Podcasts about Vermont Studio Center

Erica Stern joins Let's Talk Memoir for a conversation about self-interrogation and taking risks to tell the story we need to, exploring the liminality of a lived experience through the speculative, hybrid memoir and leaning into history and research to illuminate and deepen understanding, the unexpected complications she experienced in childbirth, the historical misogyny in U.S. medical system, the male takeover of birth, how trauma can stunt empathy, trusting the work will go where it needs to go, giving our projects time and space to grow, when publishers and editors are not quite sure what to make of your book, exercising control over the uncontrollable, the long road to publishing, capturing the timelessness of an experience, and her new book Frontier: A Memoir and a Ghost Story.    Also in this episode:  -discovering material through writing -meditations on the history of childbirth -when an editor encourages you to make your book even more like itself   Books mentioned in this episode:   -The Suicide Index by Joan Wickersham -An Encyclopedia of Bending Time by Kristen Keane -My Autobiography of Carson McCullers by Jenn Shaplans -A Life's Work: On Becoming a Mother by Rachel Cusk   Erica Stern's work has been published in The Iowa Review, Mississippi Review, Denver Quarterly, and elsewhere. She has been awarded fellowships and residencies from the Vermont Studio Center, the Martha's Vineyard Institute for Creative Writing, and the Virginia Center for Creative Arts. Erica received her undergraduate degree in English from Yale and her MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. A native of New Orleans, she now lives with her family in Evanston, Illinois.   Connect with Erica: Website: erica-stern.com Instagram: @ericasternwriter Substack: @ericastern Bluesky: @ericarstern.bsky.social Get the book: https://bookshop.org/p/books/frontier-a-memoir-and-a-ghost-story/876292ffe52fe93f?ean=9798985008937&next=t&next=t https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/frontier-erica-stern/1146916883?ean=9798985008937 https://www.barrelhousemag.com/books/frontier-erica-stern   – Ronit's writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, Poets & Writers, The Iowa Review, Hippocampus, The Washington Post, Writer's Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named Finalist in the 2021 Housatonic Awards Awards, the 2021 Indie Excellence Awards, and was a 2021 Book Riot Best True Crime Book. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts' 2020 Eludia Award and the 2023 Page Turner Awards for Short Stories.  She earned an MFA in Nonfiction Writing at Pacific University, is Creative Nonfiction Editor at The Citron Review, and teaches memoir through the University of Washington's Online Continuum Program and also independently. She launched Let's Talk Memoir in 2022, lives in Seattle with her family of people and dogs, and is at work on her next book. More about Ronit: https://ronitplank.com Subscribe to Ronit's Substack: https://substack.com/@ronitplank Follow Ronit: https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/ https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlank https://bsky.app/profile/ronitplank.bsky.social   Background photo credit: Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash Headshot photo credit: Sarah Anne Photography Theme music: Isaac Joel, Dead Moll's Fingers

Ceramic-based artist and educator Ara Koh returns to The Truth In This Art for her second conversation with Rob Lee. Known for her layered clay paintings and material-intensive installations, Ara shares how her practice has deepened through repetition, research, and unexpected cracks—both literal and metaphorical.In this episode, Ara talks about processing wild clay from her travels, the physicality of working with heavy materials, and the importance of fitness in sustaining her studio life. She reflects on inherited discipline, finding freedom through form, and why staying curious—about geology, textures, or even pickleball—is key to her creative rhythm.Highlights include:How a geology book inspired a new body of work built through 100+ clay poursWhat her grandmother's love of Monet taught her about aestheticsThe unglamorous truth behind art labor—and why she doesn't mind itUnlearning ceramic rules while teaching them to othersThoughts on burnout, balance, and the meditative value of hot yoga

Anna first fell in love with London at her hometown library—its Jane Austen balls a far cry from her life of food stamps and hand-me-downs. But when she finally arrives after college, the real London is a moldy flat and the same paycheck-to-paycheck grind—that fairy-tale life still out of reach.Then Anna meets the Wilders, who fly her to Saint-Tropez to tutor their teenage daughter. Swept up by the sphinxlike elder sister, Anna soon finds herself plunged into a heady whirlpool of parties and excess, a place where confidence is a birthright. There she meets two handsome young men—one who wants to whisk her into his world in a chauffeured car, the other who sees through Anna's struggle to outrun her past. It's like she's stepped into the pages of a glittering new novel, but what will it cost her to play the part?Sparkling with intelligence and insight, All That Life Can Afford (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2025) peels back the glossy layers of class and privilege, exploring what it means to create a new life for yourself that still honors the one you've left behind. Emily Everett is an editor and writer from western Massachusetts. She is managing editor at The Common literary magazine, and a Massachusetts Cultural Council Fellow in Fiction. Her short story “Solitária” was selected as a runner-up for the Kenyon Review's 2019 Short Fiction Contest, and appears in the Jan/Feb 2020 issue. Other short fiction appears in Electric Literature, Tin House, and Mississippi Review, among others. Her work has been selected for Best Small Fictions 2020, and supported by the Vermont Studio Center. Recommended Books: Charlotte McConaughy, Migrations Edith Wharton, The House of Mirth Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro Against World Literature, is published with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature

Anna first fell in love with London at her hometown library—its Jane Austen balls a far cry from her life of food stamps and hand-me-downs. But when she finally arrives after college, the real London is a moldy flat and the same paycheck-to-paycheck grind—that fairy-tale life still out of reach.Then Anna meets the Wilders, who fly her to Saint-Tropez to tutor their teenage daughter. Swept up by the sphinxlike elder sister, Anna soon finds herself plunged into a heady whirlpool of parties and excess, a place where confidence is a birthright. There she meets two handsome young men—one who wants to whisk her into his world in a chauffeured car, the other who sees through Anna's struggle to outrun her past. It's like she's stepped into the pages of a glittering new novel, but what will it cost her to play the part?Sparkling with intelligence and insight, All That Life Can Afford (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2025) peels back the glossy layers of class and privilege, exploring what it means to create a new life for yourself that still honors the one you've left behind. Emily Everett is an editor and writer from western Massachusetts. She is managing editor at The Common literary magazine, and a Massachusetts Cultural Council Fellow in Fiction. Her short story “Solitária” was selected as a runner-up for the Kenyon Review's 2019 Short Fiction Contest, and appears in the Jan/Feb 2020 issue. Other short fiction appears in Electric Literature, Tin House, and Mississippi Review, among others. Her work has been selected for Best Small Fictions 2020, and supported by the Vermont Studio Center. Recommended Books: Charlotte McConaughy, Migrations Edith Wharton, The House of Mirth Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro Against World Literature, is published with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anna first fell in love with London at her hometown library—its Jane Austen balls a far cry from her life of food stamps and hand-me-downs. But when she finally arrives after college, the real London is a moldy flat and the same paycheck-to-paycheck grind—that fairy-tale life still out of reach.Then Anna meets the Wilders, who fly her to Saint-Tropez to tutor their teenage daughter. Swept up by the sphinxlike elder sister, Anna soon finds herself plunged into a heady whirlpool of parties and excess, a place where confidence is a birthright. There she meets two handsome young men—one who wants to whisk her into his world in a chauffeured car, the other who sees through Anna's struggle to outrun her past. It's like she's stepped into the pages of a glittering new novel, but what will it cost her to play the part?Sparkling with intelligence and insight, All That Life Can Afford (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2025) peels back the glossy layers of class and privilege, exploring what it means to create a new life for yourself that still honors the one you've left behind. Emily Everett is an editor and writer from western Massachusetts. She is managing editor at The Common literary magazine, and a Massachusetts Cultural Council Fellow in Fiction. Her short story “Solitária” was selected as a runner-up for the Kenyon Review's 2019 Short Fiction Contest, and appears in the Jan/Feb 2020 issue. Other short fiction appears in Electric Literature, Tin House, and Mississippi Review, among others. Her work has been selected for Best Small Fictions 2020, and supported by the Vermont Studio Center. Recommended Books: Charlotte McConaughy, Migrations Edith Wharton, The House of Mirth Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro Against World Literature, is published with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. 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

Frontier: A Memoir and a Ghost Story (Barrelhouse Inc., 2025) is a genre-bending expedition into childbirth. Seamlessly blending memoir, fiction, and research into the fraught history of birth—from midwives to Victorian-era sedation through the Natural Childbirth Movement and modern L&D suites—Frontier lays bare visceral truths that are too often glossed over, and offers an incisive look at the momentous and terrifying transformations of motherhood. As she prepared to give birth to her first child, Erica Stern envisioned the idyllic experience promised by prenatal classes and diaper commercials. But when unexpected complications arose during labor, she found herself at the threshold of life and death, a liminal space that connected her to generations of mothers before her. From the chaos of the delivery room, Frontier opens into a parallel narrative: a Wild West ghost story. There, a mother who didn't survive the ordeal of childbirth roams her old homestead, tethered to the family she left behind. In this otherworldly hybrid memoir, Stern careens between this haunted past and the present horror of the hospital as she waits for her own son to wake up in the NICU. Erica Stern's work has been published in The Iowa Review, Mississippi Review, Denver Quarterly, and elsewhere. She has received support for her writing from the Vermont Studio Center and the Virginia Center for Creative Arts. A New Orleans native, she lives with her family in Evanston, Illinois. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature

Frontier: A Memoir and a Ghost Story (Barrelhouse Inc., 2025) is a genre-bending expedition into childbirth. Seamlessly blending memoir, fiction, and research into the fraught history of birth—from midwives to Victorian-era sedation through the Natural Childbirth Movement and modern L&D suites—Frontier lays bare visceral truths that are too often glossed over, and offers an incisive look at the momentous and terrifying transformations of motherhood. As she prepared to give birth to her first child, Erica Stern envisioned the idyllic experience promised by prenatal classes and diaper commercials. But when unexpected complications arose during labor, she found herself at the threshold of life and death, a liminal space that connected her to generations of mothers before her. From the chaos of the delivery room, Frontier opens into a parallel narrative: a Wild West ghost story. There, a mother who didn't survive the ordeal of childbirth roams her old homestead, tethered to the family she left behind. In this otherworldly hybrid memoir, Stern careens between this haunted past and the present horror of the hospital as she waits for her own son to wake up in the NICU. Erica Stern's work has been published in The Iowa Review, Mississippi Review, Denver Quarterly, and elsewhere. She has received support for her writing from the Vermont Studio Center and the Virginia Center for Creative Arts. A New Orleans native, she lives with her family in Evanston, Illinois. 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

Frontier: A Memoir and a Ghost Story (Barrelhouse Inc., 2025) is a genre-bending expedition into childbirth. Seamlessly blending memoir, fiction, and research into the fraught history of birth—from midwives to Victorian-era sedation through the Natural Childbirth Movement and modern L&D suites—Frontier lays bare visceral truths that are too often glossed over, and offers an incisive look at the momentous and terrifying transformations of motherhood. As she prepared to give birth to her first child, Erica Stern envisioned the idyllic experience promised by prenatal classes and diaper commercials. But when unexpected complications arose during labor, she found herself at the threshold of life and death, a liminal space that connected her to generations of mothers before her. From the chaos of the delivery room, Frontier opens into a parallel narrative: a Wild West ghost story. There, a mother who didn't survive the ordeal of childbirth roams her old homestead, tethered to the family she left behind. In this otherworldly hybrid memoir, Stern careens between this haunted past and the present horror of the hospital as she waits for her own son to wake up in the NICU. Erica Stern's work has been published in The Iowa Review, Mississippi Review, Denver Quarterly, and elsewhere. She has received support for her writing from the Vermont Studio Center and the Virginia Center for Creative Arts. A New Orleans native, she lives with her family in Evanston, Illinois. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biography

