Poets & Writers Theater

The second year of Poets & Writers Live debuted with an event at the Brava Theater in San Francisco on January 10, 2015, featuring a "poetry keynote" by Pulitzer Prize–winner and former U.S. poet laureate Kay Ryan; conversations about inspiration and the writing life with dozens of authors, including Michelle Tea, David Shields, Wendy Lesser, and D. A. Powell; advice from agent Danielle Svetcov and other publishing professionals; a multigenre, multimedia “inspiration experiment” featuring dancer Sarah Fiske and musician Ben Arthur; and much more.

Acclaimed author Joyce Carol Oates, singer-songwriter Ben Arthur, poet and filmmaker Nick Twemlow, award-winning illustrator Roman Muradov, and dancer Sarah Fiske will present an inspired series of linked performances, followed by a conversation, led by Kevin Larimer, about the creative process and the roots of inspiration.

Melissa Faliveno, associate editor of Poets & Writers Magazine, leads a conversation with authors Wendy Lesser, Yiyun Li, Alejandro Murguia, D. A. Powell, and Michelle Tea about the personal, political, and professional reasons we choose to write while living in a culture, a family, or a community that doesn’t always value what we do.

Poets & Writers Live was at the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon, on October 17, 2015, for a program on independent publishing, featuring Barry Lopez, Matthew Dickman, Elena Passarello, Leni Zumas, Tom Spanbauer, Michael Wiegers, Mindy Nettifee, and many other authors, editors, agents, and literary professionals. More information about this and other Poets & Writers Live events can be found at pw.org/live.

Kevin Sampsell, publisher of Future Tense Books, talks with the editors of some of the Pacific Northwest's most successful independent presses about the kind of work they publish, along with practical advice for writers looking to submit their work. Panelists include Heidi Broadhead, managing editor of Wave Books; Natalie Garyet, managing editor of Tavern Books; Rhonda Hughes, publisher of Hawthorne Books; and Michael Wiegers, editor in chief of Copper Canyon Press.

Publishing veteran Debra Englander gives an overview of the self-publishing process, followed by a conversation with self-published author William Hertling, editor Jessica Page Morel, and book publicist Jessica Glenn about the opportunities available to independent authors as well as the challenges they face.

Dana Isokawa, assistant editor of Poets & Writers Magazine, talks with the editors of some of Portland's most exciting literary magazines about the kind of work they're looking for, the relationships they cultivate with their authors, and the balance between publishing traditional work and developing new and innovative ideas for both print and digital literature. Panelists include LeAnna Crawford of Gertrude, Cheston Knapp of Tin House, Travis Meyer of Poor Claudia, and Kim Winterheimer of Masters Review.

Fiction writer Leni Zumas delivers the craft talk "In Praise of Debris: On Using Shards, Dregs, and Detritus in Fiction" during Poets & Writers Live Portland.

Poet Matthew Dickman discusses "Skinheads, Suicide, and Government Assistance: Why Subjects Don't Make Poets Into Heroes."

Essayist Elena Passarello presents the craft talk "Point Sublime: Research and Uncertainty in the Literary Essay."

Award-winning author Barry Lopez delivers an inspiring talk about the origins of storytelling to kick off Poets & Writers Live Portland in October 2015.

David Shields and Caleb Powell, authors of I Think You're Totally Wrong: A Quarrel (Knopf, 2015), reignite the age-old debate about the lives of artists as they attempt to disturb preconceived divisions between reality and fiction, life and art.

Poets & Writers Live was at Chicago's Instituto Cervantes on June 20, 2015, for a program featuring Li-Young Lee, Marc Kelly Smith, Kevin Coval, Haki Madhubuti, Roger Reeves, Parneshia Jones, Megan Stielstra, and many other authors, editors, agents, and literary professionals. More information about this and other Poets & Writers Live events can be found at pw.org/live.

Stuart Dybek reads an excerpt of his story "Tosca," from Paper Lantern: Love Stories (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2014), as part of the Chicago Icons segment of Poets & Writers Live in Chicago on June 20, 2015.

Kevin Larimer, editor in chief of Poets & Writers Magazine, moderates as editors Jordan Bass of McSweeney's Publishing and Ethan Nosowsky of Graywolf Press join literary agent Danielle Svetcov and publicist Megan Fishmann of Counterpoint Press for a conversation about how authors can make a good impression—in cover letters, book proposals, and even at social gatherings.

Marc Kelly Smith, the founder of the poetry slam movement, performs as part of the Chicago Icons segment of Poets & Writers Live in Chicago on June 20, 2015.

Poet and live lit performer Parneshia Jones reads three poems from her debut collection, Vessel, published by Milkweed Editions in 2015, as part of the Page on Stage segment of Poets & Writers Live in Chicago on June 20, 2015.

Essayist and live lit performer Megan Stielstra—author of the collections Once I Was Cool (Curbside Splendor, 2013) and Come Here Fear, forthcoming from Harper Perennial—reads an essay as part of the Page on Stage segment of Poets & Writers Live in Chicago on June 20, 2015.

Publishing veteran Debra Englander gives an overview of the self-publishing process, followed by a conversation with self-published author Keith Devlin, literary agent Ted Weinstein, and publicist Amy Packard about the opportunities available to independent authors as well as the challenges they face.

Jamie FitzGerald, director of Poets & Writers’ Readings & Workshops (West), leads a discussion about resources available to writers in San Francisco, the importance of community, and how various literary communities can support one another. Panelists include Stacey Lewis of City Lights Books, Laura Moriarty of Small Press Distribution, Joyce Jenkins of Poetry Flash, Janis Cooke Newman of the Grotto, and Jason Bayani of Kearny Street Workshop.