BOA Blog

BOA Editions is very happy to announce that Hey Small Press! has selected two of our books for their November list.  For those unfamiliar with Hey Small Press!, it is are a relatively new non-profit that does the good work of promoting independent publishers to public libraries around the United States.  From the Hey Small Press! website: "We are Hey Small Press!, a non-profit project promoting independent publishers to public libraries all over the United States. Founded by current and former public library employees, we exist to encourage libraries to acquire small and independent press books. We love good books...

The story of how Your Father on the Train of Ghosts was conceived by two esteemed poets, emailing back and forth pieces of poems, has become, for some, as interesting as the poems themselves. However, as Mike Walker of Coal Hill explains in his review, “the proof of the pudding must be in the eating, not in the size of the kitchen, the name of the chef, or anything else.” At first, Walker admits, he “wondered how well the innovative concept of shared writing of poetry via email would work out” and even feared that the Waldrep he’d “come to...

[caption id="attachment_1515" align="alignleft" width="144" caption="Kim Addonizio, photo by Joe Allen"][/caption] Kim Addonizio released Tell Me in 2000. The title invites us to sit and let it all out... and that's exactly what Addonizio does. The poems in part 1, "The Singing," introduce us to Kim's" letting it out," night after night wondering who else is still awake in her neighborhood of bars and weary voices.  In "Target" Addonizio shoots a gun with so much satisfaction that we wonder when we'll get our chance to fire. Come to think of it, maybe it's about that time: It feels so good to shoot a gun, to stand with your...

It has been a great week for BOA: Publishers Weekly has printed no fewer than three poetry reviews on some of our most recent books. Aracelis Girmay's Kingdom Animalia and Michael Waters' Gospel Night receive spot-on responses. We are very happy to share that The Hands of Strangers: Poems from the Nursing Home by Janice N. Harrington has a starred review containing such comments as: "Both attendants and patients emerge as humans, as people with tough tasks and inner lives, in these pellucid, scary, morally resonant poems." So too did Kingdom Animalia get the spotlight. It is almost as if...

The Poetry Foundation maintains a list of "bestsellers" in the poetry world. Naomi Shihab Nye's new book Transfer debuted there at #13 and quickly scooted up to #6. So what does it all mean? Well, it means a bunch of people are discovering what an amazing new book Naomi has just published. We humbly recommend you check it out too...  Transfer, as well as more information about the book and Naomi Shihab Nye can be found in the BOA bookstore.