Ten Questions for Maureen Sun
“My ambition isn’t to write something that lets you shut out the world.” —Maureen Sun, author of The Sisters K
Tags:
Article Archive
Articles from Poet & Writers Magazine include material from the print edition plus exclusive online-only material.
Ten Questions for Morgan Talty
“Every book I read I annotate, trying to figure out the logic of the story.” —Morgan Talty, Fire Exit
Tags:
First: Marcela Fuentes’s Malas
Growing up with strong women around her, Marcela Fuentes has always been keenly aware of how women can break out of gender norms despite domestic and societal tensions. Her debut novel, Marla, is the realization of that knowledge, weaving intergenerational stories with Mexican legend.
Tags:
Mind the (Memory) Gap
The author of First Love: Essays on Friendship explores ways to handle lost memories in memoir.
Ten Questions for Evan Dalton Smith
“Writing is solitary, but you are not alone.” —Evan Dalton Smith, author of Looking for Andy Griffith: A Father’s Journey
Tags:
It Gets Fun Again, I Promise
The author of First Love: Essays on Friendship has advice for authors who’ve lost their literary momentum.
Tags:
Ten Questions for Mesha Maren
“If I didn’t like writing then I wouldn’t do it.” —Mesha Maren, author of Shae
Tags:
Ten Questions for Melissa Mogollon
“Sometimes it’s better to lean into your strengths instead of trying to make up for your weaknesses.” —Melissa Mogollon, author of Oye
Tags:
What Songwriters Can Teach Us About Storytelling
The author of I’ll Give You a Reason considers what short fiction writers can learn from popular songs.
Tags:
Ten Questions for Nicolás Medina Mora
“The task of the novelist, I think, consists of treating life as a research project.” —Nicolás Medina Mora
Tags:
The Comedy of Short Fiction
The author of I’ll Give You a Reason contemplates the common ground between a joke and a short story.
Tags:
Ten Questions for Dorothy Chan
“I consider notetaking to be an integral form of the writing process.” —Dorothy Chan, author of Return of the Chinese Femme
Tags:
On Person and Place
The author of I’ll Give You a Reason explores how setting shapes characters.
Tags:
Ten Questions for Alison C. Rollins
“I don’t hold myself to a rigid writing schedule but instead listen to my mind, body, and heart and write accordingly.” —Alison C. Rollins, author of Black Bell
Tags:
Ten Questions for Callie Siskel
“I think the arc of writing a poem is similar to the experience of ascending and descending physical terrain.” —Callie Siskel, author of Two Minds
Tags:
To Use or Not to Use First Person
The author of Short War offers some perspective on whether a first person narrator can enhance or inhibit a story.
Tags:
Lit Mags Confront a Serial Plagiarist
One of the greatest offenses a writer can commit is to steal others’ work and present it as their own. Members of the literary community discuss the negative impact of a serial plagiarist and potential protections against further theft.
Tags:
Page One: Where New and Noteworthy Books Begin
The first lines of a dozen noteworthy books, including Bite by Bite: Nourishments and Jamborees by Aimee Nezhukumatathil and Good Monster by Diannely Antigua.
Tags:
The Anthologist: A Compendium of Uncommon Collections
An introduction to three new anthologies, including Disability Intimacy: Essays on Love, Care, and Desire and A Mouth Holds Many Things: A De-Canon Hybrid-Literary Collection.
Tags:
Managing Submissions in the Age of AI
As AI makes it easier for people to generate text, literary editors are wrestling with how to weed out submissions by authors trying to pass off AI work as their own from those that use the technology in a more ethical way.
Tags:
Small Press Points: Split/Lip Press
Dedicated to “boundary-breaking prose,” Split/Lip Press is on the hunt for work that raises questions about the status quo and fits their punk aesthetic. The press publishes four titles a year, all selected from open submissions.
Tags:
Literary MagNet: Saba Keramati
The author of Self-Mythology, a debut poetry collection, introduces some of the journals that offered a home for her work, including AGNI and Poet Lore.
Tags:
The Written Image: Native Narrative Art
A new exhibit opening in June at the National Museum of the American Indian considers the important role that visual and material storytelling plays in chronicling the histories of Great Plains Native nations.
Tags:
Q&A: Maldonado Leads the Academy
The first Latinx president and executive director of the Academy of American Poets reflects on his start at the nonprofit and his vision for the organization’s future.
Tags:
In This Time of War: The Muses Refuse Silence
A poet explores the struggle to balance his roles as writer, educator, and activist during the war in Gaza and the refusal of silence during a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of civilians.
Tags: