The Poet Salon

Rick Barot Reads Vievee Francis' "Given to Rust"

Welcome back, lovelies! Last week, Rick Barot blew our minds with his thoughts on how poetry connects to everything from Spanish paintings to runway models. This week, Rick reads us the poem "Given to Rust" by Vievee Francis, and we delight in how this poem invites us to think about lineation, survival, authorial intent v creation, and Emily Dickinson. 

RICK BAROT was born in the Philippines, grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, and attended Wesleyan University and The Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa. He has published three books of poetry with Sarabande Books: The Darker Fall (2002); Want (2008); and Chord (2015), which was a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize and received the 2016 UNT Rilke Prize, the PEN Open Book Award, and the Publishing Triangle’s Thom Gunn Award. Barot is the poetry editor of New England Review. He lives in Tacoma, Washington and teaches at Pacific Lutheran University. He is also the director of The Rainier Writing Workshop, the low-residency MFA in Creative Writing at PLU. His fourth book of poems, The Galleons, will be published by Milkweed Editions in Spring 2020.

VIEVEE FRANCIS is the author of Forest Primeval (TriQuarterly Books, 2015), winner of the 2017 Kingsley Tufts Award; Horse in the Dark (Northwestern University Press, 2012), winner of the Cave Canem Northwestern University Press Poetry Prize; and Blue-Tail Fly (Wayne State University Press, 2006). The recipient of fellowships from Cave Canem and the Kresge Foundation, Francis currently serves as an editor for Callaloo and teaches English and creative writing at Dartmouth College.

REFERENCES: "Give to Rust" by Vievee Francis (Academy of American Poets Poem-a-Day), enjambment, "Crumbling is not an instance act, or 1010" by Emily Dickinson

Casandra López + A Rose is a Rose is a Roses

Hello lovely people. This week we sat and drank with Casandra López. She schooled us on obsessions, building a poetry community, grief, and the difference between writing poetry and writing fiction. Y'all don't want to miss this. Trust. 

CASANDRA LÓPEZ is a Chicana and California Indian (Cahuilla/Tongva/Luiseño) writer who’s received support from CantoMundo, Bread Loaf and Jackstraw. She’s been selected for residencies with the School of Advanced Research and Hedgebrook. Her chapbook, Where Bullet Breaks was published by the Sequoyah National Research Center and her poetry collection, Brother Bullet is forthcoming from University of Arizona. She’s a founding editor of As/Us: A Space For Women Of The World  and teaches at Northwest Indian College. You can follow her on Twitter @casandramlopez. 

The drink, "A Rose is a Rose is a Rose," alludes to "Sacred Emily," by modernist poet, Gertrude Stein. Ingredients: Sparkling rosé, pomplemousse rose liqueur, and fresh grapefruit juice combine sweet, pink forces in this strong, celebratory cocktail (which—much like a Gertrude Stein sentence—has a way of leaving those who partake in it delightfully bewildered).

References: As Us Journal, Simon J. Ortiz, Dana Levin, VONA, CantoMundo, Macondo Writers Workshop, AWP, Trauma & Recovery by Judith Herman

Casandra López reads Benjamin Garcia's "Birds of Illegal Trade"

What's good fam. If you're caught up, you know we sat with Casandra and discussed grief, community, obsessions, and writing across genres. This week, she brought in a lovely poem "Birds of Illegal Trade" by Benjamin Garcia, and, here, you can hear us geek out over it!

CASANDRA LÓPEZ is a Chicana and California Indian (Cahuilla/Tongva/Luiseño) writer who’s received support from CantoMundo, Bread Loaf and Jackstraw. She’s been selected for residencies with the School of Advanced Research and Hedgebrook. Her chapbook, Where Bullet Breaks was published by the Sequoyah National Research Center and her poetry collection, Brother Bullet is forthcoming from University of Arizona. She’s a founding editor of As/Us: A Space For Women Of The World  and teaches at Northwest Indian College. You can follow her on Twitter @casandramlopez. 

BENJAMIN GARCIA is a Community Health Specialist who provides HIV/HCV/STD and opioid overdose prevention education to higher risk communities throughout New York’s Finger Lakes region. He had the honor of being the 2017 Latin@ Scholar at the Frost Place and the 2018 CantoMundo Fellow at the Palm Beach Poetry Festival. His work has recently appeared or is forthcoming in, among others, New England Review, American Poetry Review, Prairie Schooner, Puerto del Sol, Nimrod International, RHINO, Four Way Review, Newfound, The Acentos Review, Barrelhouse, Lambda Literary, Boston Review, Kenyon Review Online, Best New Poets 2016, and Gulf Coast.

Geffrey Davis + Bourbon in a Small Gold Glass

 

Dearest beloved—you're back just in time to hear us chop it up about the ethics of writing (and publishing) work about family. And have a beautiful chat with beautiful poet Geffrey Davis.

GEFFREY DAVIS is the author of Night Angler (BOA Editions), winner of the 2018 James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets, and Revising the Storm ​(BOA Editions), winner of the 2013 A. Poulin, Jr. Poetry Prize. ​A native of the Pacific Northwest, Davis lives with his family in Fayetteville, AR. He teaches at the University of Arkansas and with The Rainier Writing Workshop, Pacific Lutheran's low-residency MFA program. Davis also serves as poetry editor for Iron Horse Literary Review.

