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Joy Harjo was the 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States and is a member of the Mvskoke Nation. She is the author of more than ten books of poetry including Weaving Sundown in a Scarlet Light: Fifty Poems for Fifty Years and the highly acclaimed An American Sunrise, which was a 2020 Oklahoma Book Award Winner. Her new book is Washing My Mother's Body: A Ceremony for Grief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Hi Loyal Readers. Thank you for opening this week's issue of Article Club.Today's issue is dedicated to a beautiful conversation with Saint Trey W, author of this month's featured article, “They Burn Books to Burn Us Too.” He shares space with Sarai Bordeaux, Article Club contributor and Poet Laureate of Eureka, California.If you haven't yet, I hope you read the article. Then if you appreciate it, which I predict you will, I invite you to listen to the conversation, then join our discussion next Sunday, August 24. Kind, thoughtful people (like you!) will engage deeply with Saint Trey's piece on Zoom, beginning at 2:00 pm PT and ending at 3:30 pm PT.If you're interested, you can learn more and sign up by clicking the button below.When I first read “They Burn Books to Burn Us Too,” I was deeply moved. I was moved by the power of Saint Trey W's message. But I was equally moved by the beauty of his writing. Saint Trey is a poet. This essay is lyrical.“When a government begins to fear its own history,” Saint Trey writes, “it has already declared war on the people who survived it.”Yes, this is an essay about book banning. It is about erasure, the war on memory, and our government's attempt to dominate and destroy Black people. But the piece is also about dreaming. No matter the government's violence, Black people will not be silenced. They will not be unwritten. Saint Trey writes:What they do not know is that we were never written in the first place. We were sung. We were carved into tree trunks and kitchen counters and braided into our mother's hair. We are older than their archives. And our stories do not end with silence.When I finished the piece, I had three immediate thoughts:* I must share this essay with Sarai right now* Hopefully they appreciate it as much as I do* Wouldn't it be perfect if Sarai and Saint Trey got to talk to each other?If you're newish to Article Club, you may not have met Sarai yet, so here are a few words of (re)introduction: Sarai is one of the most astute readers I have ever met. Whenever we talk, they make me smarter. More importantly, Sarai helps me connect the dots and act with more compassion.So it was an obvious next step — given my three thoughts above — that I should reach out to Sarai and gather their perspective. The rest is history. Sarai loved the essay, I contacted Saint Trey, he generously said yes to doing the interview, and they met up on Zoom to talk about his beautiful piece.The result is this wholehearted conversation. Sarai and Saint Trey cover a wide range of topics. I won't try to list them all here. It was clear to me, as I listened to Sarai and Saint Trey — two poets thinking together and sharing their perspectives about a powerful essay — that I was struck by the mutual care they shared with one another. In their discussion of Saint Trey's piece, they centered on imagination and possibility, as well as the power of language and lineage.Here's an excerpt from the conversation that I especially appreciated. About ancestors, language, Blackness, libraries, and God, Saint Trey says:Our ancestors are not just bloodlines, right? They're also our bookshelves. People like Toni Morrison, you know — she taught me that language can be a spell. It can be a sword, but it also can be a sanctuary. Reading Beloved and The Bluest Eye — it was the first time I understood the sacredness of Blackness in a way, especially in its unspoken parts — her reminding us that, if you are free, then you must free somebody else.I think libraries are a portal to that. James Baldwin, giving permission to tell the truth, especially when it burns. This sort of clarity — this heat, this refusal to perform respectability — and his teaching that moral authority doesn't require approval. Audre Lorde, reminding us that silence is not going to protect us. She made queerness feel like gospel. So the reason I mentioned libraries is because they're all-encompassing of these stories. They're in a sense, I would say, akin to church, right, to those who are believers, right? For me, the way I have reimagined faith in God is in language, it is in words that, you know, are passed through vessels — the artists, the writers, the griots. All have showed me that craft and conviction can dance, right? — that words don't have to be soft to be sacred. And I think libraries, they feed us when the world try has tried to starve us.Seriously: I could listen to that passage over and over again. The clarity of Saint Trey's words — both spoken here in this conversation, as well as in “They Burn Books to Burn Us Too” — is a gift.I hope you take a listen to the conversation. A little disclaimer: The quality of the audio is a bit patchy at times, particularly at the beginning. The Internet was not behaving. It tried to be a nuisance. But it was unsuccessful, for two reasons: First, the audio smooths out after the first few minutes. Second, the quality of Sarai and Saint Trey's words will make you listen more closely and tune out the distractions.One more time, I'd like to thank Saint Trey for bringing us this piece. It's an essay I believe that everyone should read and reflect on. I appreciate your words and your generosity of spirit. And Sarai, I am grateful to you as well, not only for this conversation but also for your contribution to our reading community. An invitation to our discussion on August 24I warmly invite you to participate in our discussion on Sunday, August 24, 2:00 - 3:30 pm PT. We'll meet on Zoom. You can sign up below, it's free.Thank you for reading and listening to this week's issue. Hope you liked it.
We speak with Dr. Ayodele Nzinga, Oakland's Poet Laureate, cultural architect, and an advocate for the arts as a tool for social transformation. Known as the “wordslanger,” Dr. Nzinga has spent decades building spaces where Black creativity thrives and where the stories, struggles, and triumphs of the community are given voice. In this conversation, Dr. Nzinga will share her journey, her vision for Oakland's cultural future, and her role in shaping BAMBDfest, the Black Arts Movement Business District Festival. About BAMBDfest BAMBDfest is a vibrant, multi‑day celebration of Black arts, culture, and community in Oakland's historic Black Arts Movement Business District. Featuring live performances, visual arts, theater, music, film, panel discussions, and more, BAMBDfest uplifts local and global Black voices while spotlighting the cultural richness of Oakland. It's more than a festival—it's a living expression of the Black Arts Movement's legacy and an invitation to imagine the future together. For more info, visit https://www.bambdfest.com/ — Subscribe to this podcast: https://plinkhq.com/i/1637968343?to=page Get in touch: lawanddisorder@kpfa.org Follow us on socials @LawAndDis: https://twitter.com/LawAndDis; https://www.instagram.com/lawanddis/ The post Dr. Ayodele Nzinga on Black Arts appeared first on KPFA.
Brenda Cárdenas is Wisconsin's newest poet laureate. As the state's ambassador for poetry, the Milwaukee native hopes to inspire creativity through workshops, projects and meeting with young people.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks about the power of poetry with Junauda Petrus, the poet laureate for the city of Minneapolis. Junauda says poetry is “soul medicine” that can unite us in our shared humanity. Angela also hears from poet and performer, Tish Jones, about what poetry means to her.Guests:Junauda Petrus is the poet laureate for the city of Minneapolis. She is an author, playwright, filmmaker and co-founder of the experimental artist collective, Free Black Dirt. She is the author of the Coretta Scott King Award-winning young adult novel, “The Stars and the Blackness Between Them,” and the children's book, “Can We Please Give the Police Department to the Grandmothers?” Tish Jones is a poet, performer and educator in St. Paul. She's also the founder and executive director of TruArtSpeaks.