Dr. T and Truth Fairy welcome Greg Wrenn, a former Alabama state representative and long-time health policy advocate, who shares insights into how he became interested in the therapeutic use of psychedelics through personal research and professional exposure. Greg recently wrote a book called “Mothership” about coral reef research, ecological crisis, and his personal PTSD healing journey with ayahuasca. He discusses portions of the book and his experiences with Truth and Dr. T.  Greg explores the growing interest in psychedelic-assisted therapy, particularly its potential to help individuals who struggle with mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD. He addresses the shift from viewing psychedelics as taboo to recognizing their potential under controlled, clinical settings. His personal stories, alongside those shared by Truth, highlight the positive impact psychedelic therapy can have and how his passion for the issue has been fueled. Truth Fairy, Dr. T, and Greg share concerns about the challenges of implementing beneficial psychedelic healing sessions, and they celebrate Greg's integration of tribal and liberating dance into the ayahuasca ceremony. They talk about the importance of regulation, ethical safeguards, and integration of Indigenous practices, and caution against the risks of commercialization. The episode is both vulnerable and informative, painting a hopeful picture of potential healing even in the face of difficult times.“You know, I'm no psychedelic evangelist. I don't think everyone should drink ayahuasca or work with psychedelics. I know I should, I know I need to. And so this is really important for my mission, which is to, I guess, spread a message of love and spread a message of the possibility of planetary healing, because planetary healing happens, at least with humanity, one brain at a time.” - Greg Wrenn__About Greg Wrenn:A former Stegner Fellow and Jones Lecturer at Stanford University, GREG WRENN is the author of the ayahuasca eco-memoir Mothership: A Memoir of Wonder and Crisis, an evidence-based account of his turning to coral reefs and psychedelic plants to heal from childhood trauma, and Centaur (U of Wisconsin Press 2013), which National Book Award-winning poet Terrance Hayes awarded the Brittingham Prize. ​Greg's work has appeared or is forthcoming in HuffPost, The New Republic, Al Jazeera, The Rumpus, LitHub, Writer's Digest, Kenyon Review, New England Review, The Iowa Review, and elsewhere. He has received awards and fellowships from the James Merrill House, the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, the Vermont Studio Center, the Poetry Society of America, the Hermitage Artist Retreat, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and the Spiro Arts Center. On his Mothership book tour, he spoke to audiences around the world, including at Yale School of Medicine, the University of Utah School of Medicine, Vancouver Island University, and the University of Virginia School of Nursing. Greg has also been on numerous podcasts, including Levi Chambers's PRIDE, and was recently interviewed by Emmy Award-winning journalist Elizabeth Vargas on NewsNation​ and by Jane Garvey on Times Radio (UK). ​As an associate English professor at James Madison University, he teaches creative nonfiction, poetry, and environmental literature and directs the JMU Creative Writing Minor. He also teaches in the Memoir Certificate Program at Stanford Continuing Studies. He was educated at Harvard University and Washington University in St. Louis.Greg is currently at work on a follow-up book to Mothership and sending out Homesick, his second poetry collection. A student of ayahuasca since 2019, he is a trained yoga teacher and a PADI Advanced Open Water diver, having explored coral reefs around the world for over 25 years. He and his husband divide their time between the mountains of Virginia and Atlantic Beach, Florida.Website: GregWrenn.comBook: “Mothership: A Memoir of Wonder and Crisis” by Greg Wrenn__Contact Punk Therapy:Patreon: Patreon.com/PunkTherapyWebsite: PunkTherapy.comEmail: info@punktherapy.com Contact Truth Fairy: Email: Truth@PunkTherapy.com

Rei Xiao was born in Istanbul, Turkey, and earned her BFA at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts, with additional study at Central Saint Martins at the University of Arts, London, United Kingdom. She has exhibited her works in shows in Istanbul, London, Boston, and New York City and has held artist residencies at ChaNorth, Vermont Studio Center, and The Macedonia Institute. Her first solo exhibition, "The Flea and the Acrobat," was shown in Fragment Gallery in 2025. She is also a recipient of the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant and a finalist for the Bennett Prize. CYCLONE V10 ABSOLUTE, 2024 Oil on linen 24 x 42 in | 60 x 106 cm IT WAS DARK INSIDE THE WOLF, 2022 Oil on canvas 48 x 60 in | 121 x 152 cm BALL AND CHAIN, 2022 Oil on canvas 28 x 36 in | 71 x 91 cm

Weekly shoutout: Read the latest literary releases from Punk Noir Magazine! -- Hi there, We're back! Today I am delighted to be arts calling author Theodora Ziolkowski! (www.theodoraziolkowski.com) ABOUT OUR GUEST: THEODORA ZIOLKOWSKI is the author of the novella, On the Rocks (2018 & 2020, The University Press of SHSU/Texas Review Press) and the short story chapbook, Mother Tongues (2016 & 2018, The Cupboard). On the Rocks, winner of a 2018 Next Generation Indie Book Award, is now available as an audiobook. Ziolkowski's debut collection of poems, Ghostlit (2025), is now available. Ziolkowski's work has received support from the Vermont Studio Center, the National Alumni Association (University of Alabama), and Inprint (Houston, Texas). Her fiction, poetry, and essays have appeared in The Writer's Chronicle, Short Fiction (England), and Prairie Schooner, among over sixty other literary journals, magazines, anthologies, and exhibits. In the past, Ziolkowski has served as Poetry Editor for Gulf Coast, Fiction Editor for Big Fiction, and Assistant Poetry Editor for Black Warrior Review. She holds an MFA from the University of Alabama, where she was honored as a ‘30 Under 30' alum, and a PhD in Creative Writing and Literature from the University of Houston, where she was the recipient of the Inprint Marion Barthelme Prize in Creative Writing. Currently, she teaches creative writing as an assistant professor of English at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. GHOSTLIT: A new poetry collection, is now available! BOOKSHOP.ORG | BARNES & NOBLE | POWELL'S BOOKS | AMAZON ABOUT GHOSTLIT: Intimate, urgent, and relentlessly inventive, the poems in Ghostlit reflect upon mythology and feminist pop culture and contemporary ideology as they may become embedded in the psyches and even the bodies of their inheritors. Through visceral and sometimes gothic-inspired images, mythological allusions, and the assemblage of strands of narrative, the poems in this collection chart the ways in which manipulative emotional strategies on individual and cultural levels inflict lingering harm upon minds and bodies. Throughout, the poems peel back the layers of what it means for an abuse survivor to reclaim a sense of self—long after the damage has been done. “It turns out that the years I believed myself lucky/were partly responsible for my thinking/there was something deeply wrong with me” could be understood as a refrain for the speaker in Ghostlit or as a shorthand for a cautionary tale about how many survivors may be encouraged to deny the reality of abuse. Thanks for this amazing conversation, Theodora! All the best! -- Arts Calling is produced by Jaime Alejandro. HOW TO SUPPORT ARTS CALLING: PLEASE CONSIDER LEAVING A REVIEW, OR SHARING THIS EPISODE WITH A FRIEND! YOUR SUPPORT TRULY MAKES A DIFFERENCE, AND THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO LISTEN.

Inner Moonlight is the monthly poetry reading series for the Wild Detectives in Dallas. The in-person show is the second Wednesday of every month in the Wild Detectives backyard. We love our podcast fans, so we release recordings of the live performances every month for y'all! On 2/12/25, we featured poet Caitlin Cowan!Caitlin Cowan is the author of Happy Everything (Cornerstone Press, 2024). She has taught writing at the University of North Texas, Texas Woman's University, and Interlochen Center for the Arts. Her work has received support from the Hambidge Center for Creative Arts, the Sewanee Writers' Conference, and the Vermont Studio Center. Caitlin works in arts nonprofit administration for Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, where she serves as Director of International Tours and as Chair of Creative Writing. She also serves as Poetry Co-Editor at Pleiades and writes PopPoetry, a weekly poetry and pop culture newsletter. Caitlin lives on Michigan's west coast with her husband, their young daughter, and two mischievous cats. Find her at caitlincowan.com.⁠www.innermoonlightpoetry.com

Lisa C. Taylor is the author of the novel, The Shape of What Remains, three poetry collections, most recently Interrogation of Morning (2022) and two short story collections, most recently Impossibly Small Spaces (2018). Her honors include the Hugo House New Fiction Award and Pushcart nominations in fiction and poetry and Best-of-the Net nominations in both categories. Her poetry collaboration with Irish writer Geraldine Mills, The Other Side of Longing received the Elizabeth Shanley Gerson Honor at University of Connecticut. Lisa holds an MFA in Creative Writing and she is the co-director of the Mesa Verde Writers Conference and Literary Festival. She is also a board member for Four Corners Writers and the Mancos Creative District. Lisa has received writing residencies from Vermont Studio Center, Willowtail Springs, and Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Ireland. She teaches writing online and offers workshops around the country.   More: https://www.lisactaylor.com/ Intro Music by Moby Gratis: https://mobygratis.com/ Outro Music by Dan-o-Songs: https://danosongs.com/   Host Mark Stevens www.writermarkstevens.com   Watch these interviews on YouTube (and subscribe)! https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBP81nfbKnDRjs-Nar9LNe20138AiPyP8&si=yl_seG5S4soyk216

Eleanor Vincent joins Let's Talk Memoir for a conversation about trying to save her challenging high conflict marriage, autism in adults and Cassandra Syndrome, what to leave out of a book, self-revelation and honest grappling, the toll of masking autism, emotional abuse, careful framing of those we write about, using a sensitivity reader, support groups for neurodiverse spouses, our narrating personas, writing fearless first drafts, disguising identities and biographical details to protect those we write about, and her new memoir Disconnected.    Ronit's upcoming memoir course: https://www.pce.uw.edu/courses/memoir-writing-finding-your-story   Also in this episode: -complex trauma -hyperfocus -reading unceasingly   Books mentioned in this episode: -The Situation and the Story by Vivian Gornick -Blow Your House Down by Gina Frangello -You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith -This American Ex-Wife by Liz Lenz -Liars by Sarah Manguso -Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset  -22 Things a Woman Must Know If She Loves a Man with Asperger's Syndrome by Rudy Simone  -Books by Anne Patchett   Eleanor Vincent's new memoir Disconnected: Portrait of a Neurodiverse Marriage is forthcoming from Vine Leaves Press. It tells the story of her gradual discovery that her husband was on the autism spectrum, and of how she tried to save a challenging high-conflict marriage. Her previous memoir, Swimming with Maya: A Mother's Story (Dream of Things, 2013) has twice been on the New York Times bestseller list and was nominated for the Independent Publisher of the Year award. Her essays have appeared in anthologies by Creative Nonfiction and This I Believe, the literary magazines 580 Split and Dorothy Parker's Ashes, as well as shorter pieces in the San Francisco Chronicle, the Sacramento Bee, and Generations Today. She has an MFA in creative writing from Mills College and is a member of the San Francisco Writers Grotto, Left Margin Lit, and the Author's Guild. She has taught creative nonfiction seminars at Mills College as a visiting writer and been awarded residencies at Hedgebrook, the Vermont Studio Center, and Writing Between the Vines. She lives in Walnut Creek, California. Connect with Eleanor: Website: https://www.eleanorvincent.com/ Book: https://vineleavespress.myshopify.com/products/disconnected-portrait-of-a-neurodiverse-marriage-by-eleanor-vincent X: https://x.com/eleanorpvincent Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eleanor.vincent/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eleanor.vincent/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eleanorpvincent/ Writing the real world Substack: https://eleanorvincent.substack.com/   – Ronit's writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, Poets & Writers, The Iowa Review, Hippocampus, The Washington Post, Writer's Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named Finalist in the 2021 Housatonic Awards Awards, the 2021 Indie Excellence Awards, and was a 2021 Book Riot Best True Crime Book. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts' 2020 Eludia Award and the 2023 Page Turner Awards for Short Stories.  She earned an MFA in Nonfiction Writing at Pacific University, is Creative Nonfiction Editor at The Citron Review, and teaches memoir through the University of Washington's Online Continuum Program and also independently. She launched Let's Talk Memoir in 2022, lives in Seattle with her family of people and dogs, and is at work on her next book. More about Ronit: https://ronitplank.com Subscribe to Ronit's Substack: https://substack.com/@ronitplank Follow Ronit: https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/ https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlank https://bsky.app/profile/ronitplank.bsky.social   Background photo credit: Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash Headshot photo credit: Sarah Anne Photography Theme music: Isaac Joel, Dead Moll's Fingers

