BOA Blog

Adam McOmber admits he's been an ardent fan of the macabre and horror genre since high school. His own writing reflects the exquisitely unhiemlich, "the fantastic moments when the strange breaks through our daily grind." In a recent interview with the New School's LIT writer Mike Gillis, McOmber talks about his passion for the mythology and the fiction like his This New and Poisonous Air and the upcoming Empyrean. "I think that these type of stories- stories of the fantastic- reach back to mythology. Because that's what myths are," he said in a phone interview. "I think humans in general...

[caption id="attachment_1206" align="aligncenter" width="200" caption="Your Father on the Train of Ghosts, poems by G.C. Waldrep & John Gallaher"][/caption] Your Father on the Train of Ghosts is one of the most extensive collaborations in American poetry. Over the course of a year, acclaimed poets G.C. Waldrep and John Gallaher wrote poems back and forth, sometimes once or twice a week, sometimes five or six a day. As the collaboration deepened, a third “voice” emerged that neither poet can claim as solely their own.  In Part 5 of John Gallaher and G.C. Waldrep’s engaging discussion about the ircollaborative process, the pair continue...

Now through November 30th  BOA Editions is accepting submissions for the A. Poulin Jr. Poetry Prize.  This prize is awarded awarded to honor a poet's first book, while also honoring the late founder of BOA Editions, Ltd.  The winning manuscript will receive a $1,500 honorarium and a book publication by BOA Editions in The A. Poulin, Jr. New Poetry of America Series in March 2013. This year's contest judge is Cornelius Eady.  Eady is author of eight books, producer of several musical theater works, and founder of Cave Canem, a nonprofit organization to serve African American poets.  He has received...

Read all of this season's offerings already?  Thumbed the pages of your most recent volume of poetry ragged?  Can't wait to see what BOA comes out with next? How about these three? Kingdom Animalia, Aracelis Girmay's second book of poetry, comes from some combination of several wonderful places, much as Girmay herself does. "In gorgeously clear and honest language, [she] explores the human geography of time and origin.... Kingdom Animalia enters the exquisite beauty of being alive and its sister, the terrible ache of loss. Here is a cosmic dialogue between the body and a universe," writes reviewer Ruth Irupé...

[caption id="attachment_1327" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Aracelis Girmay, BOA poet"][/caption] Kingdom Animalia, a collection of poetry by Aracelis Girmay, was chosen as the August selection for The Rumpus Poetry Book Club.  Camille T. Dungy reviewed Girmay's collection explaining why Kingdom Animalia is an excellent choice for this month's book. Dungy found Kingdom Animalia to be an invigorating work that "maps the world in which we live, classifying us, grouping us, reminding us of what sets us apart, and what ties us together."  The collection itself succeeds in demonstrating, examining, and revealing relationships.  The relationships that Girmay address range from people to animals,...