BOA Blog

Ryan Teitman is the 2011 A. Poulin, Jr. Poetry Prize winner for his first collection of poems, Litany for the City. Jane Hirshfield selected this manuscript from 16 finalists and will write a Foreword to the published collection. Teitman will receive a $1,500 honorarium and book publication by BOA Editions, Ltd. in March, 2012, in the A. Poulin, Jr. New Poets of America Series.    An annual competition, the A. Poulin, Jr. Poetry Prize is open to poets who have yet to publish a full-length-book collection of poetry. This year’s runner-ups were Slow Weather Hymnal by David Welch; The Innermost...

Jeanne Marie Beaumont's book, The Burning of the Three Fires, was recently reviewed by Robert Mueller for A Gathering of the Tribes.  Mueller addresses the poems  in an interesting and insightful, if esoteric, way, highlighting the recurring theme of childhood and other associated themes, like those of leaving and loneliness.  All poems discussed in his review are tied to "childhood and childhood and childhood," from dolls and this "self-fashioning related to childhood" to "having a thing for toys, trinkets and trimmings." He leaves the reader with this: "And for blessings of construction and of happiness, yes go read this book. ...

Here at BOA, we know our authors are great writers. That's why they're BOA authors! But it's always thrilling to learn about their hidden talents as well. For instance, John Gallaher has been creating a series of videos inspired  by his new poetry collection, co-authored with G.C. Waldrep, Your Father on the Train of Ghosts. Not only do the videos provide added insight into the poems... they're also just very, very cool videos in their own right. Now he's topped himself by creating a full-blown short film (about 14 minutes) the combines all the short clips into one compelling piece. John Gallaher, Filmmaker....

[caption id="attachment_679" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Keetje Kuipers. Photo by: Betsy Dougherty"][/caption] The seminal, twice annual Poetry magazine Tar River Poetry had a lot of wonderful things to say about the winner of Boa's 2009 A. Poulin Jr. Poetry Award, Keetje Kuipers, in their most recent issue. Keetje Kuipers' poetry "throbs with keen desire, restless loneliness, frustration and, occasionally, striking recklessness." Her poetry is placed "within a poetic register that is more tangible, emotionally sincere, linguistically straightforward and sensuous than that of the experimental lyric; it is also, while not at all reticent, acutely aware of the limits of language and of...

Beautiful in the Mouth by Keetje Kuipers was recently reviewed online at CutBank Literary Magazine.  The review highlights the many strengths of Kuipers' work, which include her connection with the wilderness and the "American West": " Kuipers . . . has always used her geographic identity as a powerful internal compass for her life and writing. In fact, this book was completed while she was the Margery Davis Boyden Wilderness Writing Resident, another nod towards Kuipers’ ties to the land. While not all of Kuipers poems presented here are directly concerning the wilderness, she is never far from the landscape...