From Dr. Chisaraokwu's website: "My art is a practice of retrieval, reanimation, and re-presentation of the parts of ourselves lost in the wake of trauma. Poetry is the sound, the feel, of those missing | mis-seen parts— raw, unapologetic, found, free. .CHISARAOKWU. is an Igbo American transdisciplinary poet artist, scholar, writer, performer, health futurist, and a 2023 California Arts Council Fellow. Inspired by her love of history, dreamscapes, the environment, quantum physics, and all things Africa(n)|(in)diaspora, she weaves images, textures, and text to create poems. Her work has been honored with awards and fellowships from MacDowell, Cave Canem, Vermont Studio Center, Anaphora Arts, Ucross and Headlands Center for the Arts, among other honors. She is an alum of the Brooklyn Poets Mentorship Program and the 2022 Tin House Winter Workshop. Nominated for Best of Net (Poetry; 2019, 2020, 2021), Best New Poets (2022), and Best New Small Fiction (2022), her words have appeared in academic and literary journals including Transition, Obsidian, midnight&indigo, The Lancet, and The New England Journal of Medicine. Her debut visual art work is featured in Michigan Quarterly Review's Spring 2024 issue, African Cartographies edited by Chris Abani. She earned her BA in History from Stanford University, MD from Duke University School of Medicine, MSPH from UNC Gilling School of Global Public Health, and certification in Global Mental Health & Trauma from Harvard School of Public Health's Refugee Trauma Program. She is a retired pediatrician and an alum of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program at Yale University where her research focused on adverse childhood experiences, mental health and spirituality, and community-based participatory research projects. She is currently working on two poetry collections and a novel. She is the recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship for 2025!! https://www.arts.gov/.../creative.../chisaraokwu-asomugha

Gretchen Scherer  (b. 1979, Indianapolis, IN) received a MFA from Hunter College, NY and a BFA from The University of Illinois at Chicago, IL. Scherer has been awarded residencies at Skowhegan School of Sculpture and Painting, ME and Vermont Studio Center, VT. Recent exhibitions include Richard Heller Gallery, LA; Patricia Low Gallery, Gstaad,Switzerland; Gowen Contemporary, Geneva, Switzerland; Taymour Grahne, London; and Monya Rowe Gallery, NY. Scherer's work was highlighted in Harper's Bazaar Latin Art Issue in “Artists to Follow in 2022”, and in New York Magazine by Jerry Saltz in “The Best Art Shows of 2021”. Scherer's work was recently profiled in the Spring 2024 issue of Juxtapoz magazine (“Gretchen Scherer: If Rooms Could Talk”). Her work is also included in “New Surrealism: The Uncanny in Contemporary Painting” by Robert Zeller, published by Monacelli Press (2024), an imprint of Phaidon. The artist lives and works in West Creek, NJ and Brooklyn, NY. GRETCHEN SCHERER Sir John Soane's Museum, Drawing Office, 2024 oil and acrylic on panel 24 by 30 inches Courtesy of Monya Rowe Gallery, NY. GRETCHEN SCHERER Palazzo Borromeo, Isola Bella, Berthier Gallery, 2024 oil and acrylic on panel 18 by 24 inches Courtesy of Monya Rowe Gallery, NY GRETCHEN SCHERER Palace of Aranjuez, Porcelain Room, 2024 oil and acrylic on panel 18 by 24 inches Courtesy of Monya Rowe Gallery, NY.

In this bonus episode of What's the TEA? host Jason Blitman talks to Hannah Silva about the exploration of queer single parenting and AI in her book, My Child, The Algorithm as well as Tom Pyun about his debut novel, Something Close to Nothing. What's the TEA? gets the inside scoop on new books–authors are tasked with describing their books with 3 words using the letters T, E, and A.Hannah Silva is a writer and performer working in sound poetry, radio and experimental non-fiction. An Artificially Intelligent Guide to Love (BBC Radio 4) starred Fiona Shaw and was the starting point for My Child, the Algorithm. Silva has authored seven other plays for BBC Radio 3 and 4, winning the Tinniswood Award and numerous placements in the BBC Audio Drama Awards. Her debut poetry collection Forms of Protest was Highly Commended in the Forward Prizes. Talk in a bit, a record of sound poetry and music was in the Wire's Top 25 albums of 2018. She lives in London with her child.Tom Pyun earned his MFA at Antioch University Los Angeles and has been awarded fellowships by the Vermont Studio Center, VONA, and Tin House. His creative fiction and nonfiction have appeared in The Rumpus, Reed Magazine, Joyland, and Blue Mesa Review. His essay, “Mothers Always Know,” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net 2015.BOOK CLUB!Use code GAYSREADING at checkout to get first book for only $4 + free shipping! Restrictions apply.http://aardvarkbookclub.comWATCH!https://youtube.com/@gaysreadingBOOKS!Check out the list of books discussed on each episode on our Bookshop page: https://bookshop.org/shop/gaysreading MERCH!Purchase your Gays Reading podcast merchandise HERE! https://gaysreading.myspreadshop.com/ FOLLOW!@gaysreading | @jasonblitman CONTACT!hello@gaysreading.com

When you look at people who are younger than you — particularly teenagers — does your mind ever take you back to yourself at their age? Taylor Johnson's poem “Pennsylvania Ave. SE” performs this feat of time travel, going from a glimpse of two boys on bicycles to a haunting sense memory of what was once so yearned for: to be seen, to be wanted, to be free.Taylor Johnson is proud of being from Washington, D.C. He has received fellowships and scholarships from CALLALOO, Cave Canem, Lambda Literary, VONA, Tin House, Vermont Studio Center, Yaddo, Conversation Literary Festival, Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, and Bread Loaf Environmental Writers' Conference, among others. In 2017, Johnson received the Larry Neal Writers' Award from the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities. His poems appear in The Baffler, Indiana Review, Scalawag, and The Paris Review, among other journals and literary magazines. His first book, Inheritance, was published in November 2020 by Alice James Books.Find the transcript for this show at onbeing.org.We're pleased to offer Taylor Johnson's poem and invite you to subscribe to Pádraig's weekly Poetry Unbound Substack newsletter, read the Poetry Unbound book, or listen to past episodes of the podcast. We also have two books coming out in early 2025 — Kitchen Hymns (new poems from Pádraig) and 44 Poems on Being with Each Other (new essays by Pádraig). You can pre-order them wherever you buy books.

JP Morrison Lans decided to grow up to be an artist while visiting the Carole Laroche Gallery in Santa Fe New Mexico when she was eleven years old. Five years later the Tulsa Artist Coalition supported this dream for her when she was accepted for her first solo exhibition. Since then she has earned her BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute, co-owner a gallery, had her work purchased for the permanent collection of the Bundaberg Regional Gallery in Queensland Australia where she lived for two years and created immersive art installations for AHHA Tulsa, the Living Arts New Genre Festival, and the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition.  Morrison Lans has shows her work with M.A. Doran Gallery, Tulsa; Heron Arts, San Francisco; Keep Contemporary, Santa Fe; and 19 Karen, Gold Coast, Australia. She has been a resident artist at SVA, NY., Truro Art Center, MA., Rockland Woods, WA., the Vermont Studio Center and Quarantine in Menorca, Spain. Morrison Lans is a member of the international artist collective Teleportal.Gallery and is an inaugural member of the NYC Crit Club's Canopy Program. She and her child can typically be found experimenting with encaustic and lego, respectively, from their home studio in Tulsa, Oklahoma.Statement:I explore the relationship of body and psyche by combining figurative realism, symbolic objects and intuitive abstraction. These collected elements are metaphors for my experience of womanhood, motherhood, love, loss, self-preservation, panic, desire, and knowing. Through layers of color pencil I create translucent skin. The addition of gouache and encaustic allows me to comb sheens and dimensional shapes around my drawing, forming membranes and isolated objects which express the subject's emotional escapades. Often I use orientation dissonance –the inversion of the figure– to symbolize circumspection, surrender, gestation, and metamorphosis. I render hands frequently, they represent intention and action, also the mouth, tongue and teeth as gateways between the inner self and outer world. Through taste and touch, we experience intimacy and desire. This anatomy creates boundaries while also being an entry point. My work invites you to experience this same push pull of entering and observing from a distance.

Planet Poet-Words in Space – NEW PODCAST!  LISTEN to my WIOX show (originally aired October 22nd, 2024) featuring award-winning poet Janet Kaplan who will explore the theme of “Chaos and Creativity” in her poetry. Her work has earned praise from poets and critics including Dan Beachy Quick and Adrienne Rich. Visit: Sharonisraelpoet.com.  Visit: Janet Kaplan Ecotones.   Janet Kaplan's full-length poetry books are Ecotones (2022; shortlisted for the Sexton Prize and published by The Black Spring Press Group Ltd., London), Dreamlife of a Philanthropist (2011 Sandeen Prizewinner from the University of Notre Dame Press), The Glazier's Country (2003 Poets Out Loud Prizewinner from Fordham University Press), and The Groundnote (1998, Alice James Books). Her collection & then is forthcoming from PB&J Books. Her honors include grants from the New York Foundation for the Arts and the Bronx Council on the Arts, fellowships and residencies from the VCCA, Yaddo, Ucross, and the Vermont Studio Center. Her work has appeared in many literary journals and anthologies, (An Introduction to the Prose Poem, Firewheel Editions, 2007; Lit from Inside: 40 Years of Poetry from Alice James, Alice James Books, 2012; and Like Light: 25 Years of Poetry & Prose by Bright Hill Poets & Writers, 2017). She has served as Poet in Residence at Fordham University and as a member of the undergraduate and graduate creative writing faculty at Hofstra University, where she edited the digital literary magazine AMP. Praise for Ecotones:"The personal. The citational. The chronicle. All the “conquistadorial spillage….” In Ecotones, Janet Kaplan pieces these verging environs. The writing is transitional; contemplative. We are reminded everywhere of how edges touch, how language is code. The poet has flipped the surface of the page to better show us a map of our disconsolate displacements. “Motion is the translation of a body from the place it occupies to another place,” writes Euler; Janet Kaplan: “and I, bit player, confessor-chronicler, / will write it.”  "- Edric Mesmer, author of Fawning and series editor of Among the NeighborsPraise for Dreamlife of a Philanthropist“…The poems here hover above their own titles, this dreamlife of the poem more important than the poem itself, a place in which thinking is not yet thought, intent not yet conclusive, not language even as a form of life, but language in the process of making that life possible.  It isn't a mental life; it's too real for that easy confine.  Let's just call it the necessary life – a life of serious play.”  - Dan Beachy-Quick

