Tag: Interview

At night the humid chorus swells: 
A Conversation with Jacques Rancourt about his Newest Collection, Brocken Spectre

Jacques J. Rancourt is the author of two poetry collections, Brocken Spectre (Alice James Books) and Novena (Pleiades Press), as well as a chapbook, In the Time of PrEP (Beloit Poetry Journal). Raised in Maine, he lives in San Francisco with his partner and the world’s most anxious dog. Set in San Francisco, Brocken Spectre examines the way the past presses up against the present. The speaker, raised in the wake of the AIDS crisis, engages with ideas of belatedness, of looking back to a past that cannot be inhabited, of the ethics of memory, and of the dangers in memorializing and romanticizing tragedy.

Writing From a Very Dark Place: A Conversation with Katerina Canyon

Recently, I received a review copy of Surviving Home, by Katerina Canyon. I knew of Katerina from a weekly virtual poetry reading series that she runs, called “Canyon Poets.” She is a self-made poet, community activist, and poetry agitator. Surviving Home is a series of narrated poems describing surviving an abusive childhood, being raised in an abusive home, and sometimes being homeless. I found that I couldn’t review the book in good faith; although I felt compassion for her story, its overwhelming darkness felt too dense for me to penetrate.

Tree Stumps Adorn Their Graves: 
A Conversation with Author Javier Sinay and Translator Robert Croll 
about The Murders of Moisés Ville

In The Murders of Moisés Ville, award-winning journalist Javier Sinay investigates a series of murders from the late nineteenth century, unearthing the complex history and legacy of Moisés Ville, the “Jerusalem of South America,” and his personal family connection to a little-known period of Jewish history in Argentina, linked to his great-grandfather Mijl Hacohen Sinay.

An interview with Elaelah Harley

The author of A Plan to Save the World talks about how she started writing, her debut novel and its inspiration, her (self-) publishing journey, and lots more.

A Q&A with Mike Mattison and Ernest Suarez

Musician Mike Mattison and literary historian Ernest Suarez talk about their new book, POETIC SONG VERSE: Blues Based Popular Music and Poetry. They cover such topics as the nature of poetic song verse, the transformative nature of artists like Dylan, Joni Mitchell, and Jimi Hendrix, the role of coffee houses in the 50s, and lots more.

An interview with Andrew Rowen

The author of Columbus and Caonabó: 1493–1498 Retold talks about his new book and why it’s still important for people to understand 1492 and its aftermath, why he chose to write historical fiction, his research, his characters, the story of Taíno resistance and the devastating aftermath of the invasion, Isabel and Ferdinand and their role (and what they gained), and much more.

Interview with Paulette Stout

The author of Love, Only Better talks about her book, about the climax, about why now is the right time for this book and these conversations, her characters, the importance of sexual gratification, and lots more.