On The Edge

This is the first episode of our series highlighting authors published in the summer 2018 issue of Cleaver Magazine. This episode features Cait Weiss Orcutt, Hussain Ahmed, and Levi Andalou. Their work, along with the entire summer issue of Cleaver, can be read at cleavermagazine.com. More episodes of On the Edge are soon to come, stay tuned. On the Edge was produced by Ryan Evans. Original music for this episode of On the Edge created by Simon Aspinall, more of his music can be found @simon-aspinall01

This is the first episode of our series highlighting authors published in the Spring 2018 issue of Cleaver Magazine. This episode features Nikki Stavile, John Sibley Williams, and Nicole Burney. Their work, along with the entire Spring issue of Cleaver, can be read at cleavermagazine.com. More episodes of On the Edge are soon to come, stay tuned. On the Edge was produced by Ryan Evans. Original music for this episode of On the Edge created by Simon Aspinall, more of his music can be found @simon-aspinall01

Nathaniel is a writer, editor, historian, journalist, and the author of five books, including the novel Everything is Borrowed, forthcoming in May 2018 from New Door Books. He’s the co-editor of Who Will Speak for America?, a literary anthology in response to the American political crisis, also forthcoming, in June 2018 from Temple University Press. He’s the fiction review editor of Cleaver Magazine, as well as a prolific book critic focusing on literary fiction and works in translation. His work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Public Books, The Rumpus, Tablet Magazine, LitHub, The Millions, and the Kenyon Review, among other publications. Nathaniel and I sat down, he in his office in Philadelphia where he lives and works, and me in my office in Seattle, and talked about why literary criticism is important, and what makes for good criticism. Interview by Ryan Evans, producer of On the Edge. Music by @simon-aspinall01

In order to celebrate five years and 20 issues of Cleaver Magazine, we are interviewing senior editors to hear their thoughts on their time with the magazine. I had the privilege of interviewing the editor-in-chief of Cleaver, Karen Rile. Karen started Cleaver in 2012. She is the author of the novel "Winter Music" and numerous works of fiction and creative nonfiction, such as her recent poetry published in Superstition Review. Her writing has appeared in literary magazines such as The Southern Review, American Writing, Creative Nonfiction, and Apiary. Her work has been listed amongst The Best American Short Stories. Karen writes articles and essays for publications including The San Francisco Chronicle, The New York Times, and The Philadelphia Inquirer. I sat down to a skype call with Karen and, after saying hello to her dog, we talked about the editorial mission of Cleaver, the innovative spirit of the magazine, and the political nature inherent in all art. Interview by Ryan Evans, producer of On the Edge, Cleaver’s podcast.

This is the final episode of our three-part series highlighting authors published in the December 2017 issue of Cleaver Magazine. This episode features C. John Graham, Jennifer MacBain-Stephens, Kyra Simone, and Maura Way. Their work, along with the entire December issue of Cleaver, can be read at cleavermagazine.com. More episodes of On the Edge are soon to come, stay tuned. On the Edge was produced by Ryan Evans. Original music for this episode of On the Edge created by Simon Aspinall, more of his music can be found @simon-aspinall01

This is the second episode of our three-part series highlighting authors published in the December 2017 issue of Cleaver Magazine. This episode features Tina Barr, Michael T. Young, and Amy Miller. Their work, along with the entire December issue of Cleaver, can be read at cleavermagazine.com. More episodes of On the Edge are soon to come, stay tuned. On the Edge was produced by Ryan Evans. Original music for this episode of On the Edge created by Simon Aspinall, more of his music can be found @simon-aspinall01

This is the first episode of our three-part series highlighting authors published in the December 2017 issue of Cleaver Magazine. This episode features Paul Siegell, Mag Gabbert, Kelsey Ann Kerr, and Erin Slaughter. Their work, along with the entire December issue of Cleaver, can be read at cleavermagazine.com. More episodes of On the Edge are soon to come, stay tuned. On the Edge was produced by Ryan Evans. Original music for this episode of On the Edge created by Simon Aspinall, more of his music can be found @simon-aspinall01