The leaves are turning, the pumpkin spice lattes are brewing, and that means the MFA applicants are revising and re-revising their personal statements. To celebrate the arrival of fall, we're bringing you last season's (super informative) application episode. Stay tuned for a new episode in your feed soon. Happy MFA Application Season to all who celebrate! Jess Silfa returns to the show bringing seven years of experience with the MFA Draft Facebook Group. On this episode, Jess and Jared offer advice for applicants across a wide range of topics: teaching, funding, health insurance, fees, faculty, letters of recommendation, writing samples, statements of purpose, negotiations, timelines, and more. Good luck, friends. Jess Silfa is a writer and poet from the South Bronx. They hold an MFA from Vanderbilt University in Creative Writing (Fiction) and are currently pursuing their Ph.D. in Creative Writing at the University of Cincinnati. They have received a Displaced Artist Fellowship from Vermont Studio Center, a grant from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Mae Fellowship, and a Ricardo Salinas Scholarship for Aspen Summer Words. Jess serves as President for the Disabled and D/deaf Writers Caucus and helps run the https://www.facebook.com/groups/1721618781387008/ Facebook group. Jess's first novel, the story of a tight-knit immigrant community rattled by the war on drugs, goes on submission this fall. Learn more at http://www.jesilfa.com. MFA Writers is hosted by Jared McCormack and produced by Jared McCormack and Hanamori Skoblow. New episodes are released every two weeks. You can find more MFA Writers at http://www.mfawriters.com. BE PART OF THE SHOW — Donate to the show athttps://buymeacoffee.com/mfawriters. — Leave a rating and review on https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mfa-writers/id1514694295. — Submit an episode request. If there's a program you'd like to learn more about, contact us and we'll do our very best to find a guest who can speak to their experience. — Apply to be a guest on the show by filling out https://forms.gle/HPQsty5LQJVUR9naA. STAY CONNECTED Twitter: https://twitter.com/mfawriterspod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mfawriterspodcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MFA-Writers-107901427641104 Email: mailto:mfawriterspodcast@gmail.com

After losing their young son in a tragic accident, Astrid, a Norwegian botanist specializing in Arctic flora, decides to join her husband, Tor, at a remote whaling station in the Arctic, where he spends every whaling season hunting belugas. In heartfelt journal entries, Astrid describes being stranded in a whaling hut through the dark season of 1937-38. She writes about the miscalculations, the terrible weather, the fear of polar bears and freezing to death, the people they've met on their journey, Tor's crew, and her slow disintegration after giving birth to another son, alone in the freezing, dark hut while Tor hunts for food. We know that Tor survived the ordeal, because he is reading Astrid's journal filled with letters to their dead son. The Last Whaler (Regal House, 2024) is a gorgeous, well-researched historical novel about endurance, isolation, the environment, the Nazi incursion into Norway, the pain of postpartum depression, and the human will to survive. Cynthia Reeves is the author of two previous books of fiction: the novel in stories Falling Through the New World (2024), winner of Gold Wake Press's Fiction Award; and the novella Badlands (2007), winner of Miami University Press's Novella Prize. Her fiction, essays, and poetry have appeared widely. Most recently, her short story “The Last Glacier” was included in If the Storm Clears (Blue Cactus Press, 2024), an anthology of speculative literature that concerns the sublime in the natural world. Her lifelong interest in the Arctic began in childhood reading tales of doomed Arctic explorers. But it was her participation in the 2017 Arctic Circle Summer Solstice Expedition, which sailed Svalbard's western shores, as well as two subsequent residencies in Longyearbyen, that have inspired her writing since then. In August 2024, she circumnavigated Svalbard aboard the icebreaker MV Ortelius carrying a hundred artists, scientists, and crew. A Hawthornden Fellow, Cynthia has also been awarded residencies to Vermont Studio Center and Art & Science in the Field. She taught creative writing at Bryn Mawr and Rosemont Colleges, and earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Warren Wilson's low-residency program. She lives with her husband in Camden, Maine. Find out more at cynthiareeveswriter.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

After losing their young son in a tragic accident, Astrid, a Norwegian botanist specializing in Arctic flora, decides to join her husband, Tor, at a remote whaling station in the Arctic, where he spends every whaling season hunting belugas. In heartfelt journal entries, Astrid describes being stranded in a whaling hut through the dark season of 1937-38. She writes about the miscalculations, the terrible weather, the fear of polar bears and freezing to death, the people they've met on their journey, Tor's crew, and her slow disintegration after giving birth to another son, alone in the freezing, dark hut while Tor hunts for food. We know that Tor survived the ordeal, because he is reading Astrid's journal filled with letters to their dead son. The Last Whaler (Regal House, 2024) is a gorgeous, well-researched historical novel about endurance, isolation, the environment, the Nazi incursion into Norway, the pain of postpartum depression, and the human will to survive. Cynthia Reeves is the author of two previous books of fiction: the novel in stories Falling Through the New World (2024), winner of Gold Wake Press's Fiction Award; and the novella Badlands (2007), winner of Miami University Press's Novella Prize. Her fiction, essays, and poetry have appeared widely. Most recently, her short story “The Last Glacier” was included in If the Storm Clears (Blue Cactus Press, 2024), an anthology of speculative literature that concerns the sublime in the natural world. Her lifelong interest in the Arctic began in childhood reading tales of doomed Arctic explorers. But it was her participation in the 2017 Arctic Circle Summer Solstice Expedition, which sailed Svalbard's western shores, as well as two subsequent residencies in Longyearbyen, that have inspired her writing since then. In August 2024, she circumnavigated Svalbard aboard the icebreaker MV Ortelius carrying a hundred artists, scientists, and crew. A Hawthornden Fellow, Cynthia has also been awarded residencies to Vermont Studio Center and Art & Science in the Field. She taught creative writing at Bryn Mawr and Rosemont Colleges, and earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Warren Wilson's low-residency program. She lives with her husband in Camden, Maine. Find out more at cynthiareeveswriter.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature

After losing their young son in a tragic accident, Astrid, a Norwegian botanist specializing in Arctic flora, decides to join her husband, Tor, at a remote whaling station in the Arctic, where he spends every whaling season hunting belugas. In heartfelt journal entries, Astrid describes being stranded in a whaling hut through the dark season of 1937-38. She writes about the miscalculations, the terrible weather, the fear of polar bears and freezing to death, the people they've met on their journey, Tor's crew, and her slow disintegration after giving birth to another son, alone in the freezing, dark hut while Tor hunts for food. We know that Tor survived the ordeal, because he is reading Astrid's journal filled with letters to their dead son. The Last Whaler (Regal House, 2024) is a gorgeous, well-researched historical novel about endurance, isolation, the environment, the Nazi incursion into Norway, the pain of postpartum depression, and the human will to survive. Cynthia Reeves is the author of two previous books of fiction: the novel in stories Falling Through the New World (2024), winner of Gold Wake Press's Fiction Award; and the novella Badlands (2007), winner of Miami University Press's Novella Prize. Her fiction, essays, and poetry have appeared widely. Most recently, her short story “The Last Glacier” was included in If the Storm Clears (Blue Cactus Press, 2024), an anthology of speculative literature that concerns the sublime in the natural world. Her lifelong interest in the Arctic began in childhood reading tales of doomed Arctic explorers. But it was her participation in the 2017 Arctic Circle Summer Solstice Expedition, which sailed Svalbard's western shores, as well as two subsequent residencies in Longyearbyen, that have inspired her writing since then. In August 2024, she circumnavigated Svalbard aboard the icebreaker MV Ortelius carrying a hundred artists, scientists, and crew. A Hawthornden Fellow, Cynthia has also been awarded residencies to Vermont Studio Center and Art & Science in the Field. She taught creative writing at Bryn Mawr and Rosemont Colleges, and earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Warren Wilson's low-residency program. She lives with her husband in Camden, Maine. Find out more at cynthiareeveswriter.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/historical-fiction

In a world where aging is often feared, award-nominated author, poet and psychotherapist Jane Seskin, who is 80 years of age, takes readers on an emotional road trip where they can celebrate the joys and challenges of aging. In Older, Wiser, Shorter: The Truth and Humor of Life After 65 (Tallfellow Press, 2024), Jane reflects on how resilience and self-discovery helped her combat life's trials and tribulations, especially as she grew older. Through a collection of 89 poems, Jane redefines the narrative of aging and offers readers a positive take on what is often perceived as a negative. Older, Wiser, Shorter is an insightful collection of poetry; authentic, funny, quirky and heartfelt, acknowledging the physical vulnerabilities, emotional losses, and surprises people encounter in their senior years. Jane also pays tribute to the sense of power, resilience and new-found joys people discover as they acknowledge and accept their aging. Jane's talent for finding the universal connecting tissue of even our most intimate moments will resonate with readers seeking to discover new ways to honor the past, celebrate the present and welcome the future. Jane says that growing old is a gift. Believe in it. Respect it. Embrace it. From varicose veins to doctors' appointments to forgetting why you walked into the kitchen, Older Wiser Shorter illuminates the ups and downs of growing older, one poem at a time. Not to be feared but welcomed, aging is natural, exciting, and it's better than the alternative! Said Mary Pipher, author of Women Rowing North and My Life in Light, “I sat down to read one poem last night and I ended up reading half the book. I feel as though I know you. You have definitely captured the experience of aging.” Jane is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and the author of 13 books, most recently the poetry collection Older, Wiser, Shorter: The Truth and Humor of Life After 65. Sometimes laughably simple, other times simply profound, Jane's collection is a non-saccharine and delightful account of what getting older is really like. And she actually lost two inches of her height by her 8th decade! In this episode, Jane talks about: stereotypically negative view of aging into a humorous and intimate poetry collection How writing has allowed her to explore self-discovery and resulted in resilience  The process of writing poetry versus her other works Her mindset that aging is natural, can be exciting, and something to look forward to How creating each poem is an experience in navigating aging Jane also has written nonfiction articles and poetry online and for national magazines and journals. Twenty of her poems were published in Cosmopolitan Magazine, five poems in Woman's Day. Eighteen of her posts have been published in the Metropolitan Diary column in the New York Times. Jane has been a writer-in-residence at the Vermont Studio Center and Noepe Center for Literary Arts in Martha's Vineyard. She has also been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Jane is a practicing psychotherapist, who counseled survivors in individual and group treatment at the Crime Victims Treatment Center in New York for 20 years. In her free time, she enjoys the theater, walking by the Hudson River, visiting with friends, reading poetry and mysteries (Louise Penny, David Baldacci, Donna Leon) and listening to jazz (Keith Jarrett, Houston Person, Chris Botti). Jane wrote therapeutic soundbites on Twitter under the title: “Emotional Band-Aid. Small Steps for Change.” Find out more at: https://www.olderwisershorter.com/ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/maria-leonard-olsen/support

Inner Moonlight is the monthly poetry reading series for the Wild Detectives in Dallas. The in-person show is the second Wednesday of every month in the Wild Detectives backyard. We love our podcast fans, so we release recordings of the live performances every month for y'all! On 9/11/2024, we featured poet Jenny Molberg for a very special event co-sponsored by SMU Project Poëtica. We featured Jenny back in March 2020 before we were making a podcast. We're so pleased to be able to bring this performance to you! Originally from Dallas, Jenny Molberg is the author of three collections of poetry: Marvels of the Invisible (winner of the Berkshire Prize, Tupelo Press, 2017), Refusal (LSU Press, 2020), and The Court of No Record (Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, LSU Press, 2023). Her poems and essays have recently appeared in Ploughshares, The Cincinnati Review, VIDA, The Missouri Review, The Rumpus, The Adroit Journal, Oprah Quarterly, and other publications. Her work has received support from the National Endowment for the Arts, VCCA, the Hambidge Center for Creative Arts, the Sewanee Writers Conference, Vermont Studio Center, and the Longleaf Writers Conference. She is Associate Professor and Chair of Creative Writing at the University of Central Missouri, where she edits Pleiades: Literature in Context. ⁠www.innermoonlightpoetry.com

