issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

“That’s always the surprise to me, that I find myself in the middle of a subject that I had never anticipated.” In this video, Susan Orlean speaks about what led her to write The Library Book (Simon & Schuster, 2018), which explores her love of libraries and reexamines the historic 1986 fire at the Los Angeles Public Library. Orlean is profiled in the November/December issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

In this 2015 video, Jess Row reads from his debut novel, Your Face in Mine (Riverhead Books, 2014), for the Story Hour in the Library series at the University of California in Berkeley. Row is a recipient of the 2018 Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant for White Flights: Race, Fiction, and the American Imagination, forthcoming from Graywolf Press.

“Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand / A mighty woman with a torch...” Singer-songwriter Regina Spektor recites Emma Lazarus’s 1883 sonnet “The New Colossus,” and chats with Poetry in America television series host Elisa New about the value of poetry.

In this behind-the-scenes video from Penguin Random House, the multistep process of publishing a book is presented as it moves from author to reader, from manuscript editing and book design to distribution and bookstore sale. The book shown in the journey is the debut short story collection, Back Talk (Penguin Books, 2018), by Danielle Lazarin, who is featured in Literary MagNet in the January/February 2018 issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

“The Poet X is my third novel, but it’s the first one published.” At the New York State Writers Institute, Elizabeth Acevedo speaks about making the transition from poetry to fiction, facing rejection, and learning to persevere in the process of publishing her first novel, The Poet X (HarperTeen, 2018), which is longlisted for the 2018 National Book Award in young people’s literature.

“I love the intimacy of a novel and how it lets you get to know people.” Meg Wolitzer speaks about her writing process, the recognition of women writers, and her latest novel, The Female Persuasion (Riverhead Books, 2018), with PBS Newshour’s Jeffrey Brown. The rights for the novel were recently acquired by Amazon Studios and Nicole Kidman’s production company.

William Giraldi’s 2014 novel, Hold the Dark, has been adapted into a film for Netflix. Directed by Jeremy Saulnier, the film stars Riley Keough, Alexander Skarsgård, and Jeffrey Wright. Giraldi is a frequent contributor to Poets & Writers Magazine, most recently with “The Art of Reading James Baldwin” in the November/December 2017 issue.

“Mom always went up the mountain and down the valley so I decide that’s what we’ll do too.” Lydia Kiesling, a 2018 National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree, reads from her debut novel, The Golden State (MCD, 2018), for the ZYZZYVA series at Green Apple Books on the Park in San Francisco.

“I’m always sort of looking for the hidden story or the thing that’s been forgotten.” Esi Edugyan speaks about the influence that libraries have had on her work as a writer for Canadian Heritage’s Portraits 150 series. Edugyan’s third novel, Washington Black (Serpent’s Tail, 2018), is shortlisted for the 2018 Man Booker Prize.

“He wanted to send her and their unborn child halfway around the world to Perfume Bay, five-star accommodations located outside of Los Angeles.” Vanessa Hua reads from her debut novel, A River of Stars (Ballantine Books, 2018), for the ZYZZYVA reading series at Booksmith bookstore in San Francisco.

“You’re writing in total isolation. It’s like getting dressed in the dark, the complete dark, and then you have to go out on stage.” On Late Night With Seth Meyers, Rebecca Makkai discusses what it feels like to publish a book, the research behind her new novel, The Great Believers (Viking, 2018), and why she enjoys teaching MFA students. The Great Believers is longlisted for the 2018 National Book Award in fiction.

“They await counterintelligence / transmissions from our laptops / and our blue teeth, await word / of humanity’s critical mass, / our ripening.” Kyle Dargan’s poem “The Robots Are Coming” is brought to life in this animated Motionpoems film by Julia Iverson. Dargan’s new poetry collection, Anagnorisis (TriQuarterly Books, 2018), is featured in Page One in the September/October issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

“My small and eager darlings / what it must be like / to have the sound for love / and the sound for fear / be a matter of pitch...” Poet, essayist, and music critic Hanif Abdurraqib reads his poem “For the Dogs Who Barked at Me on Sidewalks in Connecticut” and a poem inspired by a Radiohead song at Prairie Lights bookstore in Iowa City as part of the Mission Creek Live Series.

“I grew up reading a gigantic compendium of all the Grimm’s fairy tales, and also fairy tales originating from other parts of the world....” Singaporean author Sharlene Teo talks with Manchester Literature Festival’s Naomi Frisby about the inspiration behind her debut novel, Ponti (Simon & Schuster, 2018), the work of writers Guy Gunaratne and Nikesh Shukla, and her fascination with ideas of beauty, superficiality, and artifice.

In this humorous video, Gary Shteyngart receives dubious feedback on his fourth novel, Lake Success (Random House, 2018), from “Sean, the World’s Worst Editor,” which includes inserting a laugh track into the book, holding book signings in an actual lake, and changing Shteyngart’s last name. Lake Success is featured in Page One in the September/October issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.