November 2, 2018
The Poetics of Disbelief
In 1817, Samuel Taylor Coleridge famously coined the term “suspension of disbelief,” meaning a willingness to silence one’s critical faculties and believe in something purely conjectural for the sake of […]
September 24, 2018
Little Monsters: On Time & The Consciousness of Poems
Hope is a pearl that I share I share it with you It’s a pearl that I share I share it with you, all the time I share it with […]
September 10, 2018
Little Monsters: On Sex, Exorcisms & Efes
I’d lay down my life for the fawn who, arising, at night to the sweet sound of harp and flute, saw a cup in my hand, said: “Drink your […]
August 30, 2018
Present in Process: An Interview with Caryl Pagel
Caryl Pagel’s vision has shaped not only her own poems, essays, books, and chapbooks, but two presses, a literary magazine, and now a new literary fellowship focused on inclusion, equity, […]
August 20, 2018
The International Congress of Youth Voices: An Interview with Jamesha Caldwell
Earlier this month, young writers and activists convened in San Francisco for the inaugural International Congress of Youth Voices. Among those student delegates was 18-year-old “Baltimore-bred poet and storyteller” Jamesha […]
June 29, 2018
Precedent for the Present: Further Reading
Now we witness undocumented migrants detained and deported en masse on US soil; we witness vulnerable humans turned back from our shores and borders; we witness children – babies in […]
June 6, 2018
Stealing Stories, part 3
In the recent literary news, three examples popped up (two in Canada, one in the US) of writers utilizing Native stories without doing adequate research or asking for necessary permission. […]
May 21, 2018
Stealing Stories, Part 2
In the recent literary news, three examples popped up (two in Canada, one in the US) of writers utilizing Native stories without doing adequate research or asking for necessary permission. […]
May 16, 2018
Stealing Stories, Part 1
In the recent literary news, three examples popped up (two in Canada, one in the US) of writers utilizing Native stories without doing adequate research or asking for necessary permission. […]
May 7, 2018
Nepantla: An Anthology (Q&A with Editor Christopher Soto)
To celebrate the release of Nepantla: An Anthology Dedicated to Queer Poets of Color, published by Nightboat Books, anthology editor Christopher Soto and I discussed both the editing process and […]
April 8, 2018
Wooden Indians: Prescriptive Roles in Publishing
Performative narratives that minority writers are expected to follow are both bountiful and brutally constrictive. Many authors find themselves in situations where, in order to complete projects or be included […]
March 30, 2018
On Writing, Workshop & Mental Health: A Roundtable (Part 2)
Poetry is absolutely necessary for my mental health. Growing up, we never talked about well-being in my family– that is, directly. While my mother was easier to talk to, as […]