Poets & Writers Theater

This book trailer provides an atmospheric preview of Jon Boilard’s debut novel, A River Closely Watched (MacAdam/Cage, 2012). Boilard’s first short story collection, Settright Road (Dzanc Books, 2017), is featured in Page One in the January/February issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

Jon Boilard, whose first short story collection, Settright Road (Dzanc Books, 2017), is featured in Page One in the January/February issue of Poets & Writers Magazine, reads from his second novel, The Castaway Lounge (Dzanc Books, 2015), at the Why There Are Words reading series.

“You have to believe that however flawed you are, you have a right to narrate this world as you see it and as you move through it.” Roxane Gay shares some of her thoughts on current race issues and her experiences as a feminist writer of color for an interview with Colorlines. Gay’s new story collection, Difficult Women (Grove Press, 2017), is featured in Page One in the January/February issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

“City of my birth— / if I forget thee, who will I be, singing the Lord’s song in this strange land?” Shara McCallum reads her poem “Psalm for Kingston” at the 2014 Dodge Poetry Festival. McCallum's latest collection, Madwoman (Alice James Books, 2017), is featured in Page One in the January/February issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

Joshua Mohr reads from his novel All This Life (Soft Skull Press, 2015) and talks about the need for artists and publishers to transgress against cultures of homogeneity. Mohr's debut memoir, Sirens (Two Dollar Radio, 2017), is featured in Page One in the January/February issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

“Driving on acid is underrated.” Joshua Mohr reads from his debut memoir, Sirens (Two Dollar Radio, 2017), which is featured in Page One in the January/February issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

“I left Indiana and drove towards happiness.” Watch the book trailer for John W. Evans's second memoir, Should I Still Wish (University of Nebraska Press, 2017), which is featured in Page One in the January/February issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

“The kids were as close to feral as you can get, like animals dressed up in camouflage jumpsuits.” Kevin Wilson, whose second novel, Perfect Little World (Ecco, 2017), is featured in Page One in the January/February issue of Poets & Writers Magazine, reads his short story "An Arc Welder, a Molotov Cocktail, a Bowie Knife."

Filmmakers Gareth Smith and Jenny Lee adapt Kevin Wilson's short story "Worst Case Scenario" in this short film about a man who predicts all the things that can go horribly wrong in a home. Wilson's novel Perfect Little World (Ecco, 2017) is featured in Page One in the January/February issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

Ayelet Waldman talks about her family history, working in different styles of writing, and sharing a moving moment with an elderly reader in this video for the World Affairs Council. Waldman’s first memoir, A Really Good Day: How Microdosing Made a Mega Difference in My Mood, My Marriage, and My Life (Knopf, 2017), is featured in Page One in the January/February issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

“Something is happening. Whether it is all in my head remains to be seen.” Ayelet Waldman reads from her book A Really Good Day: How Microdosing Made a Mega Difference in My Mood, My Marriage, and My Life (Knopf, 2017) at Politics & Prose in Washington, D.C.

At the Brooklyn Poets Reading Series, Tommy Pico reads an excerpt from his debut poetry collection, IRL (Birds, LLC, 2016). Pico is featured in “Shadows of Words: Our Twelfth Annual Look at Debut Poets” in the January/February issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

“In lieu of flowers send a map of your city...” Carolina Ebeid, author of You Ask Me to Talk About the Interior (Noemi Press, 2016), reads “In Lieu of Flowers” for 32 Poems in Chicago. Ebeid is featured in “Shadows of Words: Our Twelfth Annual Look at Debut Poets” in the January/February issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

“The slit would talk back sweet nothing in a red gown.” Phillip B. Williams reads at the Missouri Review’s Jeffrey E. Smith Editors’ Prize Reading. Williams, author of Thief in the Interior (Alice James Books, 2016), is featured in “Shadows of Words: Our Twelfth Annual Look at Debut Poets” by Dana Isokawa in the January/February issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

“How we write is we feel around on the ground with our hands to find what has fallen before us isn’t and must be ours to speak of.” Ari Banias, author of the debut poetry collection, Anybody (Norton, 2016), reads a selection of his poems for the Poetry Project. Banias is featured in “Shadows of Words: Our Twelfth Annual Look at Debut Poets” in the January/February issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

Albert Goldbarth is introduced by Amy Stolls, literature director of the National Endowment for the Arts, before reading selections of his poetry at the 2013 National Book Festival. Goldbarth’s new essay collection, The Adventures of Form and Content (Graywolf Press, 2017), is featured in Page One in the January/February issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

“Sometimes I ask for too much just to feel my mouth overflow.” Ocean Vuong reads “Notebook Fragments” for Button Poetry at the 2016 AWP conference and book fair. Vuong, author of Night Sky With Exit Wounds (Copper Canyon Press, 2016), is featured in “Shadows of Words: Our Twelfth Annual Look at Debut Poets” in the January/February issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

“Even your dinner napkins are on fire.” Solmaz Sharif accepts an award from the Women’s Intercultural Network and reads poems from her debut collection, Look (Graywolf Press, 2016). Sharif is featured in “Shadows of Words: Our Twelfth Annual Look at Debut Poets” in the January/February issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

"Outside, a soldier spits out / his cigarette as footsteps fill the square like stones / fallen from the sky. May / all your Christmases be white / as the traffic guard unstraps his holster." Ocean Vuong shares poems from his debut collection, Night Sky With Exit Wounds (Copper Canyon Press, 2016), and speaks about the oral tradition of his family and his personal ties to the Vietnam War for a series on PBS NewsHour.