This is the final episode of our four-part series highlighting authors published in the September 2017 issue of Cleaver Magazine. This episode features Ed Taylor, Michael Backus, Nance Van Winkle, and Leonard Kress. Their work, along with the entire September issue of Cleaver, can be read at cleavermagazine.com. More episodes of On the Edge are soon to come, stay tuned. On the Edge was produced by Ryan Evans. Original music for this episode of On the Edge created by Troy Bohman aka Nodalus, more of his music can be found @nodalus

This is the third episode of a four-part series highlighting authors published in the September 2017 issue of Cleaver Magazine. This episode features Babo Kamel, Jenny Montgomery, Jack Israel, and Reggie Mills. Their work, along with the entire September issue of Cleaver, can be read at cleavermagazine.com. More episodes of On the Edge are soon to come, stay tuned. On the Edge was produced by Ryan Evans. Original music for this episode of On the Edge created by Troy Bohman aka Nodalus, more of his music can be found @nodalus

This is the second episode of a four-part series highlighting authors published in the September 2017 issue of Cleaver Magazine. This episode features Bruce McRae, Penney Knightly, Michael Dennison, and Bola Opaleke. Their work, along with the entire September issue of Cleaver, can be read at cleavermagazine.com. More episodes of On the Edge are soon to come, stay tuned. On the Edge was produced by Ryan Evans. Original music for this episode of On the Edge created by Troy Bohman aka Nodalus, more of his music can be found @nodalus

This is the first episode of a four-part series highlighting authors published in the September 2017 issue of Cleaver Magazine. This episode features Heather Borbeau, Christopher Rodriques, Nina Murray, and Alexandra Smyth. Their work, along with the entire September issue of Cleaver, can be read at cleavermagazine.com. More episodes of On the Edge are soon to come, stay tuned. On the Edge was produced by Ryan Evans. Original music for this episode of On the Edge created by Troy Bohman aka Nodalus, more of his music can be found @nodalus

Heather Bourbeau’s fiction and poetry have been published in 100 Word Story, Duende, and The Stockholm Review of Literature. She has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and has worked for the UN peacekeeping mission in Liberia and UNICEF Somalia. Her journalism has appeared in The Economist, the Financial Times, and Foreign Affairs. On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.

Christopher Rodrigues is a Brazilian-American writer living in Brooklyn, New York. He is a graduate of the University of Chicago Divinity School, and his fiction and poetry explore themes of religion and modern spiritual practice. On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.

Nina Murray is a native of the Western Ukrainian city of Lviv. She is a poet and literary translator from the Ukrainian and Russian languages. As a U.S. diplomat, she has served in Lithuania, Canada, and Russia. Her chapbook Minimize Considered is forthcoming from Finishing Line Press. On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.

Alexandra Smyth lives in Brooklyn, NY. She is a graduate of the City College of New York MFA Creative Writing Program. She was a recipient of the 2014 Poets and Writers Amy Award. Her work has most recently appeared in carte blanche, Found Poetry Review, and Glass: A Journal of Poetry, among others. On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.

Bruce McRae is a Canadian musician currently residing on Salt Spring Island, BC. He is a Pushcart nominee with over a thousand poems published internationally in magazines such as Poetry, Rattle, and the North American Review. His books are “The So-Called Sonnets” (Silenced Press), “An Unbecoming Fit Of Frenzy” (Cawing Crow Press) and “Like As If” (Pskis Porch. You can reach him by email at: bpmcrae@live.com On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.

Penney Knightly is a survivor of sexual abuse; themes about that are often found in her work. Her poetry has appeared in Broad Magazine, Big River Review, Dead King, Ink in Thirds, Burningword Journal, and elsewhere. She lives with her family on a sailboat in the San Francisco Bay, where she writes and makes art. She tweets @penneyknightly and shares on her blog, penneyknightly.com. On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.

Michael Dennison is a poet living currently in North Lebanon, near the city of Tripoli, teaching creative writing and British literature at the University of Balamand. He has published poems in several journals including Rusted Radishes, Drunken Boat, International Poetry Review, Frank, Van Gogh’s Ear, Slab, etc., and also a book titled Hamra Noir, a selection of Beirut poems, in 2010. On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.

Bola Opaleke is a Nigerian-Canadian poet residing in Winnipeg, MB. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in The Nottingham Review, The Puritan, The Literary Review of Canada, Sierra Nevada Review, Poetry Quarterly, Miracle E-zine, Poetry Pacific, Drunk Monkeys, Pastiche Magazine, UK Poetry Library, and others. On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.