Dear Article Clubbers,We had a great discussion last Sunday. Thank you to everyone who made it so!It's almost August, which means two things:* It's my birthday soon* I get to announce our article of the monthI cannot adequately express how honored I am to share with you August's article of the month. We are going to be reading and discussing “They Burn Books to Burn Us Too,” by Saint Trey W.Published in April in Notes From The Undrowned, the essay explores how regimes, most notably the United States government, have banned books in an attempt to dominate Black bodies and to erase Black memory. The goal, Saint Trey writes, is “not only control, but the elimination of imagination.”But no matter the government's violence, Black people will not be silenced. They will not be unwritten. Saint Trey writes:What they do not know is that we were never written in the first place. We were sung. We were carved into tree trunks and kitchen counters and braided into our mother's hair. We are older than their archives. And our stories do not end with silence.They begin in fire.My hope is that you will consider reading Saint Trey's essay. I also hope that you will make space to reflect on his words. If you are moved — as I predict many of you will be — I encourage you to join our discussion so that we can all connect and have a conversation in community.➡️ Inside today's issue, you'll find:* My conversation with Sarai Bordeaux, Poet Laureate of Eureka and Article Club correspondent, on what she appreciated about the essay and how it felt to interview the author* A few more excerpts from the article, plus my handwritten annotations* A short biography of the author* More information about our discussion on August 24, plus an inviteOne more thing: My gut says, if you're a high school teacher (e.g., Ethnic Studies, World History, U.S. History), your students would appreciate reading this piece.They Burn Books to Burn Us TooI could quote the entire essay because Saint Trey's writing is so beautiful. But here are a few excerpts that I'm still thinking about.On reading The Bluest Eye for the first time:I remember reading that first chapter and feeling the air change — like God had walked into the room, barefoot and breathless. I didn't know then that some people wanted to bury what I had just touched. I didn't know that entire states would one day strike Morrison from the classroom like a curse. I didn't know that the truth could be illegal.On the government's campaign to ban books:They said they wanted to protect the children. But it was only certain children they meant. Not mine. Not me. Not the children who walk into classrooms carrying the weight of a lineage they're not allowed to name.What I know now is this: when a government begins to fear its own history, it has already declared war on the people who survived it.On resistance and the power of memory through human connection:Long before we were permitted to read, we were remembering. In hush harbors and under moonlight, memory traveled not through paper but through people. The griot, the elder, the preacher, the mama at the stove — all became librarians of the unwritten. The story didn't need a school board's approval to be gospel. It needed only breath.And breath, for us, has always been sacred.By Saint Trey W. • Notes From The Undrowned • 13 min • Gift Link➕ Bonus: Here's the essay with my handwritten highlights and annotations.About the authorSaint Trey W. is a Black queer poet, essayist, and organizer from Brooklyn, New York. His voice carries the salt of survival, the smoke of protest, and the sacred ache of becoming. He writes from the ruins and the rivers, from pews and dancefloors, from the edge of the altar and the underside of America. His Substack publication, Notes from the Undrowned, is not simply a newsletter. It is also a vessel, it is a prayer, and a political reckoning. It is a place to tell the truth when the world demands our silence.About the discussionMy hope is that you'll read “They Burn Books to Burn Us Too” and want to talk about it.We'll be meeting up on Zoom on Sunday, August 24, 2:00 - 3:30 pm PT. We'll spend the first few minutes saying hi and doing short introductions. Then after I frame the piece and share our community agreements, we'll break out into small, facilitated discussion groups. The small groups usually include 5-8 people, so there's plenty of time to share your perspectives and listen to others. That's where we'll spend the bulk of our time. Toward the end, we'll return to the full group, sharing our reflections and appreciations of fellow participants.If this sounds interesting to you, sign up by clicking on the button below.If you're unsure, I get it. If you don't know me, it might feel strange to sign up for an online discussion with total strangers. But I am confident that you'll find yourself at home with other kind people who like to read deeply and explore ideas in community. We've done this 58 times, and by now, it's not a surprise that we're able to create an intimate space, almost like we're in the same physical room together.I hope that you read the piece. If it resonates with you, I encourage you to take the plunge and join us on August 24!Thank you for reading and listening to this week's issue. Hope you liked it.
MPR News host Angela Davis talks about the power of poetry with Junauda Petrus, the poet laureate for the city of Minneapolis. Junauda says poetry is “soul medicine” that can unite us in our shared humanity. Angela also hears from poet and performer, Tish Jones, about what poetry means to her.Guests:Junauda Petrus is the poet laureate for the city of Minneapolis. She is an author, playwright, filmmaker and co-founder of the experimental artist collective, Free Black Dirt. She is the author of the Coretta Scott King Award-winning young adult novel, “The Stars and the Blackness Between Them,” and the children's book, “Can We Please Give the Police Department to the Grandmothers?” Tish Jones is a poet, performer and educator in St. Paul. She's also the founder and executive director of TruArtSpeaks.
The queens play poetry matchmakers and nine months later, boom, there's a poetry baby!Please Support Breaking Form!Review the show on Apple Podcasts here.Aaron's STOP LYING is available from the Pitt Poetry Series.James's ROMANTIC COMEDY is available from Four Way Books.Robyn Schiff's most recent book is Information Desk: An Epic (Penguin Poets, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2024).Read more about Karyna McGlynn's book I Have to Go Back to 1994 and Kill a GirlCheck out Randall Mann's latest book, a new and selected, from Copper Canyon.Do yourself a favor and buy Laura Newbern's book A Night in the Country (also available on the awful conglomerate) and check out Newbern's website.Watch this tribute to Eavan Boland. You can find many poems of Richard Siken's on his website. Watch this half-hour interview with Mark Strand (from when he was Poet Laureate).
Andrea Gibson, a beloved poet and artist, recently passed away. We are honored to share this special encore episode of their conversation with Tami Simon that originally aired in 2023. Great poets expand our view—of ourselves, of each other, and of the entire universe. Andrea Gibson was named Colorado's 2023–25 Poet Laureate for their celebrated verses on love, LGBTQ issues, spirituality, mental health, social justice, and more. Tami Simon speaks with Andrea about their approach to work and how their journey through cancer radically changed that approach. This poignant conversation featuring Andrea's reading of their poem, “Acceptance Speech After Setting the World Record in Goosebumps” and exploring spiritual surrender, finding joy in every instant, facing challenges, moving through grief, the life force of the universe within us, self-love and loving the whole world, trying softer (not harder), the power of relaxation, identifying the keys that open your heart, staying with our fear, activism and loosening our attachment to desired outcomes, being yourself fully, the gift of mortality, giving the present moment the cold shoulder, why authenticity is the most important thing when it comes to writing, the pull of creativity, and more.
In this episode, we sit down with Marcus Amaker — Charleston's first Poet Laureate, spoken word artist, librettist, musician, minimalist, husband and dad — to talk about the radical magic of art, staying in the flow, and honoring the muse through every life season.We cover:The first time Marcus met creativity and how Prince cracked his brain openTapes, poems, and why he still sees art as new every timeArt as a tool for grief, presence, and collective healingMinimalism, naps, and digital detoxing to protect the flowWhat being a Poet Laureate actually meansCreative parenting, community mentorship, and staying weirdMarcus also shares about his upcoming climate change opera premiering in 2027, his 11th book We Deserve a World Without War, and his 44th (!) music album Dust Kick and Snare.If you've ever felt the tension between art and capitalism, or wondered how to keep your creative power in a world that profits off your distraction — this one is for you.
Today: Montrose County and five others are urging the Interior Department to finalize a forty million dollar grant to secure Shoshone water rights, which they say are vital to the Western Slope’s agriculture, energy, and rural communities. And later: We're remembering Andrea Gibson, Colorado's poet laureate and a fierce advocate for LGBTQ rights, who passed away on July 14th at forty-nine.Support the show: https://www.montrosepress.com/site/forms/subscription_services/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Title: Languaging in Hampton RoadsEpisode 18: Williamsburg Poet Laureate talks character, community and spitting barsHosts: Jill Winkowski and Prue SalaskyDate: July 18, 2025Length: 36 minutesPublication Frequency: Fourth Friday (approx) of each monthIn this episode, a follow to Ep. 6 (June 2024) we catch up with Lacroy “Atlas” Nixon, a spoken word artist, slam performer and founder of the nonprofit Slam Connection. He's the newly named inaugural poet laureate of Williamsburg, Va. In Ep. 6: Creative Community: Spoken Word in Hampton Roads, published a year ago in June 2024, we featured interviews with three of the region's spoken word performers, Tanya Cunningham, George Mendez, and Nixon to showcase the genre and the local community.Since then, Nixon has been named poet laureate for the City of Williamsburg. In this interview, (recorded on June 29, 2025, and lightly edited) we spoke to him about his new role which officially started this month. In it, he explains the process of becoming a poet laureate and says that the emphasis of his two-year post will be on engaging the area's youth. Much of his work will involve pursuing partnerships with existing organizations, such as:Slam Connection, (https://slamconnection.my.canva.site)established by Nixon in 2022, has a mission of encouraging self-expression, healthy discourse and spitting bars (a term explained in Nixon's interview), and empowering youth through spoken word poetry. It hosts open mic nights, slam contests, and writing events. It also involves a strong service component. 2. The Ampersand International Arts Festival, www.ampersandfestival.com, an annual arts festival held in Williamsburg in March, “is part of the CIty of Williamsburg's initiatives to support town and gown collaboration between the City, the College of William and Mary, Colonial Williamsburg, and partners.” 3. 2nd Sundays, Williamsburg's Art & Music Festival, https://2ndsundayswilliamsburg.com4. The Poetry Society of Virginia, https://poetrysocietyofvirginia.org; a 100-year-old nonprofit dedicated to cultivating the writing and enjoyment of poetry.5. Writers Guild of Virginia, https://www.writersguildva.com; Nixon is a board member of the nonprofit that offers classes, workshops and events for writers.In the interview, Nixon references first Friday open mic nights at Column15 Cafe and Roastery, 701 Merrimac Trail R, Williamsburg; www.column15.com; and slam competitions at the Kimball Theatre, Duke of Gloucester Street, www.colonialwilliamsburg.org.He also credits the location Bazaaro's Deli in the Williamsburg Premium Outlets, 63A 5715 Richmond Rd, Williamsburg, www.bazaaros.com for hosting slam contests.He also talks about competing in Southern Fried,www.southernfriedpoetryslam.com, one of the largest spoken word and performance poetry tournaments in the world. The event is held annually in a southern US city in the first week of June. Nixon's team placed sixth in the 2025 competition in Knoxville, Tenn. Send your feedback, comments and questions to languaginghr@gmail.com. Also, check out our newly updated website, languaginghr.wordpress.com and engage with us on Facebook and Instagram. Thanks to our summer interns, Kaitlyn Asato of Christopher Newport University and Sarah Phillips of Old Dominion University, for their work on the website and social media respectively.
