Ten Questions for Lan Samantha Chang
“It took me more than a year to put aside my fear of attempting it.” —Lan Samantha Chang, author of The Family Chao
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Article Archive
Articles from Poet & Writers Magazine include material from the print edition plus exclusive online-only material.
A Smart Mouth
The author of Nobody’s Magic reflects on writing in African American Vernacular English.
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Ten Questions for Tochi Onyebuchi
“It’d be easier for me to stop talking than to stop writing.” —Tochi Onyebuchi, author of Goliath
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Ain’t We Got Enough Problems?
The author of Nobody’s Magic shares lessons from writing an unlikable nonnormative character.
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Ten Questions for Weike Wang
“I will miss thinking about Joan and her world every second of every day.” —Weike Wang, author of Joan Is Okay
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Ten Questions for Edgar Gomez
“Make it so good they can’t reject it.” —Edgar Gomez, author of High-Risk Homosexual
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Ten Questions for Xavier Navarro Aquino
“Everything fell out of me in five intense sleepless weeks.” —Xavier Navarro Aquino, author of Velorio
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Ten Writers on Writing Advice: 2021
Ten writers, including Alex Dimitrov and Kaitlyn Greenidge, share the best writing advice they’ve ever heard.
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Small Press Points: Damaged Goods Press
Since 2015 this indepedent press in Richmond, Virginia, has been championing “offbeat books” of poetry and lyrical nonfiction by queer and trans writers.
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Phishing Schemes Target Writers
A look at the growing number of online scams that lure writers with offers of speaking engagements or by posing as an agent or editor online. Two writers directly affected by scams share their experiences.
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A Place Built by Poets for Poets
After collecting poetry books to lend to students, poet and educator Hiram Sims opened the Sims Poetry Library in Los Angeles. Today the library boasts a collection of over six thousand books and serves as a home base for poets in the community.
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How to Keep Going
The author recalls being pregnant in the early days of the pandemic and asks: How we can continue to create in times of uncertainty?
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A Freeing Space: Our Seventeenth Annual Look at Debut Poets
Ten debut poets who published in 2021, including Threa Almontaser and Shangyang Fang, discuss the inspiration for their books, their writers block remedies, and advice for other poets.
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Page One: Where New and Noteworthy Books Begin
The first lines of a dozen noteworthy books, including Manifesto: On Never Giving Up by Bernardine Evaristo and To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara.
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Lambda Expands Writers in Schools
Launched in New York City in 2015, the Lambda Literary Writers in Schools Program celebrates queerness by bringing LGBTQ authors to meet local students. Thanks to increased funding, the initiative is now reaching even more schools.
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Literary MagNet: Hasanthika Sirisena
The author reflects on five journals that published essays from their debut collection, Dark Tourist.
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Q&A: Anitra Budd of Coffee House Press
Anitra Budd got her start at Coffee House Press as an intern and now serves as publisher and executive director of the press. She discusses her approach to leadership and putting people before profit.
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Agent Advice: Monica Odom of Odom Media Management
The agent answers questions about attracting agents using self-published books and whether to use a summary or a writing sample to pitch a memoir.
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Ten Questions for Obed Silva
“If you feel that the story is good and that it needs to be read, then keep at it until you’re happy with it.” —Obed Silva, author of The Death of My Father the Pope
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Craft Capsule: Translating Monozygotic Triplets
The translator of Migratory Birds and Permafrost shares how growing up between different languages and countries has led her to challenge conventional wisdom about the art of translation.
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Ten Questions for Neel Patel
“This was the book I was meant to write my whole life.” —Neel Patel, author of Tell Me How to Be
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Craft Capsule: On Cultural Specificity, or the Brazilian Padaria
The translator of Migratory Birds and Permafrost expresses the limits of translation when it comes to culturally specific institutions and terms.
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Ten Questions for James Hannaham
“Thinking is really about 90 percent of the work.” —James Hannaham, author of Pilot Impostor
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Craft Capsule: On Google Maps
The translator of Migratory Birds and Permafrost uses Google Maps to immerse herself in the settings of her translation projects.
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Ten Questions for Truong Tran
“I wrote this book with the constraint of honesty.” —Truong Tran, author of book of the other
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