Babo Kamel’s poems have appeared in literary reviews in the US, Australia, and Canada. Some of these include Painted Bride Quarterly, Abyss & Apex, The Greensboro Review, Alligator Juniper, The Grolier Poetry Prize, Contemporary Verse 2, Rust + Moth, Mobius: The Journal of Social Change, and 2River Review. She was a winner of the Charlotte Newberger Poetry Prize and is a Pushcart nominee. She has work forthcoming in Pantheon Magazine, Redactions Poetry & Poetics, Mizmor L’David Anthology, The Inflectionist Review, Lines+Stars, Origins, and dreams&nightmares. On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.

Jenny (Seymore) Montgomery has appeared or is forthcoming in publications such as Barrow Street, Tar River, CALYX, Unsplendid, the New York Times, and the Cairo Times. Her poetry installations have been shown at galleries in Montana and Washington. She resides in Missoula, Montana where she owns a distillery with her husband. Her poem, “The Privative Alpha,” was a finalist for the 2017 Kay Murphy Prize for Poetry, judged by Myung Mi Kim. Her poem “Proofed” was runner-up for the 2017 Brittany Noakes Award judged by Sandra Beasley. On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.

Jack Israel is a former tax accountant turned full-time poet. His work has appeared in American Poetry Review, The Beloit Poetry Journal, Cream City Review, River City, Courtland Review, Recours au Poeme, Southern Poetry, and others. He is also half of the blogging team Yaakov Murchadha. He has been nominated for a Pushcart prize, and has received a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. He lives in Berwyn, PA. On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.

Reggie Mills is steadily losing his sense of smell. His fiction appears in Buffalo Almanack, The Impressment Gang, Filling Station, and Driftwood Press and has been nominated for the Journey Prize. He lives in Toronto. On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.

Ed Taylor is the author of the novel Theo, the poetry collection Idiogest, the chapbook The Rubaiyat of Hazmat, and the forthcoming chapbook Cardinal Directions (fall 2017). His prose and poetry appeared most recently in The Literary Quarterly, The Moth (UK), Southern Poetry Review, Gargoyle, The Forge, St. Petersburg Review, North American Review, New World Writing, Clackamas Literary Review, and a 2016 anthology on the theme of drought. On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.

Michael Backus’s fiction and nonfiction have appeared in Digging Through the Fat, and Okey Panky, among others. Xynobooks published his novel, Double, in 2012, and he’s currently shopping a book-length memoir about tossing meat in New York City’s meatpacking district in the early ’80s. He teaches creative writing for Gotham Writer’s Workshop and Zoetrope: All-Story magazine and lives in Albuquerque, NM. On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.

Nance Van Winckel is the author of eight books of poetry, most recently Our Foreigner, winner of the Pacific Coast Poetry Series Prize (Beyond Baroque Press, 2017), Book of No Ledge (Pleiades Press Visual Poetry Series, 2016), and Pacific Walkers (U. of Washington Press, 2014). She’s also published five books of fiction, including Ever Yrs, a novel in the form of a scrapbook (Twisted Road Publications, 2014), and Boneland: Linked Stories (U. of Oklahoma Press, 2013). She teaches in the MFA programs at Eastern Washington University and Vermont College of Fine Arts. Read more at her website, www.nancevanwinckel.com On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.

Leonard Kress has published fiction and poetry in The Missouri Review, Massachusetts Review, The Iowa Review, American Poetry Review, Harvard Review, etc. His recent collections are The Orpheus Complex, Thirteens, and Walk Like Bo Diddley. He teaches philosophy and religion at Owens College in Ohio and edits creative nonfiction for Artful Dodge. On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.