Seattle poet Kathleen Flenniken grew up in Richland and worked as a civil engineer at Hanford in the 1980s. She served as Washington State Poet Laureate from 2012-2014. In her first year as poet laureate, she published a collection called Plume, which deals directly with how her Hanford area upbringing influenced her. The book explores the history of the site, the death of her best friend's father from a radiation illness, and her childhood in "Atomic City.” Flenniken sits down with us from the campus of Washington State University Tri-Cities.
Honoring the dead by washing the body is a ritual nearly as old as humankind. Jews observe taharah, rooting the practice in Ecclesiastes: “As we come forth, so we shall return.” In Islamic tradition, washing the deceased as an act of devotion and love.Joy Harjo, former poet laureate and citizen of the Muscogee Nation, expected to honor her mother's death and life by washing her body, but as she reveals in the introduction to her new book, the ritual didn't happen — leaving her to wander through grief without a touchstone. Harjo's new book is called “Washing My Mother's Body,” and she joins host Kerri Miller on this week's Big Books and Bold Ideas to talk about how this poem was able to bend time for her — and could be used as a model for others walking through grief without the guideposts of ritual. They also discuss the artwork created for the poem by fellow Muscogee citizen Dana Tiger, which adds beauty and vibrancy to a poem about saying good-bye. Guest:Joy Harjo served three terms as the twenty-third Poet Laureate of the United States from 2019 to 2022. She is the author of several poetry collections, plays, children's books, and memoirs, as well as the editor of multiple anthologies of Native poetry. Her new book is “Washing My Mother's Body: A Ceremony for Grief.” Subscribe to Big Books and Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS or anywhere you get your podcasts.Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations.
Recent closures of some local breweries. Wisconsin's Poet Laureate speaks about plans for her term. We remember celebrated poet and performance artist Andrea Gibson.
Gov. Jared Polis is pushing back against what he calls President Trump's "reckless tariff policy." Meanwhile, state lawmakers regroup after federal budget cuts and tax changes. Also, hear from a summer camp operator about wildfire and flood safety. Then, we remember Colorado's poet laureate, Andrea Gibson, who died Monday at age 49 of ovarian cancer. And later, a CU graduate hopes to revolutionize audio with ethical AI.
On this episode we take a second look at an interview with Rhode Island's poet laureate, Colin Channer. Then, we revisit a story about a local artist whose work took a dramatic turn when her husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Finally, another look at a story about a Coventry man who has taught thousands of kids to fish.
This week notable New Zealand poet and academic, Selina Tusitala Marsh has been named as the very first Commonwealth Poet Laureate. The position will involve Marsh crafting original poems for flagship events like the Commonwealth People's Forum and Ministerial and Heads of Government Meetings. It's already turning out to a very big year for Selina, who was awarded the Katherine Mansfield Residency in Menton in the South of France.
Our teacher this time is the extraordinary Joy Harjo. She is a musician, a visual artist, a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation, and she's also former Poet Laureate of the United States. From the beginning of her life, from childhood and even before, she has carried and retained a sense of space and time and life that is so much vaster than present circumstances. She uses this evocative phrase for the sense of time she knows and lives. She calls it “the whole of time.” It is stunning to be present to Joy Harjo and see someone who holds this sense of time. She's always known it — never lost it — and she beckons us to enter and relearn.Journaling prompts for Session 6Summon your 200-Year present. Take your mind back to the youngest age you can remember and to the oldest person you remember holding you. Roughly calculate the year of their birth and the history that shaped their lifetime.And who is the youngest person you have held in your arms most recently? Imagine a robust life for them — both the age and year to which they could live.Try to inhabit this expanse of history that you have literally touched and been touched by. Can you feel in your body, in your imagination, a more spacious grasp of time itself and of possibility and agency? What difference might it make?We've created a beautiful journal for the whole seven weeks, with full-size printable pages, that you can download for free HERE.A Possible Way to Organize This ExperienceTake each week's brief listening offering, each around 15 minutes long, as a meditation to move through the week ahead. And as none of the great virtues — and certainly not hope — is meant to be carried alone, we encourage you to undertake this experience alongside others, perhaps your life partner or family or colleagues or friends, book group or study group.For example, you could:● Listen to one Wisdom Practice (roughly 15 minutes) — together or separately — around the same time each week. Listen again and/or read the transcript as often as is useful.● Carry the ideas, invitations, and journal prompts for the session into your ordinary interactions of the days that follow.● Commit to some time journaling every day, even if just for a few minutes or a few words.● Meet with or Zoom/call your companion(s) at the end of the week to share, converse, commune.The Hope Portal and this series are adventures in opening the deep enduring teaching that lives inside the 20 years of On Being. We would be so grateful if you would let us know how it goes for you and how it might be refined, by writing to us at mail@onbeing.org. Sign yourself and others up for The Pause to be first to know about all things On Being and to receive Krista's monthly Saturday morning newsletter, including a heads-up on new episodes, special offerings, recommendations, and event invitations.
Mark Turcotte has been selected as Illinois' next Poet Laureate. His four year term begins July 1. He joins the program to talk about how his lived experiences have shaped his writing, his Native American identity and what he hopes to accomplish as Poet Laureate.
This is a short selection from an article I wrote in early summer 2025.Alex Tétreault started putting down written words for as long as he can remember. “It was a bit of an escape for me, and I just found it really fun.” He is Greater Sudbury's 8th Poet Laureate. Writing can be a liberating, but also sequestering process. For Tétreault this tension is very important. “It allows me to be as specific or as vague as I want and it gives me the time to reflect and choose the right words to get my ideas across the way that I want them to.” The play he crafted is in book form too. It is in French.“It was first produced by me and the Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario (TNO) in June 2023. Because theatre is ephemeral and I wanted this story to keep being told. I submitted it to Prise de parole for publication and here we are. As a thoughtexercise I did translate it for a performance.”His play (and now book) Nickel City Fifs is setin Sudbury at Zigs Bar... Yes, the iconic Zigs is still open. “I wrote it and direct it, but oh God, no, I don't act in it,” he laughs long.What is the underlying pinch that made him write it? “For me I really wanted my Francophone and Queer identities to co-exist. I was always trying to get more French into Sudbury PRIDE.” Tétreault sees the work he does as very Sudbury-centric but applicable to the wider world.
