BOA Blog

Karen Schubert  recently published an essay to Gently Read Literature's online blog of essays and criticism of poetry and literary fiction on Nin Andrews' books of poetry.  The essay is entitled " 'Everything Stuck to Her Skin': Considerations of Gender in the Poetry of Nin Andrews" and it focuses on and highlights Andrews' attention to female place in culture. "Andrews writes as an insider;" Schubert says, "that is, she writes through the female body, through the persona of a girl evaluating cultural messages, and through a woman in relationship as daughter, mother, lover, wife."  Schubert explores the "broader female themes"...

[caption id="attachment_1205" align="aligncenter" width="200" caption="Ennui Prophet, prose poems by Christopher Kennedy"][/caption]   Ennui Prophet, the forthcoming collection of prose poetry by BOA Editions poet Christopher Kennedy, puts its emphasis on experiencing the written word itself, according to poet and critic Kenny Tanemura, of the Sycamore Review. Kennedy's prose poetry is marked by motion-- according to Tanemura, his shorter poems are "fluid," "dexetrous," and "graceful." He also says: "Left-handed guitarists, a swarm of bees, a Buddhist monk, Rasputin, Cantonese, and the F.B.I. all make cameo appearances in this collection, both in and out of context. This approach is not unlike a...

Publishers Weekly has published a wonderful profile of BOA Editions in honor of our 35th anniversary. It's truly a tribute to all the authors, staff, board and supporters who have kept BOA Editions a leading indie press for all these years. Here's an excerpt from the article: "For 35 years, the nonprofit poetry publisher BOA Editions has been a national force, releasing work from heavyweights like Li-Young Lee, Lucille Clifton, and Michael Waters, as well as up-and-comers like Keetje Kuipers and Janice N. Harrington. When poet/editor/translator A. Poulin Jr. founded BOA Editions in 1976, the publishing landscape had little room for...

Jeanne Beaumont's Burning of the Three Fires recently earned respectable praise, courtesy of Coal Hill Review. Her poems are called curious for a few reasons: "First, Beaumont is alert to various and sometimes obscure aspects of the world: arcane information from Wikipedia, art, etymologies, fairy tales told slant, slasher movies, magician's tricks.  Then, the poems are curious in the older sense: subtly, carefully, and skillfully worked." The reviewer seems particularly fond of Beaumont's subtlety, of her ability to manipulate the tone "with such a light touch," which left the reviewer feeling "the kind of twist someone can give when she...

The Book of Things by Aleš Šteger, translated by Brian Henry, and published by BOA in 2010, has been awarded the Best Translated Book Award in Poetry. Organized by Three Percent at the University of Rochester, the Best Translated Book Award is the only prize of its kind to honor the best original works of international literature and poetry published in the U.S. over the previous year. The ceremony was held on Friday, April 29 at the Bowery Poetry Club in New York City. This year, for the first time, the event was held in collaboration with the PEN World...