BOA Blog

Marked by its portrayals of the "post-industrial wastelands of Detroit and Pittsburgh," the Mid-American Review describes Birth Marks as a navigation through the "loss of innocence, loss of life, loss of direction." "A family history of alcoholism, a dying city's fevered baseball dreams, and an adolescence only half-remembered through a blur of narcotics, are woven together with masochistic wit, as Daniels plunges readers into a world where there is 'Nothing to do but put it all out for the trash and start over.'" Divided into four sections, Daniels' new collection ultimately warns readers about the "balancing act" that life becomes. "Whether...

In a 32 Poems review of Bruce Beasley's Theophobia, Luke Hankins taste-tests several poems both analytically and artistically, highlighting the theological, philosophical, and spiritual connotations of the collection. The reviewer suggests that Beasley's poems "repeatedly raise the moral considerations inherent in the idea of a creator who is dreadful as well as glorious" and that such considerations are examined through the "lens of scientific learning." Though seemingly fascinated by the intellectual content of Beasley's work, Hankins notes that the subject matter of his poems does not detract from the artfulness of Beasley's writing, but rather reinforces the idea that "art convinces...

Winner of the BOA Short Fiction Prize, Douglas Watson's fiction collection The Era of Not Quite is unique in its "sublimely serious play and playful seriousness," says Heavy Feather review. "When I read Douglas Watson’s debut story collection, The Era of Not Quite," says the reviewer, "I was awash with a rare and nourishing feeling: that what I was reading was exactly what I needed to be reading at that time exactly. Each of his stories deals a dark and witty blow. The collection is alive with a searing sense of humor, with wild formal play. It cranked me up...

The Oasis of Now, Sohrab Sepehri's first publication in the United States, is praised by World Literature Today and Three Percent review for its ability to marry "our everyday senses and that of nature flawlessly." According to Word Literature Today's Nota Bene review: "Sepehri combines his rich knowledge of Buddhism, Sufi mysticism, and western traditions in the rapturous collection." Because of this integration of several belief systems, Sepehri is seen as an emblem of justice and peace in Iranian culture. His poetry often appeared on signs, banners, and clothing during the 2009 Iranian election protests. One of the five most...

With the 14th annual A. Poulin, Jr. Poetry Prize just around the corner, we are thrilled to announce that National Book Award-winning poet Mary Szybist will judge this year’s contest. Mary Szybist is most recently the author of Incarnadine, winner of the 2013 National Book Award for Poetry. Her first collection of poetry, Granted, was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the winner of the 2004 Great Lakes Colleges Association New Writers Award. The recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Rona Jaffe Foundation, the Witter Bynner Foundation, and...