Day 12: Jaz Sufi reads her poem, “Ode to My Lover's Sequined Dress.” Queer Poem-a-Day is honored to be the first publication of this poem. Jaz Sufi (she/hers) is a queer Iranian-American poet and arts educator. Her work has been published or is upcoming in Best New Poets, Best of the Net, AGNI, Black Warrior Review, Muzzle, and elsewhere. She is a National Poetry Slam finalist and has received fellowships from Kundiman, the Watering Hole, and New York University, where she received her MFA. She is the current Poet Laureate of San Ramon, CA, where she lives with her dog, Apollo. Text of today's poem and more details about our program can be found at: deerfieldlibrary.org/queerpoemaday/ Find books from participating poets in our library's catalog. Queer Poem-a-Day is a program from the Adult Services Department at the Library and may include adult language. Queer Poem-a-Day is founded and co-directed by poet and professor Lisa Hiton and Dylan Zavagno, Adult Services Coordinator at the Library and host of the Deerfield Public Library Podcast. Music for this fifth year of our series is “L'Ange Verrier” from Le Rossignol Éperdu by Reynaldo Hahn, performed by pianist Daniel Baer. Queer Poem-a-Day is supported by generous donations from the Friends of the Deerfield Public Library and the Deerfield Fine Arts Commission.
Police in India say at least 260 people have been killed in the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad. We're live in the city of Ahmedabad where an investigation is underway tonight - and we've been meet people in the UK who've been affected.Also tonight:The prime minister of Bangladesh tells us he's disappointed Sir Keir Starmer hasn't taken up his request to meet him on a visit to London. And as the high street chain is sold for £1 and now faces hundreds of store closures - we have a ode to Poundland from the Poet Laureate.
Last month, celebrated poet and author Mark Turcotte was named the sixth Poet Laureate of Illinois, joining the ranks of literary icons like Carl Sandburg and Gwendolyn Brooks. Even early in his career, Turcotte's powerful voice was drawing attention, particularly through his books Road Noise (1998) and Exploding Chippewas (2002) – works he published during his decade living in Door County. In this conversation, Debra Fitzgerald speaks with Mark about his journey from the Turtle Mountain Chippewa Reservation in North Dakota to his current role as Poet Laureate. They also reminisce about his years in Door County.
AP correspondent Ed Donahue reports on the death of Brian Wilson.
WBZ NewsRadio's Carl Stevens reports.
Here are some highlights from our episode with the #1 NYTimes bestselling, National Book Award-winning, former National Ambassador for Young People's Literature Jacqueline Woodson: Starting stories with questions Writing "quiet" books that speak loudly The wisdom of young people, especially before that wisdom is silenced Deconstructing “show don't tell” How to write about complicated topics with honesty and hope Separating yourself as a writer from the character and the story The questions Jackie is wrestling with right now Some things that have (and haven't) changed about publishing Jacqueline Woodson is an American writer of books for adults, children, and adolescents. She is best known for her National Book Award-Winning memoir Brown Girl Dreaming, and her Newbery Honor-winning titles After Tupac and D Foster, Feathers, and Show Way. Her picture books The Day You Begin and The Year We Learned to Fly were NY Times Bestsellers. After serving as the Young People's Poet Laureate from 2015 to 2017, she was named the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature by the Library of Congress for 2018–19. She was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Medal in 2020. Later that same year, she was named a MacArthur Fellow. Links from the episode: Mychal Threet's “The Library Is for Everyone” shirt via Out of Print The Baldwin Fellowship Program Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson After Tupac and D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson
6/9/25: Bill and Buz on Trump's authoritarianism and the need to resist it. Megan Zinn w/ Carolyn Zaikowski, new poet laureate of Easthampton. Amherst Prof Austin Sarat on Trump's deployment of the National Guard in spite of Gov Newsom's condemnation as the Guard's Commander-in-Chief. UMass Prof Amilcar Shabazz outlines local Juneteenth commemorations.
To kick off the new season of The Windham-Campbell Prizes Podcast, host and prize director Michael Kelleher is joined by Tongo Eisen-Martin, recipient of a 2025 Windham-Campbell Prize for Poetry, to discuss Ayi Kwei Armah's 1979 novel The Healers. Tongo Eisen-Martin was San Francisco's eighth Poet Laureate (2021-2024). He is the author of three collections of poetry: Blood on the Fog (2021), selected by the New York Times as among the Best Poetry of 2021; Heaven is All Goodbyes (2017); and Someone's Dead Already (2015). He has taught creative writing in prisons and is the author of We Charge Genocide Again, a series of lessons plans to support students and teachers in grappling with the state-sanctioned killing of Black people. A recipient of several awards including the American Book Award (2018), a California Book Award (2018), and the PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award (2018), Eisen-Martin earned both his BA and MA from Columbia University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
A city's poet laureate does more than write and recite original stanzas. Pacia Elaine Anderson, St. Louis' new Poet Laureate, shares how she looks forward to adding her voice and arts-forward sensibilities to decision-making tables at City Hall and being an advocate for the arts.
Poet, author, musician and Yorkshireman, Simon Armitage has been Britain's Poet Laureate since 2019 — so we're thrilled that he joined James Fisher on the latest edition of the Country Life Podcast.From the surprising details of what he does — or, more accurately, doesn't — have to do as part of his role, to the primary school teacher who didn't even put his Christmas poem in his class's top six, Simon shares tales of his life, his work and his inspiration.• Listen to Country Life podcast on Apple Podcasts• Listen to Country Life podcast on Spotify• Listen to Country Life podcast on AudibleNature has always been a big part of the latter, and never more so than with his latest collection of poems, Dwell. The book was inspired by the time he has spent at the Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall — a place where he'll be back on June 21st for the Heligan Homecoming Festival, which runs June 13-22 and features guests including Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Dawn French.Simon also talks about how the world — and the world of art in particular — is being changed by technology... even if what AI can create so far has been limited to verse that is, in his phrase, 'reassuringly awful'.That said, Simon also worries that 'it will only get better', something which could actually change how art is made.'I wonder if it might throw art back on some of its high-end, traditional values that are quite difficult to imitate and replicate,' he adds.'The art that will really be in trouble is sort of avant-gardism and experimentation which — dare I say it? Yes,I do — is quite easily imitated.Charming, funny, self-deprecating, Simon was a wonderful guest — enjoy the show.Episode creditsHost: James FisherGuest: Simon ArmitageEditor and producer: Toby KeelMusic: JuliusH via Pixabay Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery speaks with Andrew Forbes about his phenomenal novella, McCurdle's Arm: A Fiction (Invisible Publishing, July 16, 2024). Southern Ontario, 1892. The Ashburnham Pine Groves are a semi-professional baseball club in the South Western Ontario Base-Ball Players' Association, sponsored by the Grafton Brewery, makers of Ashburnham's Famous Pine Grove Ale. When sober the Ashburnham players are an impressive group, though coarse and occasionally cretinous, and as with any collection of men, not without their peculiarities. Robert James McCurdle is one of their most formidable pitchers, though he understands that his body won't let him perform at a high level forever. McCurdle's Arm is an account of a particular man in his particular time, playing a version of baseball devoid of the comforts of the modern game, rife with violence, his employment always precarious. Against this backdrop McCurdle must choose between his love for the game and his desire to be reunited with the woman who loves him. About Andrew Forbes: Andrew Forbes is the author of the novel The Diapause (Invisible, October 1, 2024), the novella McCurdle's Arm: A Fiction (Invisible Publishing, July 16, 2024), and the essay collection Field Work: On Baseball and Making a Living (Assembly Press, April 15, 2025). He is also the author of two books of short fiction and two earlier collections of baseball writing. His work has appeared in publications such as the Toronto Star, Canadian Notes and Queries, and Maisonneuve Magazine. He was the 2019 Margaret Laurence Fellow at Trent University, and served on the jury of the 2022 Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize. Forbes lives in Peterborough, Ontario. About Hollay Ghadery:Hollay Ghadery is an Iranian-Canadian multi-genre writer living in Ontario on Anishinaabe land. She has her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph. Fuse, her memoir of mixed-race identity and mental health,moir. Her collection of poetry, Rebellion Box was released by Radiant Press in 2023, and her collection of short fiction, Widow Fantasies, was released with Gordon Hill Press in fall 2024. Her debut novel, The