BOA Blog

Cutbank Literary Magazine recently reviewed Deborah Brown's Poulin Prize winning book Walking the Dog's Shadow.  Reviewer Mike Walker praises the strength of Brown's poems stating, "They stand up - they have a feeling of age and gravity to them, of footing secure and robust."  He writes that her work, centered around truth, is both intimate and powerful.  Recalling memories of old high school english teachers who taught that poetry opens doors to new worlds, Walker says, "Deborah Brown makes good on that promise.  She really does open those doors, the doors to the life of a middle-aged woman who connects with family near and far through her words, the doors...

BOA translator Brian Henry has been named Zoland Poetry's first featured poet as a part of their Omniglot Series.  Along with some of Henry's own poetry, Zoland provides excerpts from Henry's translation of The Book of Things by Aleš Šteger.   Zoland Poetry is an annual of contemporary writing that "serves to unite the world of literature by reconfiguring the border between domestic and international poetry." Read more about Brian Henry and Zoland Poetry here

BOA authors Matthew Shenoda and Cecilia Woloch will be reading at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.  The festival, to be held on Saturday, April 30 and Sunday, May 1, attracts more than 140,000 readers each year.  Shenoda and Woloch's session is scheduled for Sunday at 12:00 PM on the Poetry Stage and is followed by a book signing.  The Festival of Books is a free public event on the USC campus and is perfect for all ages.  Shenoda's first collection of poetry was named one of 2005's debut books of the year by Poetry & Writer's Magazine.  His most recent book Seasons of Lotus, Seasons of Bone was published by BOA in 2009. ...

In a thoughtful and probing interview, Rachel Cole Dalamangas asks Joanna Howard, author of On the Winding Stair, a broad range of questions that cover the details of her work, her writing process, and the inspiration that fuels her wild imagination: In addition to the beauty of ruin and decadence, I can't ignore the possibility of a social commentary that particularly reminds me of Virginia Woolf's association in A Room of One's Own with poverty and nourishment to the imagination (or lack thereof).  In a world and an economy where most of us have to spend most of our time...

Wyn Cooper's Chaos is the New Calm and Keetje Kuipers' Beautiful in the Mouth were recently reviewed in the Midtown Review.  These reviews compare poetry to tweets, albeit the "much more complex, resonant, and luxuriant to the ear" version of tweets or status updates, in an attempt to encourage readers to turn to p0etry in the age of shortened attention spans. The review of Cooper's poems highlights the sonic quality of his book, which "resounds deliciously" and "lingers on the tongue."  These poems are recommended as a "fine choice to begin your foray into the pleasures of poetry" that you...