Latest Spoken Label (Spoken Word / Poetry Podcast) features making her debut, Lynne Thompson. Lynne Thompson was Los Angeles' 2021-22 Poet Laureate and received a Poet Laureate Fellowship from the Academy of American Poets. She is the author of three previous collections of poetry: Beg NoPardon, Start With A Small Guitar, and Fretwork, winner of the 2019 Marsh Hawk Poetry Prize. Thompson is the recipient of multiple awards including an Individual Artist Fellowship from the City of Los Angeles, the Tucson Literary Festival Poetry Prize, the Steven Dunn Poetry Prize, the George Drury Prize, as well as fellowships from the Summer Literary Series, Kenya, and the Vermont Studio Center. An attorney by training with a J.D. from Southwestern Law School.Thompson sits on the Boards of Cave Canem, The Poetry Foundation, and the Los Angeles Review of Books. In June 2022, she completed her four-year service as Chair of the Board of Trustees at Scripps College, her alma mater. Thompson's recent work can be found or is forthcoming in the literary journals Best American Poetry, Kenyon Review, The Common, Pleiades, The Massachusetts Review, and Copper Nickel, among others. Her Website is the following: https://www.lynnethompson.us/

Yesterday, we were in rural Virginia interviewing the pioneering regenerative farmer, Joel Salatin. Today, we are on an equally innovative farm in Houston, Texas, in conversation with Kimberley Meyer, author of Accidental Sisters. It's called Shamba Ya Amani (Farm of Peace) and, as Meyer explains in her new book, it's a place where five immigrant women are attempting to build their own American dream. As Meyer notes, American invention comes in all shapes and forms and what these five immigrant women are doing at the urban farm of Shamba Ya Amani is just as innovative as anything one might find in Silicon Valley.Kimberly Meyer is the author of Accidental Sisters: Refugee Women Struggling Together for a New American Dream (University of California Press, 2024) and The Book of Wanderings: A Mother-Daughter Pilgrimage (Little, Brown, 2015). Her work explores displacement, political and spiritual, and the ways that the relationships among women and between mothers and children can become a hopeful act of resistance against human suffering. She is a 2019 MacDowell Fellow and has received grants from the Houston Arts Alliance and writing residencies at the Vermont Studio Center and Bread Loaf Writers' Conference. In addition to her work as a writer, she helped found and helps manage Shamba Ya Amani, the Farm of Peace, alongside a collective of refugee and immigrant women and other local Houstonians.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

Notes and Links to Antonio Lopez's Work      For Episode 241, Pete welcomes Antonio Lopez, and the two discuss, among other topics, his bilingual and multicultural childhood in East Palo Alto, E-40 Fonzarelli, his experiences with bilingualism, formative and transformative reading, the greatness and timelessness of James Baldwin, seeds for Gentefication in the rhythms and cultures and camaraderie of home, his life as a politician and working together with the community towards a stellar achievement, and salient themes in his collection like faith, gentrification and attendant outcomes, grief, trauma, joy, the power of art, and youthful rage and passion.      Antonio López is a poetician working at the intersection of poetry, politics and social change. He has received literary scholarships to attend the Community of Writers, Tin House, the Vermont Studio Center, and Bread Loaf. He is a proud member of the Macondo Writers Workshop and a CantoMundo Fellow. He holds degrees from Duke University, Rutgers-Newark, and the University of Oxford. He is pursuing a PhD in Modern Thought and Literature at Stanford University. His debut poetry collection, Gentefication, was selected by Gregory Pardlo as the winner of the 2019 Levis Prize in Poetry. He recently won a Pushcart Prize for his poem “Our Lady of the Westside.” As district representative for California State Senator Josh Becker, he served as the liaison for the Latinx, veteran, and Muslim communities of State District 13. Antonio has fought gentrification in his hometown as the newest and youngest council member for the City of East Palo Alto, and he is now the city's mayor.  Buy Gentefication   Antonio's East Palo Alto Mayoral Page   KQED Interview  At about 3:00, The two discuss the diversity of the Bay Area At about 4:20, Antonio speaks about “education as a pillar of [his] life” and his relationship with languages and the written word and nurturing schools in East Palo Alto At about 7:15, The two sing the praises of PBS as an educational force, and Antonio recounts an amazing 3rd grade story involving the great Levar Burton At about 11:50, Antonio details some of his favorite texts from childhood, including The Hatchet! At about 13:20, Antonio responds to Pete's questions about ideas of representation in what he read and how he was educated, and Antonio expounded upon the interesting ways in which he grew up in an under resourced school and in the Silicon Valley At about 17:30, The two discuss the huge gap in wealth between Peninsula cities At about 20:00, Pete quotes from the book's Acknowledgements in asking Antonio about his “origin story”; Antonio talks about the personal gaze and gaze from outside East Palo Alto At about 22:25, Antonio reminiscences on the visual and aural feasts, including the music, of his community and the ways in which English was “malleable” and formational for him At about 26:20, The two discuss the ways in which East Palo Alto achieved a huge change, culminating in zero homicides in 2023 At about 30:30, Antonio reflects on the idea that “all art is political” At about 32:25, Pete highlights impressive and creative verbs and language Antonio uses At about 34:50, Pete asks about the pronunciation of the poetry collection and Antonio details the significance of the title At about 37:10, Pete quotes from the book's Prologue from Pardlo and asks Antonio about an early reference in the collection to James Baldwin; Antonio expounds upon the “mill” At about 41:25, The two discuss a memorable line about school reading that didn't feel familiar for Antonio and other resonant lines about education  At about 44:15, Antonio responds to Pete's question about “the borderlands” referred to in the collection  At about 47:45, Antonio gives background on a powerful poem, “Las Chacharas” and its sequel, as well as ideas of relativism as seen in the writing  At about 50:40, Antonio talks about a “narrative wrapped around [him]” and his pride and ambivalence At about 54:15, The two explore ideas of gentrification and losses and beautiful gains that come with immigration, as featured in the collection, including a true story involving Antonio's paternal grandparents   At about 57:20, Pete compliments the poem from the collection that is a sort of tribute to his mom, and Pete wonders about the usage of “Usted” and “Tú”  At about 1:00:25, The two discuss coming-of-age themes in the collection, and Antonio expands upon ideas presented in a four-part poem At about 1:02:15, E-40 (!) and youthful and chaotic energy are the topics of discussion-Antonio reflects on the word “hyphy” At about 1:04:25, The two discuss religion and Catholicism/Christianity's links to colonialism and Antonio's beginnings with Muslim communities At about 1:08:40, Antonio talks about the importance of hadiths and a memorable poem from the collection-a letter written to a hate crime, the murder of Nabra Hassanen At about 1:12:45, DBQ's are highlighted and unique grading rubrics, as rendered in Antonio's work      You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I'm @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I'm @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch this and other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you're checking out this episode.    I am very excited about having one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. A big thanks to Rachel León and Michael Welch at Chicago Review-I'm looking forward to the partnership!     Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl     Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!       This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I'd love for your help in promoting what I'm convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.     Please tune in for Episode 242 with Santiago José Sánchez, a professor of English and a queer Colombian American writer whose writing has appeared in McSweeney's, ZYZZYVA, Subtropics, and Joyland and been distinguished in Best American Short Stories. They are the recipient of a Truman Capote Fellowship from the University of Iowa and an Emerging LGBTQ Voices Fellowship from Lambda Literary.    The episode will go live on July 10 or so.     Lastly, please go to ceasefiretoday.com, which features 10+ actions to help bring about Ceasefire in Gaza.

Los Angeles Poet Laureate, Lynne Thompson, as our distinguished guest. Her words flow gracefully and effortlessly as she reads several of her poignant poems, including Ode to Bones and A Woman's Body, Aging, Still Loves Itself from her latest book Blue on a Blue Palette. Through our conversation, Lynne shares insight into her poetic process, the lessons she has gleaned along her journey, and powerful observations on the current state of women's lives and history. Tune in to experience the eloquent wordsmith at work and delve into an enlightening dialogue with this remarkable poet. Lynne Thompson was the 4th Poet Laureate for the City of Los Angeles, The daughter of Caribbean immigrants, her poetry collections include Beg No Pardon (2007), winner of the Perugia Press Prize and the Great Lakes Colleges Association's New Writers Award: Start with a Small Guitar (2013), from What Books Press; and Fretwork (2019), winner of the Marsh Hawk Press Poetry Prize. Thompson's honors include the Tucson Festival of Books Literary Award (poetry) and the Stephen Dun Prize for Poetry as well as fellowships from the City of Los Angeles, Vermont Studio Center, and the Summer Literary Series in Kenya. https://www.lynnethompson.us/ Lynne Thompson's Blue on a Blue Palette (2024) reflects on the condition of women—their joys despite their histories, and their insistence on survival as issues of race, culture, pandemic, and climate threaten their livelihoods. The documentation of these personal odysseys—which vary stylistically from abecedarians to free verse to centos—replicate the many ways women travel through the stages of their lives, all negotiated on a palette encompassing various shades of blue. These poems demand your attention, your voice: “Say history. Claim. Say wild.” Blue on a Blue Palette Fretwork Beg No Pardon Start with a Small Guitar

The adopted daughter of Caribbean immigrants, Lynne Thompson was Los Angeles' 2021-22 Poet Laureate and received a Poet Laureate Fellowship from the Academy of American Poets. She is the author of three previous collections of poetry: Beg No Pardon, Start With A Small Guitar, and Fretwork, winner of the 2019 Marsh Hawk Poetry Prize. Thompson is the recipient of multiple awards including an Individual Artist Fellowship from the City of Los Angeles, the Tucson Literary Festival Poetry Prize, the Steven Dunn Poetry Prize, the George Drury Prize, as well as fellowships from the Summer Literary Series, Kenya, and the Vermont Studio Center. An attorney by training with a J.D. from Southwestern Law School, Thompson sits on the Boards of Cave Canem, The Poetry Foundation, and the Los Angeles Review of Books. In June 2022, she completed her four-year service as Chair of the Board of Trustees at Scripps College, her alma mater. Thompson's recent work can be found or is forthcoming in the literary journals Best American Poetry, Kenyon Review, The Common, Pleiades, The Massachusetts Review, and Copper Nickel, among others. https://www.lynnethompson.us/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lisa-tomey/message

Temim Fruchter discusses her debut novel, City of Laughter, the Jewish folklore and queer joy that informed it, the circular/non-linear structure to be found in Jewish folklore and in her novel, writing in different timelines and generations, hosting Pete's Reading Series, ultrafemme queerness, and more! Temim Fruchter is a queer nonbinary anti-Zionist Jewish writer who lives in Brooklyn, NY. She holds an MFA in fiction from the University of Maryland, and is the recipient of fellowships from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Vermont Studio Center, and a 2020 Rona Jaffe Foundation Writer's Award. She is co-host of Pete's Reading Series in Brooklyn. Her debut novel, CITY OF LAUGHTER, a New York Times Editors' Pick, is out now on Grove Atlantic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 29! This week we are interviewing the Western-Mass based artist, Ashley Eliza Williams. Ashley is an incredible artist born in the Blue Ridge Mountains in SW Virginia, and making work about interspecies communication and non-human language. Ashley has exhibited widely including at Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver (CO), Hersbruck Museum (Germany), The National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder (CO), Bronx Museum Project Space (NY), The New York Hall of Science (NY), and Wasserman Projects in Detroit (MI). Ashley's work has been featured in many publications including New American Paintings, Hyperallergic, and The Washington Post.  Recent residencies include: Sitka Center for Art and Ecology, Vermont Studio Center, Shoals Marine Laboratory, The Studios at Mass MoCA, and Shangyuan Art Museum, China. In 2023 Ashley was a Lucille Walton Fellow and resident artist at the University of Virginia Mountain Lake Biological Station. This is a great conversation filled with bird song out the window as we talk about communication attempts, creating imaginary worlds, shifts in perspective scales, the impoverishment of imagination from the ongoing extinction of beings, night walks and so much more.  Please give Ashley a follow on instagram. Go check out her website and stay tuned for their next upcoming shows and projects. Please Subscribe to the show, leave a review and share this episode on social media or with friends! Check out our website for more information and follow us on @artist_and_place Steam Clock. Theme music by @GraceImago Podcast graphic design by @RobKimmel

Amy Woolard joins Kevin Young to read “Via Negativa,” by Charles Wright, and her own poem “Late Shift.” Woolard, whose debut poetry collection, “Neck of the Woods,” won the 2018 Alice James Award from Alice James Books. She is the recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Vermont Studio Center, and the Breadloaf Writers' Conference, she's also a civil-rights attorney and the chief program officer for the ACLU of Virginia.

After receiving his BFA from University of Louisville in 2005, James Robert Southard worked for years as a freelance photojournalist and artist. In 2008 he left for Pittsburgh for graduate school in Fine Arts at Carnegie Mellon University. After graduating in 2011he was invited to international exhibitions such as the Moscow Biennale for Young Art, Hel'Pitts'Sinki'Burgh in Finland, Camaguey Cuba's 5th International Video Art Fest and he has participated in the Internet Pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennale in Venice Italy. After receiving his MFA in 2011, James taught as a photography professor at University of Louisville, Kentucky School of Art and Carnegie Mellon University as a professor of fine arts. In the winter and spring of 2012, James continued his series Tooth and Nail with the collaboration of the city of Seoul, Korea at Seoul Art Space Geumcheon. Soon after he took his project to Maine where he was a participant at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, then later at MacDowell Colony in New Hampshire, Yaddo Retreat in New York, Jentel in Wyoming, Vermont Studio Center and to the MASS MoCA residency in North Adams, MA.He has since returned to academia by teaching photography at the University of Kentucky.

Hey everybody! Episode 133 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with Greg Wrenn. Greg reached out to me as he's just published his book, Mothership. It was a pleasure to have Greg on and share about his book, his background, his working with and overcoming PTSD, how he found healing with ayahuasca, and his connection to nature, especially the coral reefs. Greg has a beautiful story and we had a really good conversation about these topics. I trust you all will gain a lot from this episode. As always, to support this podcast, get early access to shows, bonus material, and Q&As, check out my Patreon page below. Enjoy!“A former Stegner Fellow and Jones Lecturer at Stanford University, Greg Wrenn is the author of the forthcoming Mothership: A Memoir of Wonder and Crisis (Regalo Press 2024), an evidence-based account of his turning to coral reefs and ayahuasca to heal from childhood trauma, and Centaur (U of Wisconsin Press 2013), which National Book Award-winning poet Terrance Hayes awarded the Brittingham Prize. ​Greg's work has appeared or is forthcoming in HuffPost, The New Republic, Al Jazeera, The Rumpus, LitHub, Writer's Digest, Kenyon Review, New England Review, The Iowa Review, and elsewhere. He has received awards and fellowships from the James Merrill House, the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, the Vermont Studio Center, the Poetry Society of America, the Hermitage Artist Retreat, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and the Spiro Arts Center.​As an associate English professor at James Madison University, he teaches creative nonfiction, poetry, and environmental literature. He also teaches in the low-residency MFA Program at Bennington Writing Seminars and in the Memoir Certificate Program at Stanford Continuing Studies. He was educated at Harvard University and Washington University in St. Louis.Greg is currently sending out Homesick, his second poetry collection. A student of ayahuasca since 2019, he is a trained yoga teacher and a PADI Advanced Open Water diver, having explored coral reefs around the world for over 25 years. He and his husband live in the mountains of Virginia, the ancestral land of the Manahoac and Monacan people.”To learn more about or contact Greg, including his book, visit his website at: https://www.gregwrenn.comIf you enjoy the show, it's a big help if you can share it via social media or word of mouth. And please Subscribe or Follow and if you can go on Apple Podcasts and leave a starred-rating and a short review. This is super helpful with the algorithms and getting this show out to more people. Thank you in advance!For more information about me and my upcoming plant medicine retreats with my colleague Merav Artzi, visit my site at: https://www.NicotianaRustica.orgTo book an integration call with me, visit: https://jasongrechanik.setmore.comSupport this podcast on Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/UniverseWithinDonate directly with PayPal:https://www.paypal.me/jasongrechanikMusic courtesy of: Nuno Moreno (end song). Visit: https://m.soundcloud.com/groove_a_zen_sound and https://nahira-ziwa.bandcamp.com/ And Stefan Kasapovski's Santero Project (intro song). Visit: https://spoti.fi/3y5Rd4Hhttps://www.facebook.com/UniverseWithinPodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/UniverseWithinPodcast

Interview begins @ 5:18 In this episode, we dive into the compelling journey of Greg Wrenn, author of the ayahuasca eco-memoir Mothership. Greg begins by sharing a poignant excerpt from his book that ties back to an early memory of his mother, illustrating the profound impact of growing up with an emotionally dysregulated parent. His memoir not only explores personal trauma but also the psychodynamics that have shaped his life. Greg, a former Stegner Fellow and an associate professor at James Madison University, discusses the transformative nature of poetry, suggesting that a poem is not merely read but experienced. This belief mirrors his view on life's most impactful experiences—they may not always be pleasant, but they are transformative. A central theme of our conversation is the role of psychedelics, particularly ayahuasca, in personal healing and growth. Greg offers insights into current research, highlighting how psychedelics can reopen critical developmental periods, fostering integration, trauma recovery, and creativity. He emphasizes the importance of being mindful about what we "feed" our brain during these malleable times, as the experiences can deeply sculpt our mind and consciousness. We also critique the modern education system's focus on outcomes over experiences, discussing how this emphasis can hinder deep, meaningful engagement with learning processes. Greg shares how his healing was profoundly influenced by his connections with nature and his experiences with ayahuasca, drawing a powerful link between ecological awareness and personal well-being. Bio: A former Stegner Fellow and Jones Lecturer at Stanford University, Greg Wrenn is the author of ayahuasca eco-memoir Mothership: A Memoir of Wonder and Crisis (Regalo Press 2024), an evidence-based account of his turning to coral reefs and plant medicines to heal from childhood trauma, and Centaur (U of Wisconsin Press 2013), which National Book Award-winning poet Terrance Hayes awarded the Brittingham Prize. Greg's work has appeared or is forthcoming in HuffPost, The New Republic, Al Jazeera, The Rumpus, LitHub, Writer's Digest, Kenyon Review, New England Review, The Iowa Review, and elsewhere. He has received awards and fellowships from the James Merrill House, the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, the Vermont Studio Center, the Poetry Society of America, the Hermitage Artist Retreat, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and the Spiro Arts Center. As an associate English professor at James Madison University, he teaches creative nonfiction, poetry, and environmental literature. He also teaches in the low-residency MFA Program at Bennington Writing Seminars and in the Memoir Certificate Program at Stanford Continuing Studies. He was educated at Harvard University and Washington University in St. Louis. Greg is currently sending out Homesick, his second poetry collection. A student of ayahuasca since 2019, he is a trained yoga teacher and a PADI Advanced Open Water diver, having explored coral reefs around the world for over 25 years. He and his husband live in the mountains of Virginia, the ancestral land of the Manahoac and Monacan people. www.gregwrenn.com Website for The Sacred Speaks: http://www.thesacredspeaks.com WATCH: YouTube for The Sacred Speaks https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOAuksnpfht1udHWUVEO7Rg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesacredspeaks/ @thesacredspeaks Twitter: https://twitter.com/thesacredspeaks Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesacredspeaks/ Brought to you by: https://www.thecenterforhas.com Theme music provided by: http://www.modernnationsmusic.com

Polly Shindler (New Haven, 1977) received her M.F.A. in Painting from Pratt Institute and her B.A. in History from University of Massachusetts. She has shown throughout the U.S. as well as internationally at Rafael Pérez Hernando Gallery in Madrid and Cristea Roberts Gallery in London. She recently had her first solo presentation at NADA Art Fair in Miami and will have her first solo exhibition in April of 2024, both with Deanna Evans Projects. Current shows include Feels Like Home at JDJ gallery, May You Live the Rest of Your Life at BravinLee Programs and Cool and Collected at Kenise Barnes Fine Art. Previous solo shows include Time Management at Freight + Volume, Retreat, at Ortega y Gasset Projects and at the project space Tennis Elbow at The Journal Gallery, NYC. Art Fairs include SP-Arte representing Gisela Projects, São Paulo, BRA, Art Estampa representing Rafael Pérez Hernando Gallery, Madrid, SP, Untitled Art Fair with Pratt Institute Fine Arts and Art on Paper Fair representing 3 Walls, NYC. Polly was awarded the Martha Boschen Porter Grant, a fund of the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation in 2023. Her painting Green Rocking Chair shown in Still Lives, a group show at Underdonk in Brooklyn, was featured in “Goings on About Town” in the New Yorker in September 2018. She was granted a yearlong curatorial residency at Trestle Projects in 2015. Shindler has attended residencies at Vermont Studio Center in 2013, the Wassaic Project in 2020 and 2022, and Provincetown for the DNA Residency in 2021 and 2023 and Yaddo in 2024. Two of her paintings were cover art for published novels, Early Morning Riser by Katherine Heiny and A Likely Story by Leigh McMullan Abramson. She lives in Millerton, NY in the Hudson Valley with her dog, Owen. Polly Shindler, Library Stacks 2024 Acrylic on canvas 8" x 10" Polly Shindler, Moon Garden 3 2024 Acrylic on canvas 24" x 20" Polly Shindler, Stargazing from the Balcony 2024 Acrylic on canvas 30" x 24"

Debbi Kenote in her studio, Brooklyn, NY. 2023. Photograph by Anastasiya Shelest. Courtesy the artist and Cristin Tierney Gallery, New York. Debbi Kenote (b. 1991, Anacortes, WA) has exhibited at galleries internationally, including shows at Kate Werble and Marvin Gardens in New York, Duran|Mashaal Gallery in Montreal, Cob Gallery in London, and Fir Gallery in Beijing. She received her BFA in Painting from Western Washington University and her MFA in Sculpture from Brooklyn College. Her work has been on display at several art fairs, including Art Toronto, Art Plural, Future Fair and SPRING/BREAK Art Show. Kenote has been published through Liquitex, Maake Magazine, Elle Magazine, Innovate Grant, Suboart, The Hopper Prize, Art of Choice, and Hyperallergic. Her work has been placed in several collections, including the OZ Art Collection and the Capital One Corporate Collection. She has been an artist in residence at the Ucross Foundation, Vermont Studio Center, Saltonstall Foundation, PLOP, Nes Artist Residency, and the Mineral School. In 2022 she was a finalist for the Innovate Grant and in 2021 she was shortlisted for the Hopper Prize. Kenote lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. Debbi Kenote, Wax Cap, 2024. Acrylic and dye on canvas, hinges. 48 x 96 inches (121.9 x 243.8 cm).Courtesy the artist and Cristin Tierney Gallery, New York. Debbi Kenote, Elm Cap, 2024. Acrylic and dye on canvas, hinges. 36 x 72 inches (91.4 x 182.9 cm).Courtesy the artist and Cristin Tierney Gallery, New York. Debbi Kenote, Amanita, 2024. Acrylic and dye on canvas, hinges. 36 x 72 inches (91.4 x 182.9 cm).Courtesy the artist and Cristin Tierney Gallery, New York.