Unraveling of Ou, is due out with Palimpsest Press in 2026, and her children's book, Being with the Birds, with Guernica Editions in 2027. Hollay is the host of the 105.5 FM Bookclub, as well as a co-host on HOWL on CIUT 89.5 FM. She is also a book publicist, the Regional Chair of the League of Canadian Poets and a co-chair of the League's BIPOC committee, as well as the Poet Laureate of Scugog Township. Learn more about Hollay at www.hollayghadery.com. was released by Guernica Editions in 2021 and won the 2023 Canadian Bookclub Award for Nonfiction/Me Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery speaks with Andrew Forbes about his phenomenal novella, McCurdle's Arm: A Fiction (Invisible Publishing, July 16, 2024). Southern Ontario, 1892. The Ashburnham Pine Groves are a semi-professional baseball club in the South Western Ontario Base-Ball Players' Association, sponsored by the Grafton Brewery, makers of Ashburnham's Famous Pine Grove Ale. When sober the Ashburnham players are an impressive group, though coarse and occasionally cretinous, and as with any collection of men, not without their peculiarities. Robert James McCurdle is one of their most formidable pitchers, though he understands that his body won't let him perform at a high level forever. McCurdle's Arm is an account of a particular man in his particular time, playing a version of baseball devoid of the comforts of the modern game, rife with violence, his employment always precarious. Against this backdrop McCurdle must choose between his love for the game and his desire to be reunited with the woman who loves him. About Andrew Forbes: Andrew Forbes is the author of the novel The Diapause (Invisible, October 1, 2024), the novella McCurdle's Arm: A Fiction (Invisible Publishing, July 16, 2024), and the essay collection Field Work: On Baseball and Making a Living (Assembly Press, April 15, 2025). He is also the author of two books of short fiction and two earlier collections of baseball writing. His work has appeared in publications such as the Toronto Star, Canadian Notes and Queries, and Maisonneuve Magazine. He was the 2019 Margaret Laurence Fellow at Trent University, and served on the jury of the 2022 Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize. Forbes lives in Peterborough, Ontario. About Hollay Ghadery:Hollay Ghadery is an Iranian-Canadian multi-genre writer living in Ontario on Anishinaabe land. She has her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph. Fuse, her memoir of mixed-race identity and mental health,moir. Her collection of poetry, Rebellion Box was released by Radiant Press in 2023, and her collection of short fiction, Widow Fantasies, was released with Gordon Hill Press in fall 2024. Her debut novel, The Unraveling of Ou, is due out with Palimpsest Press in 2026, and her children's book, Being with the Birds, with Guernica Editions in 2027. Hollay is the host of the 105.5 FM Bookclub, as well as a co-host on HOWL on CIUT 89.5 FM. She is also a book publicist, the Regional Chair of the League of Canadian Poets and a co-chair of the League's BIPOC committee, as well as the Poet Laureate of Scugog Township. Learn more about Hollay at www.hollayghadery.com. was released by Guernica Editions in 2021 and won the 2023 Canadian Bookclub Award for Nonfiction/Me Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/sports
In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery speaks with Andrew Forbes about his phenomenal novella, McCurdle's Arm: A Fiction (Invisible Publishing, July 16, 2024). Southern Ontario, 1892. The Ashburnham Pine Groves are a semi-professional baseball club in the South Western Ontario Base-Ball Players' Association, sponsored by the Grafton Brewery, makers of Ashburnham's Famous Pine Grove Ale. When sober the Ashburnham players are an impressive group, though coarse and occasionally cretinous, and as with any collection of men, not without their peculiarities. Robert James McCurdle is one of their most formidable pitchers, though he understands that his body won't let him perform at a high level forever. McCurdle's Arm is an account of a particular man in his particular time, playing a version of baseball devoid of the comforts of the modern game, rife with violence, his employment always precarious. Against this backdrop McCurdle must choose between his love for the game and his desire to be reunited with the woman who loves him. About Andrew Forbes: Andrew Forbes is the author of the novel The Diapause (Invisible, October 1, 2024), the novella McCurdle's Arm: A Fiction (Invisible Publishing, July 16, 2024), and the essay collection Field Work: On Baseball and Making a Living (Assembly Press, April 15, 2025). He is also the author of two books of short fiction and two earlier collections of baseball writing. His work has appeared in publications such as the Toronto Star, Canadian Notes and Queries, and Maisonneuve Magazine. He was the 2019 Margaret Laurence Fellow at Trent University, and served on the jury of the 2022 Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize. Forbes lives in Peterborough, Ontario. About Hollay Ghadery:Hollay Ghadery is an Iranian-Canadian multi-genre writer living in Ontario on Anishinaabe land. She has her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph. Fuse, her memoir of mixed-race identity and mental health,moir. Her collection of poetry, Rebellion Box was released by Radiant Press in 2023, and her collection of short fiction, Widow Fantasies, was released with Gordon Hill Press in fall 2024. Her debut novel, The Unraveling of Ou, is due out with Palimpsest Press in 2026, and her children's book, Being with the Birds, with Guernica Editions in 2027. Hollay is the host of the 105.5 FM Bookclub, as well as a co-host on HOWL on CIUT 89.5 FM. She is also a book publicist, the Regional Chair of the League of Canadian Poets and a co-chair of the League's BIPOC committee, as well as the Poet Laureate of Scugog Township. Learn more about Hollay at www.hollayghadery.com. was released by Guernica Editions in 2021 and won the 2023 Canadian Bookclub Award for Nonfiction/Me Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature
New books by Joy Harjo and Ruthie Ackerman focus on very different moments in the life cycle of motherhood. First, Harjo's new book Washing My Mother's Body is an illustrated version of a poem she wrote in order to process grief. Harjo, the 23rd U.S. Poet Laureate and member of the Muscogee Nation, never got to carry out an important ritual after her mother's death – but returns in the poem to take care of things left undone. In today's episode, Harjo speaks with NPR's Leila Fadel about that ritual and the potency of the mother-daughter relationship. Then, journalist Ruthie Ackerman grew up hearing family stories that made her believe she shouldn't become a mom. But years later, she learned pieces of those stories weren't true. The Mother Code is a new memoir exploring Ackerman's indecision around becoming a parent. In today's episode, she speaks with NPR's Juana Summers about viewing maternal ambivalence as the norm.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
In this episode of Clocking Out, we meet Lynne Thompson — a former lawyer who spent over 20 years in the legal world before answering a call that had echoed since childhood: poetry. Lynne pivoted from litigation to literature, ultimately becoming Los Angeles' 4th Poet Laureate, a nationally recognized advocate for the power of poetry, and the author of four acclaimed collections, including Blue on a Blue Palette.A native Angeleno and daughter of Caribbean immigrants, Lynne grew up in where books, education, and ambition mattered — and she never let her four older brothers outpace her. Though she began writing at a young age, she followed a practical path, becoming a successful lawyer. Yet even with a full career, something was missing. She realized the law was feeding her head, not her heart. Seeking more space to create, she transitioned to lead labor and employee relations at UCLA — a demanding role, but one that gave her room to pursue poetry more intentionally. After 20 years, she took early retirement to fully commit to her passion.Lynne shares how she found her way back to poetry, how she transitioned with purpose (and a plan), and how her background in law shaped both her voice and her empathy as a writer. Without an MFA or literature degree, she gave herself permission to pursue the creative life she'd long imagined — immersing herself in workshops, readings, and writing groups to build a second career on her own terms. Along the way, she became not just a poet, but a literary leader: serving on the boards of major institutions, publishing widely, mentoring emerging voices, and proving that it's never too late to follow the path that calls to you.This episode is a powerful reminder that your passions don't expire — and that it's never too late to write your own next chapter. Lynne's story invites us to honor the dreams that never left us.Connect with Lynne at:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/lynnet22.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynne-thompson-76b53512/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/letpms/ Follow Raymond: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raymondmlee/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/raymondlee.coTiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@clockingoutpodX: http://twitter.com/hrentrepreneurYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/@clockingoutwithraymondlee/videosBecome a guest on Clocking Out: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeSTQmww_Gvld1zfLzTmS16PDfZvltFna7Gh6iSYehL-maU
