Gillian Sze : part two

What poets changed the way you thought about writing?

So many! Just to name a few: William Carlos Williams, Sylvia Plath, Anne Carson, Sappho, H.D., Du Fu, Li Bai, Wang Wei, Dionne Brand, Fred Wah, Adrienne Rich.

Elizabeth Robinson : part five

When you require renewal, is there a particular poem or book that you return to? A particular author?

In moments of duress, I have been known to recite parts of the prologue of the Canterbury Tales to myself.  There is something so sensuous, but also reassuring in the song of spring’s arrival.  For me, especially this moment: “and bathed every veyne in swich  licour.”  As though water to the dry root were both nourishment and intoxicant.

Frances Boyle : part four

What other poetry books have you been reading lately?

The poetry books that I’ve read most deeply lately are two that I reviewed: Donald Winkler’s translation of Carole David’s The Year of My Disappearance (online at http://www.canthius.com/feed-2/2018/7/29/review-of-the-year-of-my-disappearance-by-caroline-david) and Layli Long Soldier’s Whereas (in the fall 2018 issue of Arc Poetry Magazine), both wonderful and deserving of the multiple re-readings.

I keep books I’ve recently acquired on a ledge beside my reading chair, and tend to dip into them for exposure to a multiplicity of voices. I rarely read cover to cover. In the current stack, among others, are Jenny Haysom’s Dividing the Wayside, Susan Gillis’s brand-new Yellow Crane, Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong, Thin Air of the Knowable by Wendy Donawa, Late Style by Barry Dempster, Violet Energy Ingots by Hoa Nguyen and Voodoo Hypothesis by Canisia Lubrin. I’ve kept dark ecologies, a wonderful chapbook by Natalie Hanna, close at hand for nearly a year, and return to it again and again.

Sacha Archer : part four

How did you first engage with poetry?

I guess it was authors like Shell Silverstein, Denis Lee, and Dr. Seuss. But the first book of poetry that I bought was Sylvia Plath’s Ariel. I don’t remember what prompted me to buy it, but I do remember that I decided to check out a little used book store in Dundas (the town, not the street) where I lived at the time. I looked through the poetry section and randomly chose that book. I took it home and read it—and re-read it and read it again. That book changed my life. The darkness in it—the voice that I didn’t expect in the least. From that book I knew I wanted to be a poet. That was some time ago…

David Estringel : part one

David Estringel is an avid reader, poet, and writer of fiction, creative non-fiction, & essays. His work has been accepted and/or published by Specter Magazine, Literary Juice, Foliate Oak Magazine, Indiana Review, Terror House Magazine, Expat Press, 50 Haikus, littledeathlit, Down in the Dirt Magazine, Route 7, Setu Bilingual Journal, Paper Trains, The Elixir Magazine, Soft Cartel, and The Good Men Project. He is currently a Contributing Editor (fiction) at Red Fez, editor/columnist at The Good Men Project, and an editor/writer at The Elixir Magazine. Connect with David on Twitter (@The_Booky_Man) and his blog "The Booky Man" at www.thebookyman.wordpress.com.

What are you working on? 

I just finished an “experimental” batch of poetry, recently, that I am testing the waters with. I am playing more with structure and form, word choices, sounds, and rhythm. A lot more “dirty realism” has made its way into the work, especially the shorter pieces, emphasizing very real moments in the human experience. I hadn’t “gone there” yet, so I am looking at this as a sort of creative “breakthrough” of sorts. Other than that, I am working on my first chapbook of poetry “Indelible Fingerprints,” writing short-fiction pieces, and doing some writing/editing for some literary magazines and The Good Men Project.

Sarah Rosenthal : part two

What other poetry books have you been reading lately?

I’ve been immersed in Renee Gladman’s Calamities. I can’t get enough of her passion for language and the way her writing continually seeks to bring together body and mind. I’m entranced by the bemused and often funny tone of the book and the way it seamlessly integrates philosophical reflection with a sense of communion and community with Gladman’s many beloveds. I don’t want to ever exit this text but if I do, the stack on my bedside beckons: Katechon: Book One, Lines 1–500 by Michael Cross, Greater Grave by Jacq Greyja, House of McQueen by Valerie Wallace, (re)iteration(s) by Jill Darling, The Spectral Wilderness by Oliver Baez Bendorf, and Participant by Linda Russo.

Shara Lessley : part four

What other poetry books have you been reading lately?

Here There Was Once a Country (Vénus Khoury-Ghata, trans. Marilyn Hacker), Kumukanda (Kayo Chingonyi), Human Hours (Catherine Barnett), My Bishop and Other Poems (Michael Collier), Deaf Republic (Ilya Kaminsky).