BOA Blog

Aleš Šteger's The Book of Things, translated by Brian Henry and published by BOA in 2010, is the winner of the AATSEEL's 2011 Award for Best Literary Translation into English! Šteger's poems in The Book of Things were originally written in Slovenian, and were translated into English as a part of BOA's Lannan Translations Series. The AATSEEL praised Brian Henry for his "outstanding" translation of a poet who is "not as well-known in this country as he should be." As indicated in the book's title, the poems explore a wide range of objects and "things" at their beginnings, which lead...

Having received heaps of praise since its publication, Aracelis Girmay's Kingdom Animalia is a focus of interest once more, in the May 2012 issue of Gently Read Literature: Reviews of Contemporary Poetry & Literary Fiction. Reviewer Michelle Ovalle singles out Girmay's poem "This Morning the Small Bird Brought a Message From the Other Side," pulling from it two powerful lines she believes sum up the book as a whole: "I want to know what to do / with the dead things we carry." In a compelling and astute interpretation of the lines, Ovalle reminds us that Girmay's "dead things" are...

Can you imagine a life with rare access to quality literature? There's nothing quite like buying a new book, cracking open the fresh binding, and digging into the insights and voices of others. In recent years, adult illiteracy rates in New York State have been an increasing concern, especially in outlying (often overlooked) counties with low per capita income levels. In an effort to reach out to these under-served communities, The Poulin Project (full name: "Al Poulin Jr. Independent Publishers Development Project"), which is named in honor of BOA's Founder, is offering free box sets of literature to Literacy, GED/ESOL...

Just days ago, Star Tribune reviewed one of BOA's newest titles The Reindeer Camps by Barton Sutter, calling the poet a "virtuoso of form" and "meter," a rather rare quality today. The review also makes it clear: this is poetry with a sense of humor! Sutter's poetry so naturally embodies rhythm, metaphor, and rhyme, that the review acknowledges it's no surprise that Sutter is also a musician. With musical quality, playful descriptions, and profound insight, Sutter's The Reindeer Camps shows he is "unafraid to employ meter and humor" as he "revels in the natural world" and writes poems "that reveal...

Recently, Ryan Teitman's Litany for the City was reviewed and highly praised by Mary: Journal of New Writing. The careful and thoughtful review catches on (and gives full credit and appreciation) to all the finer details of Teitman's new book.  Highlighted are the skills Teitman employs through his language and other poetic devices:  from his choice of the word "litany" to his use of the preposition "for" in the book's title. Called "impressive" by the review, it is suggested that the artfulness of Litany for the City comes from Teitman's ability to balance "curiosity about present and ancient cities" without...