Slushies, we invoke the retelling of a ghostly experience shared by Kathy and Marion at the Hotel Figueroa in California earlier this year partway into this episode. Two poems by Jen Siraganian are at the heart of our discussion, and it's the first of these that puts ghosts into our heads. This poem also causes us to consider at some length the physical form chosen by or for a poem, and how this can utterly enhance the experience of the poem when it's just right. It's also an opportunity for Jason to raise the spectre of the virgule (or slash) once again, and we even pause briefly to recall when WYSIWYG was a useful acronym. We end the episode with an ekphrastic that prompts an on-the-spot tie breaker (thanks to our sound engineer Lillie for saving the day!). https://whitney.org/collection/works/2171 https://www.nga.gov/collection/highlights/gorky-the-artist-and-his-mother.html At the table: Kathleen Volk Miller, Marion Wrenn, Lisa Zerkle, Jason Schneiderman, Dagne Forrest, Jodi Gahn, Lillie Volpe (sound engineer) Jen Siraganian is an Armenian-American writer, educator, and former Poet Laureate of Los Gatos, California. Her poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in AGNI, Barrow Street, Best New Poets, Cortland Review, Poetry Daily, Prairie Schooner, The Rumpus, Smartish Pace, and other journals. Her work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and won the 2024 New Ohio Review Poetry Prize. A former managing director of Litquake: San Francisco's Literary Festival, she is a current Lucas Artist Fellow. jensiraganian.com Social media handles: Facebook @jen.siraganian, Instagram @jsiraganian, Bluesky @jsiraganian.bsky.social, Website
In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery speaks with author Gina Leola Woolsey about her stunning biography, Fifteen Thousand Pieces (Guernica Editions, 2023). On Wednesday, September 2nd, 1998, an international flight carrying 229 souls crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Nova Scotia. There were no survivors. By Friday, Sept 4th, thousands of dismembered body parts had come through Dr. John Butt's makeshift morgue in Hangar B at the Shearwater military base. The Chief Medical Examiner faced the most challenging and grisly task of his career. Five years prior to the plane crash, John had lost his prestigious job as Alberta's Chief Medical Examiner. After 14 years of marriage, John began to think of himself as gay, but remained closeted professionally. Then, after serving a handful of years as Nova Scotia's Chief Medical Examiner, the devastating crash in Nova Scotia cracked his carefully constructed façade. Fifteen Thousand Pieces explores one man's journey to accept his true nature and find his place in the world. Chapters alternate between the fast-paced story of the crash, and the history of the man in the making. It is both fast-paced and introspective; gruesome and touching. Ultimately, it is the story of how death teaches us to live. About Gina Leola Woolsey: CBC Award-winning author Gina Leola Woolsey tugs at your heartstrings with written portraits of people striving to find love, self-acceptance, and belonging in an ever-changing world. She left her corporate career mid-life to pursue an education in creative writing, earning a BFA from the University of British Columbia and an MFA from the University of King's College. She lives wherever the narrative takes her. Currently, her time is split between small-town Alberta, downtown Montreal, and her hometown of Vancouver. About Hollay Ghadery: Hollay Ghadery is an Iranian-Canadian multi-genre writer living in Ontario on Anishinaabe land. She has her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph. Fuse, her memoir of mixed-race identity and mental health, was released by Guernica Editions in 2021 and won the 2023 Canadian Bookclub Award for Nonfiction/Memoir. Her collection of poetry, Rebellion Box was released by Radiant Press in 2023, and her collection of short fiction, Widow Fantasies, was released with Gordon Hill Press in fall 2024. Her debut novel, The Unraveling of Ou, is due out with Palimpsest Press in 2026, and her children's book, Being with the Birds, with Guernica Editions in 2027. Hollay is a co-host on HOWL on CIUT 89.5 FM. She is also a book publicist, the Regional Chair of the League of Canadian Poets and a co-chair of the League's BIPOC committee, as well as the the Poet Laureate of Scugog Township. Learn more about Hollay at www.hollayghadery.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery speaks with author Gina Leola Woolsey about her stunning biography, Fifteen Thousand Pieces (Guernica Editions, 2023). On Wednesday, September 2nd, 1998, an international flight carrying 229 souls crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Nova Scotia. There were no survivors. By Friday, Sept 4th, thousands of dismembered body parts had come through Dr. John Butt's makeshift morgue in Hangar B at the Shearwater military base. The Chief Medical Examiner faced the most challenging and grisly task of his career. Five years prior to the plane crash, John had lost his prestigious job as Alberta's Chief Medical Examiner. After 14 years of marriage, John began to think of himself as gay, but remained closeted professionally. Then, after serving a handful of years as Nova Scotia's Chief Medical Examiner, the devastating crash in Nova Scotia cracked his carefully constructed façade. Fifteen Thousand Pieces explores one man's journey to accept his true nature and find his place in the world. Chapters alternate between the fast-paced story of the crash, and the history of the man in the making. It is both fast-paced and introspective; gruesome and touching. Ultimately, it is the story of how death teaches us to live. About Gina Leola Woolsey: CBC Award-winning author Gina Leola Woolsey tugs at your heartstrings with written portraits of people striving to find love, self-acceptance, and belonging in an ever-changing world. She left her corporate career mid-life to pursue an education in creative writing, earning a BFA from the University of British Columbia and an MFA from the University of King's College. She lives wherever the narrative takes her. Currently, her time is split between small-town Alberta, downtown Montreal, and her hometown of Vancouver. About Hollay Ghadery: Hollay Ghadery is an Iranian-Canadian multi-genre writer living in Ontario on Anishinaabe land. She has her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph. Fuse, her memoir of mixed-race identity and mental health, was released by Guernica Editions in 2021 and won the 2023 Canadian Bookclub Award for Nonfiction/Memoir. Her collection of poetry, Rebellion Box was released by Radiant Press in 2023, and her collection of short fiction, Widow Fantasies, was released with Gordon Hill Press in fall 2024. Her debut novel, The Unraveling of Ou, is due out with Palimpsest Press in 2026, and her children's book, Being with the Birds, with Guernica Editions in 2027. Hollay is a co-host on HOWL on CIUT 89.5 FM. She is also a book publicist, the Regional Chair of the League of Canadian Poets and a co-chair of the League's BIPOC committee, as well as the the Poet Laureate of Scugog Township. Learn more about Hollay at www.hollayghadery.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature
In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery speaks with author Gina Leola Woolsey about her stunning biography, Fifteen Thousand Pieces (Guernica Editions, 2023). On Wednesday, September 2nd, 1998, an international flight carrying 229 souls crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Nova Scotia. There were no survivors. By Friday, Sept 4th, thousands of dismembered body parts had come through Dr. John Butt's makeshift morgue in Hangar B at the Shearwater military base. The Chief Medical Examiner faced the most challenging and grisly task of his career. Five years prior to the plane crash, John had lost his prestigious job as Alberta's Chief Medical Examiner. After 14 years of marriage, John began to think of himself as gay, but remained closeted professionally. Then, after serving a handful of years as Nova Scotia's Chief Medical Examiner, the devastating crash in Nova Scotia cracked his carefully constructed façade. Fifteen Thousand Pieces explores one man's journey to accept his true nature and find his place in the world. Chapters alternate between the fast-paced story of the crash, and the history of the man in the making. It is both fast-paced and introspective; gruesome and touching. Ultimately, it is the story of how death teaches us to live. About Gina Leola Woolsey: CBC Award-winning author Gina Leola Woolsey tugs at your heartstrings with written portraits of people striving to find love, self-acceptance, and belonging in an ever-changing world. She left her corporate career mid-life to pursue an education in creative writing, earning a BFA from the University of British Columbia and an MFA from the University of King's College. She lives wherever the narrative takes her. Currently, her time is split between small-town Alberta, downtown Montreal, and her hometown of Vancouver. About Hollay Ghadery: Hollay Ghadery is an Iranian-Canadian multi-genre writer living in Ontario on Anishinaabe land. She has her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph. Fuse, her memoir of mixed-race identity and mental health, was released by Guernica Editions in 2021 and won the 2023 Canadian Bookclub Award for Nonfiction/Memoir. Her collection of poetry, Rebellion Box was released by Radiant Press in 2023, and her collection of short fiction, Widow Fantasies, was released with Gordon Hill Press in fall 2024. Her debut novel, The Unraveling of Ou, is due out with Palimpsest Press in 2026, and her children's book, Being with the Birds, with Guernica Editions in 2027. Hollay is a co-host on HOWL on CIUT 89.5 FM. She is also a book publicist, the Regional Chair of the League of Canadian Poets and a co-chair of the League's BIPOC committee, as well as the the Poet Laureate of Scugog Township. Learn more about Hollay at www.hollayghadery.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/medicine
