Genre: Poetry

Writing in Detroit Virtual Reading

United States of Writing
11.4.20

On Friday, October 23, I had the privilege of hosting Writing in Detroit: A Virtual Reading featuring Christiana Castillo, Scheherazade Washington Parrish, and Devin Samuels. All three artists shared stunning work and responded to the question, “How has Detroit influenced your writing?”

Not only did I find myself blown away by the writing shared by our guests, but their responses to what I thought was a simple question opened a door for complex perspectives on the city that each expressed a deep love for.

Samuels, a Providence, Rhode Island native who recently moved to Detroit, spoke about his gratitude for the city’s writing community and his ongoing exploration of literary resources and the various historic narratives reflected in the work of local writers. “I can’t sing the praises of Detroit’s writing community enough,” said Samuels. “Being in a place like that will change you.”

Washington Parrish expressed how “Detroit is home, and so Detroit influences my writing the way home influences everything.” I identified deeply with this response as someone who has also reflected on how the city influences my work. At times we talk about how Detroit is different from other cities or mysterious. This answer identified Detroit clearly and simply as another home. Washington Parrish continued by saying what we all feel about our respective hometowns: “You have to have a particular sight to see and appreciate what is happening here.”

Castillo closed out our discussion by speaking about her family, who have spent four generations in Detroit. “To me that’s just a lot of ancestral knowledge I can tap into,” said Castillo. She also praised the writing community and how special it feels to be a writer in Detroit. “There’s never been a moment I haven’t felt held and supported in Detroit’s community,” said Castillo. “I can’t imagine writing anywhere else.”

I was struck by all of the thoughtful answers our guests brought to the table. You can watch the reading and discussion on Poets & Writers’ Facebook page now!

Justin Rogers is the literary outreach coordinator for Poets & Writers in Detroit. Contact him at Detroit@pw.org or on Twitter, @Detroitpworg.

Remember

Caption: 

“Remember all is in motion, is growing, is you. / Remember language comes from this.”​ In this video from the Academy of American Poets, Joy Harjo reads her poem “Remember” from her 1983 collection, She Had Some Horses. Harjo has been appointed to serve a second term as poet laureate of the United States and is the first Native American to hold the post.

Genre: 
Poetry
Tags: 
Joy Harjo
reading
Remember
Norton
She Had Some Horses
1983
United States Poet Laureate
Academy of American Poets

Self-Made

The Time Is Now
11.3.20

Self-portraits are often associated with visual artists, but poets have also experimented with this art form. In Gregory Pardlo’s “Written by Himself” he writes, “I was born in minutes in a roadside kitchen a skillet / whispering my name.” Pardlo uses the anaphora, “I was born,” throughout the poem to include the lives that made his life possible. In “Self-Portrait,” Adam Zagajewski employs declarative statements, “I like deep sleep, when I cease to exist,” to invite the reader to learn more about his life. Inspired by these two poems, write a self-portrait poem that seeks to tell the story of how you came to be. Try starting with a list of the things you like and love as a way to enter the poem.

Julie Andrews and Stephen Colbert Exchange Limericks

Caption: 

In this clip from The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Julie Andrews speaks about her latest book, Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years (Hachette Books, 2019), which is cowritten by her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton, and exchanges personalized limericks with the host.

Genre: 
Poetry
Creative Nonfiction
Tags: 
Julie Andrews
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
2020
Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years
Emma Walton Hamilton
Hachette Book Group
2019

Deadline Nears for Nightboat Books Poetry Prize

G&A: The Contest Blog
10.30.20

The deadline is approaching for the Nightboat Books Poetry Prize. Open to “any poet writing in English,” the prize awards $1,000, a standard royalty contract, and twenty-five author copies for a book-length poetry manuscript. Emerging and established writers alike, based anywhere in the world, are eligible to submit.

Using only the online submission system, submit a manuscript of 48 to 90 pages with a $28 entry fee by November 15. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.

Founded in 2004 by Kazim Ali and Jennifer Chapis, Nightboat Books seeks to “develop audiences for writers whose work resists convention and transcends boundaries, by publishing books rich with poignancy, intelligence, and risk.” Collections published through the prize include Discipline by Dawn Lundy Martin and The Old Philosophy by Vi Khi Nao.

Erica Hunt for the New Social Environment

Caption: 

In this installment of the New Social Environment series for the Brooklyn Rail recorded in April, Charles Bernstein speaks with Erica Hunt about unpacking language and how writers have reimagined ways to communicate amongst each other during the pandemic. Hunt talks about her new poetry collection, Jump the Clock (Nightboat Books, 2020), in Ten Questions.

Genre: 
Poetry
Creative Nonfiction
Tags: 
Erica Hunt
Jump the Clock
Nightboat Books
2020
New Social Environment series
Brooklyn Rail
Charles Bernstein

Winter Stars by Arthur Sze

Caption: 

In this Asian American Writers’ Workshop video, Arthur Sze reads and discusses the origin of his poem “Winter Stars,” featured in The Best American Poetry 2020 anthology guest edited by Paisley Rekdal. Sze won the 2019 National Book Award in poetry for his collection Sight Lines (Copper Canyon Press, 2019).

Genre: 
Poetry
Tags: 
Asian American Writers' Workshop
AAWW
The Best American Poetry
Arthur Sze
Sight Lines
Copper Canyon Press
2019

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