John Paul Kesling (b. 1980, USA) was born and raised in Northeastern Kentucky in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. He received his BFA in Arts from Morehead State University (Morehead, KY, 2003) and spent a summer in Europe studying art history (Summer 2002). He went on to receive his MFA in Painting from The Savannah College of Art and Design (Savannah, GA, 2010). He spent the next six years in Brooklyn, NY immersed in the NYC art scene. In March of 2016, while attending a month-long residency at The Vermont Studio Center he realized how integral time, space, and nature were to his studio practice and in 2016, relocated to Madison, TN, just outside of Nashville. His work has been featured in various group exhibitions at Ground Floor Contemporary (Birmingham, AL), Lowe Mill (Huntsville, AL), Gallery 85 (Chelsea, NY), The Parthenon (Nashville, TN), CultureLab LIC (Queens, NY), Piano Craft Gallery (Boston, MA), New York Hall of Science & SciArts Initiative (Queens, NY), Prince Street Gallery (New York, NY), Flatwork Contemporary (online), I Like Your Work Podcast (online and print), ArtMaze Mag (online and print), Create Magazine (online) and the NYC Crit Club Winter Session 2023 (curated by MEPAINTSME). In 2022 he was accepted to the White Columns Curated Online Artist Registry (New York, NY). His work is included in the permanent collections of The Savannah College of Art and Design (Atlanta, GA and Lacoste, France), Vanderbilt University Medical Center Community Arts Initiative and Soho House Nashville. He has attended artist residencies at Vermont Studio Center (Johnson, VT), Art Residency Chattanooga (Chattanooga, TN), Azule (Hot Springs, NC), Jx Farms (Cleveland, MS), and Mudhouse (Crete, Greece). He has had solo shows at Wheelhouse Arts (Louisville, KY), Oz Arts (Nashville, TN) and The Red Arrow Gallery (Nashville, TN).  He has an upcoming residency at On:View Artist Residency at Sulfur Studios (May 2024, Savannah, GA) and a solo show at The Ellis Gallery at Sulfur Studios (July 2024, Savannah, GA). In April, 2024 he will also be included in a group exhibition at Tyger Tyger Gallery (Asheville, NC). In 2024, Kesling will also be showing in two-person shows at The Gadsden Museum of Art (Gadsden, AL), Wheelhouse Arts (Louisville, KY), and Ground Floor Contemporary (Birmingham, AL).  Kesling is a member of the artist collective at Ground Floor Contemporary (Birmingham, AL) and is represented by The Red Arrow Gallery (Nashville, TN) and Wheelhouse Art (Louisville, KY). "My practice delves into the complexities of human intimacy, both romantic and familial. After the death of my younger brother and many of my friends to the ongoing opioid epidemic of my Appalachian hometown and the country at large, my own mortality became embedded within my active mark-making. Driven by a need to understand the world around me, my work serves as a visual exploration of the emotional and psychological intricacies of relationships, personal loss, and our place in the natural world. Imbued with a deep sense of nostalgia, the work harkens back to the excitement and vulnerability of new human connections and experiencing nature in a new light. For me, painting is as necessary as digging in the dirt - dragging your hand through a body of water - across a freshly buzzed head."   LINKS:  www.johnpaulkesling.com   www.instagram.com/johnpaulkesling         Artist Shout Out:    Brett Douglas Hunter @brettdouglashunter Marlos E'van @marlosevan Lindsy Davis @lindsydavis_     I Like Your Work Links: Check out our sponsor for this episode: The Sunlight Podcast: Hannah Cole, the artist/tax pro who sponsors I Like Your Work, has launched Business Deduction Deep Dive:  For artists and self-employed creatives. and is everything you need to know about self-employed tax deductions. It's just $97 and one hour to save you thousands on your taxes, this year, next year, and forever. Get it at sunlighttax.com/deductions.    Chautauqua Visual Arts: https://art.chq.org/school/about-the-program/two-week-artist-residency/ 2-week residency https://art.chq.org/school/about-the-program/ 6-week residency   Apply for Summer Open Call: Deadline May 15 Join the Works Membership ! https://theworksmembership.com/ Watch our Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ilikeyourworkpodcast Submit Your Work Check out our Catalogs! Exhibitions Studio Visit Artist Interviews I Like Your Work Podcast Say “hi” on Instagram

Marc Mitchell holds a M.F.A from Boston University. His work has been included in exhibitions at the Schneider Museum of Art, Southern Oregon University; University of Wisconsin, Madison; University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa; Florida Atlantic University Galleries, Boca Raton; TOPS Gallery, Memphis, TN; GRIN Gallery, Providence, RI; Laconia Gallery, Boston, MA; and others. Mitchell has been featured in publications such as the Boston Globe, Burnaway, and Number Inc; and was selected for New American Paintings in 2014, 2017, 2018, and 2020. Mitchell has been an Artist-in-Residence at the Banff Center for Arts & Creativity, Ucross Foundation, Vermont Studio Center, Hambidge Center for the Arts, Jentel Foundation, and Tides Institute/StudioWorks. In 2021, Mitchell was a Fellow at The American Academy in Rome. In addition to his studio practice, Mitchell has curated exhibitions that feature artists such as Tauba Auerbach (Diagonal Press), Mel Bochner, Matt Bollinger, Mark Bradford, Tara Donovan, Chie Fueki, Daniel Gordon, Sara Greenberger-Rafferty, Philip Guston, Josephine Halvorson, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Jenny Holzer, Rashid Johnson, Mary Reid Kelley, Ellsworth Kelly, Arnold Kemp, Allan McCollum, Kay Rosen, Erin Shirreff, Lorna Simpson, Jered Sprecher, Jessica Stockholder, Jason Stopa, Hank Willis Thomas, Carrie Mae Weems, Lawrence Weiner, Wendy White, Molly Zuckerman-Hartung, and many others. "I am influenced by many things—1980's guitars, VHS tapes, World War I battleships, sunrise/sunset gradients, moiré patterns, and more. Over the past 3 years, ‘notions of cycle' have played an increased role in the development of my paintings; and I'm curious how the avant-garde succeeds and fails within popular culture. Currently, I'm interested in how the landscape has been depicted throughout American culture. Whether it's Thomas Cole and Albert Bierstadt of the Hudson River School, Georgia O'Keeffe's monumental work at the Art Institute of Chicago, or an Instagram post of a sunset—each conveys a romanticized view of our world. The most recent paintings are an amalgamation of experiences that I've had within the American landscape; with each painting flowing freely between representation and abstraction." LINKS:  www.mmitchellpainting.net   www.instagram.com/methan18     Artist Shout Out:    UARK Drawing --- https://www.uarkdrawing.com/ and @uarkdrawing UARK Painting --- https://www.uarkpainting.com/ and @uarkpaintning   I Like Your Work Links: Check out our sponsor for this episode: The Sunlight Podcast: Hannah Cole, the artist/tax pro who sponsors I Like Your Work, has opened her program Money Bootcamp with a special discount for I Like Your Work listeners. Use the code LIKE  to receive $100 off your Money Bootcamp purchase by Sunlight Tax. Join Money Bootcamp now by clicking this link: https://www.sunlighttax.com/moneybootcampsales and use the code LIKE. Chautauqua Visual Arts: https://art.chq.org/school/about-the-program/two-week-artist-residency/ 2-week residency https://art.chq.org/school/about-the-program/ 6-week residency   Apply for Summer Open Call: Deadline May 15 Join the Works Membership ! https://theworksmembership.com/ Watch our Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ilikeyourworkpodcast Submit Your Work Check out our Catalogs! Exhibitions Studio Visit Artist Interviews I Like Your Work Podcast Say “hi” on Instagram

From integrating culture to the pros of magical realism and around to how she landed her agent, the content in this episode with guest María Alejandra Barrios Vélez pulls from a well of experience and offers firsthand advice to new and aspiring writers everywhere. Also talk about María's debut book, scheduled just weeks out from this episode air date on Am I Write!ResourcesRead THE WAVES TAKE YOU HOMEWebsite: https://mariaalejandrabarriosvelez.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariaalebvelezwrites/One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez The House of the Spirits by Isabel AllendeAbout María María Alejandra Barrios Vélez is a writer born in Barranquilla, Colombia. She has an MA in creative writing from the University of Manchester and lives in Brooklyn with her husband and scruffy dog, Gus.She was the 2020 SmokeLong Flash Fiction Fellow, and her stories have been published in Shenandoah Literary, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, El Malpensante, Fractured Lit, SmokeLong Quarterly, The Offing, and more. Her work has been supported by organizations such as Vermont Studio Center, Kweli, Caldera Arts, and the New Orleans Writers' Residency.The Waves Take You Home is María's debut, inspired by the resilience and strength of the women in her family and the Caribbean city she spent most of her life in.

Wang Ping is a poet, writer, photographer, installation artist, founder and director of Kinship of Rivers project. Her multi-media exhibitions include “Kinship of Rivers: We Are Water,” “Behind the Gate: After the Flood of the Three Gorges,” and hundreds of other installation exhibitions at schools, colleges, galleries, museums, lock and dams, confluences around the world, including the interactive installations at the Everest (Tibet and Nepal sides) and Kilimanjaro. Ping, Professor Emerita of English at Macalester College, has authored 15 award winning books of poetry, prose and translations. Her awards include Minnesota Book Award, Eugene Kagen, and Asian American Studies awards. Ping is also a recipient of grants from the NEA, Bush Artist Fellowship for poetry, McKnight Fellowship and residencies through the Lannan Foundation Residency, Vermont Studio Center, and many others. She received Distinct Immigrant Award in 2014, Venezuela International Poet of Honor in 2015, and Minnesota Poet Laureate 2021-2023, appointed by International Beat Poetry Foundation. Get involved and support the show and more sports media for women through https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hearher Find all episodes http://www.hearhersports.com/ Find Hear Her Sports on all social @hearhersports Find Ping at www.wangping.com Find Ping on IG at https://www.instagram.com/wangping9/ Find Oiselle Pocket Joggers at https://www.oiselle.com/collections/pockets/products/pocket-jogger-tights

Temim Fruchter is a queer nonbinary Jewish writer who lives in Brooklyn. She holds an MFA in fiction from the University of Maryland and is the recipient of fellowships from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Vermont Studio Center, and a 2020 Rona Jaffe Foundation Writer's Award. She is co-host of Pete's Reading Series in Brooklyn. Her debut novel is City of Laughter. We talked about origin stories for families and books, queer sensibility, growing up Modern Orthodox Jew, unraveling the mysterious stories of our lives, and pushing boundaries in life and creative writing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Annie Tan is a writer, educator, storyteller, speaker, and activist based in New York City. Annie's work as an educator and advocate has been featured in The New York Times, Huffington Post, The New Republic, PBS' Asian Americans, and twice on The Moth Radio Hour. Annie is currently working on her first book, a memoir. Her writing has been supported by the Vermont Studio Center, the Tin House Writing Workshop, and the Bread Loaf Writers Conference.You can find Annie on Twitter and Instagram at annietangent. Annie is available for speaking engagements and storytelling events: you can see more about Annie's speaking here. To contact Annie, email at annie@annietan.com or fill out this contact form.