In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery speaks with author Gina Leola Woolsey about her stunning biography, Fifteen Thousand Pieces (Guernica Editions, 2023). On Wednesday, September 2nd, 1998, an international flight carrying 229 souls crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Nova Scotia. There were no survivors. By Friday, Sept 4th, thousands of dismembered body parts had come through Dr. John Butt's makeshift morgue in Hangar B at the Shearwater military base. The Chief Medical Examiner faced the most challenging and grisly task of his career. Five years prior to the plane crash, John had lost his prestigious job as Alberta's Chief Medical Examiner. After 14 years of marriage, John began to think of himself as gay, but remained closeted professionally. Then, after serving a handful of years as Nova Scotia's Chief Medical Examiner, the devastating crash in Nova Scotia cracked his carefully constructed façade. Fifteen Thousand Pieces explores one man's journey to accept his true nature and find his place in the world. Chapters alternate between the fast-paced story of the crash, and the history of the man in the making. It is both fast-paced and introspective; gruesome and touching. Ultimately, it is the story of how death teaches us to live. About Gina Leola Woolsey: CBC Award-winning author Gina Leola Woolsey tugs at your heartstrings with written portraits of people striving to find love, self-acceptance, and belonging in an ever-changing world. She left her corporate career mid-life to pursue an education in creative writing, earning a BFA from the University of British Columbia and an MFA from the University of King's College. She lives wherever the narrative takes her. Currently, her time is split between small-town Alberta, downtown Montreal, and her hometown of Vancouver. About Hollay Ghadery: Hollay Ghadery is an Iranian-Canadian multi-genre writer living in Ontario on Anishinaabe land. She has her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph. Fuse, her memoir of mixed-race identity and mental health, was released by Guernica Editions in 2021 and won the 2023 Canadian Bookclub Award for Nonfiction/Memoir. Her collection of poetry, Rebellion Box was released by Radiant Press in 2023, and her collection of short fiction, Widow Fantasies, was released with Gordon Hill Press in fall 2024. Her debut novel, The Unraveling of Ou, is due out with Palimpsest Press in 2026, and her children's book, Being with the Birds, with Guernica Editions in 2027. Hollay is a co-host on HOWL on CIUT 89.5 FM. She is also a book publicist, the Regional Chair of the League of Canadian Poets and a co-chair of the League's BIPOC committee, as well as the the Poet Laureate of Scugog Township. Learn more about Hollay at www.hollayghadery.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biography
In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery speaks with Reem Gaafar about her Island Prize 2023-winning book, A Mouthful of Salt, published in Canada by Invisible Publishing. About A Mouthful of Salt: The Nile brought them life, but the Nile was not their friend.When a little boy drowns in the treacherous currents of the Nile, the search for his body unearths calamity and disaster, and exposes forgotten secrets buried for generations in a small northern Sudanese village.Three women try to make their way through a world that wants to keep them back, separated from each other by time but bound together by the same river that weaves its way through their lives, giving little but taking much more.A Mouth Full of Salt uncovers a country on the brink of seismic change as its women decide for themselves which traditions are fit for purpose – and which prophecies it's time to rewrite. About Reem Gaafar: Reem Gaafar is a Sudanese public health physician, researcher, writer and mother of three boys. She is published in both fiction and non-fiction circles, contributing to issues on public health and policy, society, racism and women's rights. Her work has appeared in African Arguments, 500 Words Magazine, Teakisi Magazine, African Feminism, Andariya Magazine, International Health Policies and Health Systems Global. Her short story Light of the Desert was published in the anthology I Know Two Sudans (Gipping Press, UK). Her second short short Finding Descartes was published in the anthology Relations: African and Diaspora Voices (HarperVia). Her debut novel A Mouth Full of Salt (Saqi Books, Invisible Books) won The Island Prize in 2023, was listed as one of 100 Notable African Books of 2024 and is the no.1 bestseller in the indie bookshop charts in the UK. About Hollay Ghadery: Hollay Ghadery is an Iranian-Canadian writer living in Ontario on Anishinaabe land. Fuse, her memoir of mixed-race identity mental health, was released by Guernica Editions and won a 2023 Canadian Bookclub Award. Her poetry collection, Rebellion Box was released by Radiant Press in 2023, and her short fiction collection, Widow Fantasies, with Gordon Hill Press in fall 2024. Hollay is a host on The New Books Network and co-host on HOWL on CIUT 89.5 FM. She is a book publicist, the Regional Chair of the League of Canadian Poets as well as the Poet Laureate of Scugog Township. www.hollayghadery.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery interviews Stephanie Cesca about her acclaimed novel, Dotted Lines (Guernica Editions, 2024) which has been named a finalist for the Rakuten kobo Emerging Writer Prize. Dotted Lines is a powerful and binary-breaking story that explores the complexities of families, bringing to brilliant light the vital but underrepresented perspective of a non-traditional family where the step-father is the hero, and it's the person who owes you nothing that gives you everything. Abandoned as a child, Melanie Forsythe seeks stability and belonging after her mom's boyfriend is left to raise her. Despite her raw deal, Melanie grows up to have a good head on her shoulders and a strong bond with her stepdad. But her dream of having a family of her own is shattered when she suffers tragedy and betrayal. Still, the relationship with her step-dad—the one that's illustrated with a dotted line in her family tree—ultimately inspires her to create the life and family she wants. “As a family dissolves and reunites, Cesca's seamless writing traces the unpredictable ways in which those we love stray and return to us throughout our lives. Clean and understated, Cesca's novel reveals the complicated layers of an unorthodox childhood through compelling characters willing to open themselves to new truths.” —Ibi Kaslik, author of Skinny, New York Times Bestseller About Stephanie Cesca: Stephanie Cesca was born and raised in Toronto, where she lives with her husband and three children. A former newspaper editor in both Canada and Europe, she holds an English degree from Western University, a journalism degree from Toronto Metropolitan University and a Certificate of Creative Writing from the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies. Her work has been shortlisted for the Penguin Random House Canada Student Award for Fiction and The Marina Nemat Award for Creative Writing. Dotted Lines is her first novel. About Hollay Ghadery:Hollay Ghadery is an Iranian-Canadian multi-genre writer living in Ontario on Anishinaabe land. She has her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph. Fuse, her memoir of mixed-race identity and mental health,moir. Her collection of poetry, Rebellion Box was released by Radiant Press in 2023, and her collection of short fiction, Widow Fantasies, was released with Gordon Hill Press in fall 2024. Her debut novel, The Unraveling of Ou, is due out with Palimpsest Press in 2026, and her children's book, Being with the Birds, with Guernica Editions in 2027. Hollay is the host of the 105.5 FM Bookclub, as well as a co-host on HOWL on CIUT 89.5 FM. She is also a book publicist, the Regional Chair of the League of Canadian Poets and a co-chair of the League's BIPOC committee, as well as the Poet Laureate of Scugog Township. Learn more about Hollay at www.hollayghadery.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature
In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery speaks with former Sudbury Poet Laureate Thomas Leduc about his new collection of poetry, Palpitations (Latitude 46 Publishing, 2025). There are moments that change the course of a day, a year, or even a life. Palpitations explores the journey through the twists and turns of the human experience. From childhood memories of struggling with dyslexia and what to be when one grows up, reflections on love, to the global disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Thomas Leduc delves into the shared experiences that have altered the world's perception of itself. Full of vivid imagery and deep, thoughtful reflections, Palpitations is a tribute to that which makes us human – moments that palpitate with life, longing and change. About Thomas L. Leduc: Thomas Leduc was Poet Laureate of Sudbury, Ontario from 2014-2016 and the President of the Sudbury Writers' Guild from 2017-2021. His poems and short stories have been published in various magazines and anthologies. In 2019 he released his first collection of poetry, Slagflower Poems Unearthed From A Mining Town (Latitude 46). He lives in Sudbury, Ontario. About Hollay Ghadery: Hollay Ghadery is an Iranian-Canadian writer living in Ontario on Anishinaabe land. Fuse, her memoir of mixed-race identity mental health, was released by Guernica Editions and won a 2023 Canadian Bookclub Award. Her poetry collection, Rebellion Box was released by Radiant Press in 2023, and her short fiction collection, Widow Fantasies, with Gordon Hill Press in fall 2024. Hollay is a host on The New Books Network and co-host on HOWL on CIUT 89.5 FM. She is a book publicist, the Regional Chair of the League of Canadian Poets as well as the Poet Laureate of Scugog Township. www.hollayghadery.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