This is the second episode of a two-part series highlighting authors published in the June 2017 issue of Cleaver Magazine. This episode features Tina Barr, Merridawn Duckler, Max Sheppard, and Martha McCullough. Their work, along with the entire June issue of Cleaver, can be read at cleavermagazine.com. More episodes of On the Edge are soon to come, stay tuned. On the Edge was produced by Ryan Evans Original music for On the Edge created by Simon Aspinall, more of his music can be found @simon-aspinall01

This is the first episode of a two-part series highlighting authors published in the June 2017 issue of Cleaver Magazine. This episode features Dylan Krieger, Walter Bargen, Shinjini Bhattacharjee, and mud howard. Their work, along with the entire June issue of Cleaver, can be read at cleavermagazine.com. More episodes of On the Edge are soon to come, stay tuned. On the Edge was produced by Ryan Evans Original music for On the Edge created by Simon Aspinall, more of his music can be found @simon-aspinall01

Walter Bargen has published nineteen books of poetry. His recent books include Days Like This Are Necessary: New & Selected Poems (2009) and Trouble Behind Glass Doors (2013). Too Quick for the Living will be published in November 2017. He has received a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and the William Rockhill Nelson Award, and served as the first poet laureate of Missouri (2008-2009). More at www.walterbargen.com On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.

Max Sheppard is a BFA painting graduate from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and he can’t help but confuse himself further by writing poems as well. On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.

Martha McCollough is a writer and video artist living in Chelsea, Massachusetts. She has an MFA in Painting from Pratt Institute. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in The Baffler, Cream City Review, Crab Creek Review, and Salamander, among others. On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.

Shinjini Bhattacharjee’s work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Bitter Oleander, Cimarron Review, Superstition Review, Gargoyle, A-Minor, Tinderbox Poetry Journal, and elsewhere. She is the author of two chapbooks: ‘There is No Way to Alter the Gravity for a Doll’ (dancing girl press, 2016) and ‘In My Landscape, I Am Not Real’ (Glass Lyre Press, 2018). Read more at her website www.shinjinibhattacharjee.com. On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.

Dylan Krieger is the author of Giving Godhead (Delete Press, 2017) and dreamland trash (Saint Julian Press, forthcoming). Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Seneca Review, Midwest Review, Quarterly West, Phoebe, So and So, Tenderloin, Coup d’Etat, and Maintenant, among others. Find more of her work at www.dylankrieger.com. On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.

Merridawn Duckler is a poet and playwright from Portland, Oregon. Recently, her poetry has appeared in The Offing, Unbroken Journal, Free State Review, Crab Creek Review, Literary Orphan, Dunes Review, and others. On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.

mud howard is a non-binary trans writer who fiercely believes in the healing power of the selfie. mud curates pnk prl, a queer erasure zine, and GLOW, a bi-monthly queer poetry series. mud is a graduate of the low-res MFA Poetry Program at the IPRC in Portland. You can find their work in The Lifted Brow, pnk prl, #Trans Anthology and THEM literary journal. On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.

Tina Barr’s poems have been recently published or are forthcoming in Atlanta Review, American Book Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, Crab Orchard Review, The Gettysburg Review, Louisiana Literature, New Orleans Review, Texas Review, Zone 3, and others. Her books include Kaleidoscope (Iris Press) and The Gathering Eye (Tupelo Press Editor’s Prize). She co-edits The Shining Rock Poetry Anthology & Book Review. Read more at www.shiningrockpoetry.com On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.

Episode 8 of the Life as Activism features poet Herman beavers performing his poems, "Outhouse Blues #2" and "Outhouse Blues #3" The Life as Activism series collects prose and poems of trauma, protest, hope, and healing as they relate to this past U.S. election, social justice, and activism going forward. More poetry, prose, and artwork can be found at www.cleavermagazine.com or follow us on Twitter @CleaverMagazine Music for the episode created by Simon Aspinall, more of his music at @simon-aspinall01

In episode 7 of the Life as Activism feature, writer Cynthia Atkins performs their piece, "God is My Alibi". The Life as Activism series collects prose and poems of trauma, protest, hope, and healing as they relate to this past U.S. election, social justice, and activism going forward. More poetry, prose, and artwork can be found at www.cleavermagazine.com or follow us on Twitter @CleaverMagazine Music for the episode created by Simon Aspinall, more of his music at @simon-aspinall01

In episode 6 of the Life as Activism feature, writer AK performs their piece, "And Somehow the Man on CNN is Asking if Jews are People". The Life as Activism series collects prose and poems of trauma, protest, hope, and healing as they relate to this past U.S. election, social justice, and activism going forward. More poetry, prose, and artwork can be found at www.cleavermagazine.com or follow us on Twitter @CleaverMagazine Music for the episode created by Simon Aspinall, more of his music at @simon-aspinall01