In this episode, we delve into the spunky, bright, and warm world of Conny Goelz Schmitt, a renowned collage artist and sculptor whose work is deeply influenced by her rich multicultural experiences. Conny's journey spans continents, from her upbringing in Germany to her time in Taiwan and eventual settling in the United States. She seamlessly integrates elements of her diverse cultural background through her art, drawing inspiration from German artistry's meticulous attention to detail, the vibrant retro aesthetics of 1980s Taiwan, and the boundless creativity of the American pioneering spirit. Her profound connection with vintage books lies at the core of Conny's artistic expression. She shares her evolution from 2D collages to intricate 3D sculptures, experimenting with various levels of complexity and materials such as wallpaper and enamel. Despite exploring different mediums, Conny's unwavering dedication to books as her primary medium remains unwavering. For her, books serve as a conduit for time travel, bridging the past with the future and igniting a continuous stream of creative ideas. During our conversation, Conny reflects on her recent residency in Pouch Cove, delving into the projects she worked on and the inspiration she drew from the serene coastal surroundings. We explore the underlying reasons behind her choice of books as a medium and her profound attachment to them, prompting her to question the essence of her creative journey and the inexhaustible wellspring of ideas that fuels her passion. Finally, we discuss Conny's unique perspective on cultural similarities from her immersive experiences in Germany, Taiwan, and the United States. Through her keen observations, she unveils unexpected connections that transcend geographical boundaries, highlighting the universal language of art that resonates across diverse cultures. Conny is a joy, and I hope you enjoy this conversation! Topics discussed: • Cultural Fusion in Art: • The Timeless Medium of Vintage Books • Exploring Creativity and Collaboration. About Conny: Conny Goelz Schmitt is a collage artist and sculptor who spent her youth in Germany, moved to Taiwan in her twenties, and relocated to the US in 1996. Having been immersed in three very different cultures, she is drawn to hard edge painting influenced by the German “attention to detail”, the retro color palette reminiscent of Taiwan in the 80s, and the very often experimental and creative pioneering spirit of Americans. Her medium of choice is almost without exception the vintage book. In Germany she studied Sinology and German Literature at Eberhard Karls University in Tuebingen. She was named Sculptor of the Year by Chief Curator of Boston University, Kate McNamara in CAA's 69th Members' Prize Show. In 2016, Paul C. Ha, Director of the List Visual Art Center at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, selected her work for the Best Multi Media Prize in CAA's National Prize Show. She was awarded a fellowship to the Vermont Studio Center for 2020. Besides exhibiting at Kathryn Markel Fine Arts, New York, NY and Hidell Brooks Gallery in Charlotte, her work has been featured at Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne (Germany), the Cultural Association of Rosa Venerini, Viterbo (Italy), The Painting Center, New York, Site: Brooklyn, New York, The Danforth Art Museum, Framingham, MA, among others. Conny has a studio in Beverly, Massachusetts. Connect with Conny Gölz Schmitt Conny's Instagram Conny's Website Connect with Stephanie Instagram: @stephaniegraham @noseyafpod Check out my art and projects More Episodes at noseyaf.com Leave me feedback or send me a message Support the Show! Rate and Review the show Share noseyAF with your friends  Buy a pin  Buy a print Get the noseyAF newsletter Sponsorship Opportunities

In their latest collection of poems, Cave Canem Poetry Prize winner Brionne Janae dives into the deep, unsettled waters of intimate partner violence, queerness, grief, and survival. This event took place on July 6, 2023. “I've decided I can't trust anyone who uses darkness as a metaphor for what they fear,” poet Brionne Janae writes in this stunning new collection, in which the speaker navigates past and present traumas and interrogates familial and artistic lineages, queer relationships, positions of power, and community. Because You Were Mine is an intimate look at love, loneliness, and what it costs to survive abuse at the hands of those meant to be “protectors.” In raw, confessional, image-heavy poems, Janae explores the aftershocks of the dangerous entanglement of love and possession in parent-child relationships. Through this difficult but necessary examination, the collection speaks on behalf of children who were left or harmed as a result of the failures of their parents, their states, and their gods. Survivors, queer folks, and readers of poetry will find recognition and solace in these hard-wrought poems—poems that honor survivorship, queer love, parent wounds, trauma, and the complexities of familial blood. Get Because You Were Mine from Haymarket: https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/... Speakers: Brionne Janae is a poet and teaching artist living in Brooklyn. They are the author of Blessed are the Peacemakers (2021), which won the 2020 Cave Canem Northwestern University Press Poetry Prize, and After Jubilee (2017). Janae is the recipient of the St. Botoloph Emerging Artist award, a Hedgebrook Alum, a proud Cave Canem Fellow, and a 2023 National Endowment of the Arts Creative Writing Fellow. Their poetry has been published in Best American Poetry (2022), Ploughshares, the American Poetry Review, the Academy of American Poets Poem-a-Day, the Sun Magazine, jubilat, and Waxwing among others. Janae is the co-host of the podcast The Slave is Gone. Off the page they go by Breezy. Amber Flame is an interdisciplinary artist whose work garnered residencies with Hedgebrook, Vermont Studio Center, and more. Her first poetry collection, Ordinary Cruelty, was published through Write Bloody Press. Flame is a recipient of Seattle Office of Arts and Culture's CityArtist grant and served as Hugo House's 2017-2019 Writer-in-Residence for Poetry. Krysten Hill is the author of How Her Spirit Got Out (Aforementioned Productions, 2016), which received the 2017 Jean Pedrick Chapbook Prize. Her work has been featured in The Academy of American Poets' Poem-a-Day Series, Poetry Magazine, PANK, Up the Staircase Quarterly, Winter Tangerine Review, and elsewhere. She is recipient of the 2016 St. Botolph Club Foundation Emerging Artist Award, 2020 Mass Cultural Council Poetry Fellowship, and 2023 Vermont Studio Center Residency. JR Mahung is a Belizean-American poet from the South Side of Chicago and one half of the Poetry duo Black Plantains with Malcolm Friend. They teach, write, and study in Amherst, MA. JR is a 2016 Pushcart Prize nominee, a 2017 Emerging Poet's Incubator Fellow, and the 2018 Individual World Poetry Slam representative for the Boston Poetry Slam. Tweet them about rice and beans @jr_mahung. Cynthia Manick is the author of No Sweet Without Brine, editor of The Future of Black: Afrofuturism, Black Comics, and Superhero Poetry, winner of the Lascaux Prize in Collected Poetry, and author of Blue Hallelujahs. She has received fellowships from Cave Canem, Hedgebrook, MacDowell Colony, and Château de la Napoule among other foundations. Watch the live event recording: https://youtube.com/live/oQzdrRc6y7k Buy books from Haymarket: www.haymarketbooks.org Follow us on Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/haymarketbooks

On Season 4, Episode 5, Emily sits down with artist Natalie Baxter in her studio in Upstate NY.  Natalie Baxter (b. 1985, Lexington, KY) received her MFA from the University of Kentucky in 2012 and a BA in Fine Art from the University of the South in Sewanee, TN in 2007. Her work has been exhibited in galleries, museums, universities, and fairs internationally with recent shows at Denny Dimin Gallery in both New York and Hong Kong, The New York Historical Society, The Torrance Art Museum, and Supermarket Art Fair in Stockholm. She has been an artist in residency at the Wassaic Project, Stove Works, a fellowship recipient at the Vermont Studio Center, IASPIS grant recipient at Konstepidemin in Gothenburg, Sweden, New York State Council for the Arts grant recipient, and twice awarded the Queens Art Fund Grant. Press for Baxter's work includes, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Hyperallergic, The Guardian, and Bomb Magazine.  theartcareer.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Natalie Baxter: @nattybax Follow us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@theartcareer⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Podcast host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@emilymcelwreath_art⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Editing: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@benjamin.galloway⁠

Jordan Buschur is an artist, educator, and curator based in Toledo, Ohio. Her paintings focus on collections of objects ranging from stacked books to interiors of drawers, all united by a system of value based on mystery, sentimentality, and a matriarchal connection. Buschur received an M.F.A. in Painting from Brooklyn College, the City University of New York. Her work has been shown in numerous locations, including exhibitions with the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts (Grand Rapids, MI), Center for Book Arts (NYC), and Field Projects (NYC). She participated in residencies at the Wassaic Project, Chashama North, the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, and the Vermont Studio Center. Awards include the Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award and the Kimmel Foundation Artist Award. Her work has been featured in print in New American Paintings and UPPERCASE Magazine, and online with The Jealous Curator, Young Space, and BOOOOOOOM, among many others. She is a co-founder of Co-Worker Gallery and has curated exhibitions at Cuchifritos Gallery + Project Space (NYC), Spring/Break Art Show (NYC), and the Neon Heater (Findlay, Ohio). Buschur was the Director of the Eisentrager-Howard Gallery at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln and currently teaches drawing at the University of Toledo. "My paintings imply a human presence through depictions of accumulated collections. Contents of desk drawers, stacks of books, packed boxes, and objects on display, are united by systems of value shaped by mystery, sentimentality, and the matriarchal connection. Each painting focuses on the oscillation between personal resonance and public view, reality and invention, fixed meaning and open interpretation. I'm interested in the assignment of non-monetary significance onto objects as an inherently interior and idiosyncratic act. In this way, the paintings are portraits as I meditate on the details (both mundane and magical) of the accumulated stuff of friends and family (and my own things too). Simultaneously, the collections point towards the material weight of modern life, the anxiety of consumption, and the endgame of anonymous personal effects. Looking through the lens of inheritance, accumulations of sentimental objects can link to ancestors, while also becoming a burden of junk. A well loved thing, so deeply felt by one, shapeshifts in meaning when passed to a new owner and generation."   LINKS:  www.jordanbuschur.com   @jordanbuschur   Artist Shoutouts: Crystal Phelps Natalie Lanese Lindsay Akens Nancy Friedemann-Sánchez Charley Friedman Angeles Cossio Dana Fritz Margaret Bohls Jac Lahav Maia Cruz Palileo     I Like Your Work Links: Apply to our Winter  Exhibition Catalog: https://www.ilikeyourworkpodcast.com/submitwork   Join the Works Membership ! https://theworksmembership.com/   Watch our Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ilikeyourworkpodcast   Submit Your Work Check out our Catalogs! Exhibitions Studio Visit Artist Interviews I Like Your Work Podcast Say “hi” on Instagram

Jodi Hays is a painter who has had recent solo shows at Night Gallery (Los Angeles) and two-person shows at Susan Inglett Gallery (New York City) and Devening Projects (Chicago). Brooks Museum, Fisk University, and Devening Projects, among others. She was a 2019 Finalist for the Hopper Prize and the recipient of grants from the Rauschenberg Foundation, Foundation for Contemporary Art, Sustainable Arts Foundation and the Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation. Residencies include Oxbow School of Art, Stoveworks, The Cooper Union School of Art and Vermont Studio Center. Her work has been published in Art Forum, New American Painting, Hyperallergic, New Art Examiner and Two Coats of Paint. Her paintings can be found in many public and corporate collections including the J Crew Group, Morgan Stanley, Fidelity, and the Birmingham Museum of Art.