NBN host Hollay Ghadery speaks with the wonderful Ottawa writer, Christine McNair about her 2024 book of lyric essays and prose poetry, Toxemia (Book*hug Press, 2024). In this alchemy of anger and love, history and memoir, Christine McNair delves into various forms of toxicity in the body—from the effects of two life-threatening preeclampsia diagnoses to chronic illness, sexism in medicine, and the toll of societal expectations. With catharsis and humour, Toxemia pieces together the complexities of identity, motherhood, and living in a body to reveal deeply recognizable raw truths. McNair captures the wrenching feeling of loss of control in the face of an overwhelming medical diagnosis and the small, endless moments in life that underscore it: worrying about mortality in the middle of the night, revolving medical appointments, self-doubt, and all the ways in which illness interrupts. Toxemia unravels the toxicities that haunt the human body from within and without. Combining lyrical essays, prose poetry, photographs, and more, this hybrid work dips between the sacred and profane, exposing—and holding—some of our greatest fears. ABOUT CHRISTINE MCNAIR: Christine MCNair is the author of Charm (winner of the 2018 Archibald Lampman Award) and Conflict (finalist for the City of Ottawa Book Award, the Archibald Lampman Award, and the ReLit Award for Poetry). She was also shortlisted for the Robert Kroetsch Award for Innovative Poetry. Her chapbook pleasantries and other misdemeanours was shortlisted for the bpNichol Chapbook Award. Her work has appeared in sundry literary journals and anthologies. McNair lives in Ottawa where she works as a book doctor. About Hollay Ghadery: Hollay Ghadery is an Iranian-Canadian writer living in Ontario on Anishinaabe land. Fuse, her memoir of mixed-race identity mental health, was released by Guernica Editions and won a 2023 Canadian Bookclub Award. Her poetry collection, Rebellion Box was released by Radiant Press in 2023, and her short fiction collection, Widow Fantasies, with Gordon Hill Press in fall 2024. Hollay is a host on The New Books Network and co-host on HOWL on CIUT 89.5 FM. She is a book publicist, the Regional Chair of the League of Canadian Poets as well as the Poet Laureate of Scugog Township. www.hollayghadery.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
Londinium 90 AD Gaius & Germanicus celebrate the poet laureate of the American Revolution, Vergil. Michael Vlahos Friends of History Debating Society @michalis_vlahos 1776 AFTER TRENTON
In this NBN episode, host and poet Hollay Ghadery speaks with Manahil Bandukwala about her second collection, Heliotropia (Brick Books, 2024). This book of poems is a meditation on love during times of social and political upheaval. As a sunflower's growth reaches toward the sun, so, she suggests, is a lover's growth compelled by the gravitational pull and soul-light of their beloved. Many of these poems are in conversation with other poets and artists, creating a lineage of call and response. Against a backdrop of terrestrial crisis, come, spend your precious minutes in love's Heliotropia, where we are magnetized by the unfathomable dark matter of another person, and know ourselves as celestial bodies flowering in spacetime, together. Manahil Bandukwala is a writer and visual artist based in Mississauga and Ottawa, Ontario. She is the author of MONUMENT (Brick Books, 2022), which was shortlisted for the 2023 Gerald Lampert Award, and was selected as a Writer's Trust of Canada Rising Star in 2023. See her work at manahilbandukwala.com. About Hollay Ghadery: Hollay Ghadery is an Iranian-Canadian multi-genre writer living in Ontario on Anishinaabe land. She has her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph. Fuse, her memoir of mixed-race identity and mental health, was released by Guernica Editions in 2021 and won the 2023 Canadian Bookclub Award for Nonfiction/Memoir. Her collection of poetry, Rebellion Box was released by Radiant Press in 2023, and her collection of short fiction, Widow Fantasies, was released with Gordon Hill Press in fall 2024. Her debut novel, The Unraveling of Ou, is due out with Palimpsest Press in 2026, and her children's book, Being with the Birds, with Guernica Editions in 2027. Hollay is a co-host on HOWL on CIUT 89.5 FM. She is also a book publicist, the Regional Chair of the League of Canadian Poets and a co-chair of the League's BIPOC committee, as well as the Poet Laureate of Scugog Township. Learn more about Hollay at www.hollayghadery.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
In this NBN Poetry podcast, host Hollay Ghadery speaks with Rosa Castellano about her gorgeous debut collection, All is the Telling (Diode, 2025). All is the Telling is a compelling, transformative collection bridging the personal and political with an emotional intensity that lingers long after the final page. With an intimate and expansive voice, this collection speaks to the human condition in all its beauty and complexity, inviting readers to reflect on their own lives as they are drawn into the intricate web of memory, identity, and survival. The speaker's voice is grounded in the immediacy of lived experience, yet it also reaches outward, echoing the broader struggles of our time. In a world that can often feel fractured, the poems in All Is The Telling offer a space for connection, reflection, and healing. Readers are invited to witness moments of profound emotional truth, where the boundaries between self and other, past and present, blur in disorienting and revelatory ways.At its core, All is the Telling is a meditation on what it means to be human in a world that often demands silence from those who dare to speak their truths. It is a collection that insists on the importance of voice, of telling and retelling our stories so they are not forgotten. The collection's emotional landscape is vast, encompassing themes of love, loss, survival, and the enduring power of storytelling itself. These poems remind us that survival is not simply to endure but to carry forward the stories that define us and to give voice to the histories that have shaped our identities, often against the odds.This is a collection for readers who crave poetry that speaks to the soul—poetry that does not flinch in the face of brutal truths but instead transforms them into something beautiful, something that can be held, examined, and, ultimately, shared. All is the Telling will resonate with anyone who has ever grappled with the complexities of identity and sought to make sense of a world that can be both brutal and tender. It is a collection that asks us to listen—to ourselves, to each other, to the world, and in that listening, find the strength to tell our own stories. For anyone who believes in the power of words to shape lives, challenge injustices, and celebrate the human spirit, this collection will not disappoint. All is the Telling is vital, alive, and endlessly resonant. About the Author:Rosa Castellano, originally from Tampa, Florida, is a poet and teacher living in Richmond, VA. A finalist for Cave Canem's Starshine and Clay Fellowship, and co-founder of the RVA Poetry Fest, her work can be found or is forth coming from RHINO Poetry, Diode, Passages North, Nimrod, The Ninth Letter, and Poetry Northwest among others. All Is The Telling is her first collection of poetry. About Hollay Ghadery: Hollay Ghadery is an Iranian-Canadian writer living in Ontario on Anishinaabe land. Fuse, her memoir of mixed-race identity mental health, was released by Guernica Editions and won a 2023 Canadian Bookclub Award. Her poetry collection, Rebellion Box was released by Radiant Press in 2023, and her short fiction collection, Widow Fantasies, with Gordon Hill Press in fall 2024. Hollay is a host on The New Books Network and co-host on HOWL on CIUT 89.5 FM. She is a book publicist, the Regional Chair of the League of Canadian Poets as well as the Poet Laureate of Scugog Township. www.hollayghadery.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
As U.S. poet laureate, Ada Limón has had a far-reaching impact. She has visited readers and writers across the country, installed poems at majestic sites in national parks, and she even wrote a poem that's engraved inside a NASA spacecraft on its way to Jupiter.Today on the show, though, our host Anna Martin talks with Limón about something more personal and intimate: What happens when writers fall hopelessly in love. She reads a Modern Love essay about a novelist whose debilitating crush on a poet gives her a bad case of writer's block (before leaving her with a badly broken heart). Limón also tells Anna why feeling anger and grief when we're despairing can be the path to feeling more alive, and she explains why a pair of old sweatpants belong in a love poem as much as bees and flowers do.Ada Limón's recent book, “You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World” can be found here.Lily King's Modern Love essay, “An Empty Heart Is One That Can Be Filled” can be found here. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
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