BOA Blog

Oxford Brookes Poetry Centre has named Barbara Jane Reyes's poem “the true color of the sea” as its Weekly Poem for April 11th.  “the true color of the sea” comes from Reyes’s most recent book Diwata.  Of the collection, Oxford Brookes Poetry Centre writes:  "Reyes’ voice is grounded in her community’s traditions and histories, despite war and geographical dislocation." The Poetry Centre is run by the English Department at Oxford Brookes University, and it sponsors various events each year to promote poetry in the community.  One of their many goals is to help develop connections between poets and their readers.  The Weekly Poems come...

New York Journal of Books just posted a rich article written by reviewer Debra Leigh Scott about the independent small press community. As NYJB said about the piece, " Debra attended The Associated Writing Program Conference in Washington DC, and this piece resulted from her experience there... Debra's article acknowledges the community's robust contributions to the literary scene." It's wonderful to see so many of BOA's sister presses represented here and to hear everyone's dedication to the cause of independent publishing. Whether you're "inside" this world or just interested in peaking in the window and seeing what the fuss is all about, this...

For National Poetry Month, BOA is excited to be partnering with Rochester's local public radio station WXXI who will be airing a segment called Poetry Minutes for the week of April 10-16. The segment will feature BOA poems by Lucille Clifton, Li-Young Lee, Naomi Shihab Nye, Cecilia Woloch, Michael Waters, Keetje Kuipers, and Christopher Kennedy! The readings will be broadcast at 6:59 p.m. on Classical 91.5, 90.3 and 91.5 HD, and at 7:29 p.m. on AM 1370 and FM 91.5-2, or you can also listen to them on the WXXI site here: [WXXI POETRY MINUTES]

Publishers Weekly recently gave This New & Poisonous Air a star review, calling Adam McOmber's style "sinuous" and "antiquated."  The reviewer states, "Writing with a sure hand and an impressive imagination, McOmber depicts that seamless scrim between the real and imagined." As a part of BOA's American Readers Series, This New and Poisonous Air is set to be released this summer. Read the full review along with others here [caption id="attachment_1017" align="alignnone" width="196" caption="This New & Poisonous Air. Stories by Adam McOmber."][/caption]

This week, to celebrate National Poetry Month, G.C. Waldrep and John Gallaher will be releasing one post a day discussing their collaborative effort in Your Father on the Train of Ghosts.  Just like their poetry collection came to life through an email exchange, so does this discussion, which artfully discusses the question, "Can reading and writing be public/collective/collaborative acts?"  The "fantasy" of originality and the "Romantic I" is also contended, after which Gallaher leaves us with the statement that "all writing is collaborative.  One collaborates with the world. The whole article can be read here.