BOA Blog

The Culture Trip recently named Erika Meitner (Copia, 2014) as one of "10 Young American Poets Changing the Face of Poetry." She was placed alongside such highly acclaimed poets as Sandra Beasley, Michael Dickman, Camille Dungy, and Tracy K. Smith, among others. According to The Culture Trip, "Here you’ll find prize winners galore and poetry ranging in theme from the angry to the contemplative--the best young American poets writing today." Copia, Erika Meitner's fourth book, grapples with the widespread implications of commercialism and over-consumption, particularly in exurban America. Documentary poems originally commissioned by Virginia Quarterly Review examine the now-bankrupt city...

In a post from Beyond the Margins, Robert Thomas, author of Bridge, shares his perspective on the differences between composing poetry and writing prose. Beyond the obvious distinctions inherent in the genres, Thomas discusses the personal challenges he faced when switching from poetry to prose: "It’s hard for me to get beyond my inhibitions when writing poetry, but I can lose them in prose. In poetry I get stuck—'I can’t say that—it’s too prosaic'— meaning it’s too complex to be expressed concisely. I never think the reverse when writing prose. I never think, 'I can’t say that—it’s too intense or passionate or beautiful or poetic.'" "The...

Nickole Brown's forthcoming Fanny Says has been featured on NPR Books' 2015 Poetry Preview. Claiming that "we need poetry even more than 'more than ever,'" reviewer Craig Morgan Teicher recommends a list of 2015 poets that "offers plenty of the balm and fervor we need right now." Here's what the preview says about Fanny Says, out from BOA in April: "Brown's sprawling sophomore collection is a lyrical biography of and tribute to her wise and irreverent southern grandmother. Along with a memorable lesson in the use of the word 'flitter,' what'll stick most is this book's unknown 'word for all...

BOA poet John Gallaher was recently interviewed by NightBlock's Eric Enquist on what Gallaher calls "inexpensive therapy." This form of therapy is prevalent in his new book In a Landscape, as Gallaher discusses his adoption in 1968 and how that has influenced his writing. "We all feel, at least sometimes, like we're dislocated," Gallaher says. "But for adopted people, it's actual. We are dislocated." At first, Gallaher was opposed to calling the collection a "book of poetry," and felt that this particular writing style and content was better suited as non-fiction. He says in the interview: "One of the things about poetry...

A review from Galatea Resurrects calls Karen Volkman's Nomina "a work whose sonnets’ flash quicksilver modifications, an impressive display of Petrarchan rhyme and, to some degree, a restricted verbal palate, so long as one reads 'restricted' as willful, as could be with a painter who chooses to work within a specific degree of hues. In tandem, these aspects create a thriving culture in which elaboration leads to acceleration." Reviewer Adam Strauss commends Volkman's bold use of the Petrarchan rhyme scheme, saying that it creates a "most gauchely delicious" feeling. "Nomina has as many gorgeous, gorgeously energetic poems within its pages as...