The fifth episode of the Life as Activism series features writer Laura Yan performing her piece, "Fact Check". The Life as Activism series collects prose and poems of trauma, protest, hope, and healing as they relate to this past U.S. election, social justice, and activism going forward. You can follow Laura on twitter @noirony More poetry, prose, and artwork can be found at www.cleavermagazine.com or follow us on Twitter @CleaverMagazine Music for the episode created by Simon Aspinall, more of his music at @simon-aspinall01

The fourth episode of the Life as Activism series features Sybil Kollappallil performing her piece, "FMK". The Life as Activism series collects prose and poems of trauma, protest, hope, and healing as they relate to this past U.S. election, social justice, and activism going forward. Read more of Sybil's work at sadshibow.com More poetry, prose, and artwork can be found at www.cleavermagazine.com or follow us on Twitter @CleaverMagazine Music for the episode created by Simon Aspinall, more of his music at @simon-aspinall01

In the third episode of the Life as Activism series, poet Monica Rico performs her piece, "Incantation on the Eve of 2017". The Life as Activism series collects prose and poems of trauma, protest, hope, and healing as they relate to this past U.S. election, social justice, and activism going forward. Read more of Monica's work at www.slowdownandeat.com More poetry, prose, and artwork can be found at www.cleavermagazine.com or follow us on Twitter @CleaverMagazine Music for the episode created by Simon Aspinall, more of his music at @simon-aspinall01

This is the third and final episode of On the Edge's series highlighting authors published in the March 2017 issue of Cleaver Magazine. This episode features Elizabeth Morton, Marcia Roberts, Sean Flood, and Youssef Helmi. Their work, along with the entire March issue of Cleaver, can be read at cleavermagazine.com. More episodes of On the Edge are soon to come, stay tuned. On the Edge was produced by Ryan Evans Original music for On the Edge created by Simon Aspinall, more of his music can be found @simon-aspinall01

Youssef Helmi is currently a sophomore studying Creative Writing at Florida State University. Although he hasn’t been published before, his mother once hung one of his stories on the fridge, and he thinks that’s a close second. On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.

This is the second episode of On the Edge's series highlighting authors published in the March 2017 issue of Cleaver Magazine. This episode features Peter Grandbois and Marc Harshman. Their work, along with the entire March issue of Cleaver, can be read at cleavermagazine.com. More episodes of On the Edge are soon to come, stay tuned. On the Edge was produced by Ryan Evans Original music for On the Edge created by Simon Aspinall, more of his music can be found @simon-aspinall01

This is the first episode of On the Edge's series highlighting authors published in the March 2017 issue of Cleaver Magazine. This episode features Jeevika Verma, Kristen Brida, and Tyler Gillespie. Their work, along with the entire March issue of Cleaver, can be read at cleavermagazine.com. More episodes of On the Edge are soon to come, stay tuned. On the Edge was produced by Ryan Evans Original music for On the Edge created by Simon Aspinall, more of his music can be found @simon-aspinall01

Marc Harshman’s second full-length collection, Believe What You Can, is out from West Virginia University. His poems have been anthologized by Kent State University, the University of Iowa, University of Georgia, and University of Arizona. His thirteen children’s books include The Storm, a Smithsonian Notable Book. He is the poet laureate of West Virginia. On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.

Tyler Gillespie is the palest Floridian you’ll ever meet. His poems appear in Apogee Journal, Columbia Poetry Review, PANK, Juked, Exposition Review, Hobart, and Prelude, among other places. Find him at TylerMTG.com. On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.

Sean Flood is a writer and poet. His work has appeared in The Bombay Review and Black Ink. Favorite hobbies of his include playing old Nintendo games and daydreaming. On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.

Peter Grandbois is the author of seven books. His poems, stories, and essays have appeared in over seventy journals, including, The Kenyon Review, The Gettysburg Review, and Prairie Schooner, and have been shortlisted for both Best American Essays and the Pushcart Prize. His plays have been performed in St. Louis, Columbus, Los Angeles, and New York. He is a senior editor at Boulevard magazine, fiction co-editor at Phantom Drift, and teaches at Denison University in Ohio. On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.