 

BOURBON IN A SMALL GOLD GLASS

 

“if the poem follows / you home, whiskey” —tai freedom ford, “how to get over ["when the poem flirts..."]

“beauty you can stick a manicured finger / into and through, beauty that doesn’t rely / on any sentence the sun chants, it’s whiskey / swelter blown scarlet” —Patricia Smith, “Prologue—And Then She Owns You”

“I inhale the perfume of the Bourbon rose, then try to separate / what is scent, sense, and what you call memory, what is emotion, where in a / dialogue like touching is it so vibratory and so absorbent of my attention and / longing, with impressions like fingerprints all over.” —Mei-Mei Berssenbrugge, “Hello, The Roses”

Sometimes, it’s best to just keep things simple. Sometimes, you just want bourbon in a small gold glass.

This was one of those weeks!

Bourbon in a Small Gold Glass pairs well with many things, including late-night talks about family, thunderstorms real and remembered, and our early spring conversation with the incredible Geffrey Davis.

Geffrey Davis reads Li-Young Lee's "Goodnight"

What's good, dearest homies. After last week's riveting conversation with Geffrey Davis about family and ethics, language and tone, we dove into "Goodnight" by Li-Young Lee—a poem that will properly mess you up. You've been warned.

GEFFREY DAVIS is the author of Night Angler (BOA Editions), winner of the 2018 James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets, and Revising the Storm ​(BOA Editions), winner of the 2013 A. Poulin, Jr. Poetry Prize. ​A native of the Pacific Northwest, Davis lives with his family in Fayetteville, AR. He teaches at the University of Arkansas and with The Rainier Writing Workshop, Pacific Lutheran's low-residency MFA program. Davis also serves as poetry editor for Iron Horse Literary Review.

 

LI-YOUNG LEE was born in 1957 in Jakarta, Indonesia, to Chinese parents. He is the author of The Undressing (W. W. Norton, 2018); Behind My Eyes (W. W. Norton, 2008); Book of My Nights (BOA Editions, 2001), which won the 2002 William Carlos Williams Award; The City in Which I Love You (BOA Editions, 1990), which was the 1990 Lamont Poetry Selection; and Rose (BOA Editions, 1986), which won the Delmore Schwartz Memorial Poetry Award. He lives in Chicago, Illinois, with his wife and their two sons.

 

REFERENCES: "Painting a Body of Loss and Love in the Proximity of an Aesthetic" by Chris Abani; Dante Micheaux

Ross Gay + Spoiling Orchard

O dearest delights—welcome! After a quick chat about the virtues of book contests, the crew sat down for this week's episode with Ross Gay in a quirky, quaint Portland hotel. While sipping Spoiling Orchards, Uncle Ross chopped it up with on the performance of delight, the practice of tenderness, and gardening—among other things.

ROSS GAY is the author of three books of poetry: Against Which; Bringing the Shovel Down; and Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude, winner of the 2015 National Book Critics Circle Award and the 2016 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. His collection of essays,The Book of Delights, was released by Algonquin Books in 2019. Ross is a founding board member of the Bloomington Community Orchard, a non-profit, free-fruit-for-all food justice and joy project. He has received fellowships from Cave Canem, the Bread Loaf Writer's Conference, and the Guggenheim Foundation. Ross teaches at Indiana University. 

 

SPOILING ORCHARD: Fruity, fizzy, and a little bit funky, this mocktail is kind on the eyes and the bod. Like a sangria minus the hangover, Spoiling Orchards are perfect for a sunny day when you want to be clear-headed and attentive to the delights around you. Pairs well with vegan fruit gummies, Brigit Pegeen Kelly’s book The Orchard, and our conversation with the effervescent Ross Gay. Serve in something clear and non-pretentious, like a jelly jar, and enjoy.

INGREDIENTS:

• Kombucha
• Black cherry juice
• Fresh fruit (raspberries)

 

Ross Gay reads Gerald Stern's "The Dog"

What's delighting you fam. Last week, we talked with Tito Sauce about discipline, death, and, of course, delight. For this week's convo, Uncle Ross brought in for us "The Dog" by Gerald Stern. Listen and weep.

ROSS GAY is the author of three books of poetry: Against Which; Bringing the Shovel Down; and Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude, winner of the 2015 National Book Critics Circle Award and the 2016 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. His collection of essays,The Book of Delights, was released by Algonquin Books in 2019. Ross is a founding board member of the Bloomington Community Orchard, a non-profit, free-fruit-for-all food justice and joy project. He has received fellowships from Cave Canem, the Bread Loaf Writer's Conference, and the Guggenheim Foundation. Ross teaches at Indiana University. 

GERALD STERN has been called an “American original,” “a sometimes comic, sometimes tragic visionary,” and, by his friend Stanley Kunitz, “the wilderness in American poetry.” Over dozens of books, and decades of teaching and activism, Stern has emerged as one of America’s most celebrated and irascible poets. “His second poetry collection, Lucky Life (1977), was the Lamont Poetry Selection of the Academy of American Poets and nominated for a National Book Award. His next, The Red Coal (1981), received the Melville Caine Award from the Poetry Society of American. Subsequent collections include Leaving Another Kingdom: Selected Poems (1990); Bread Without Sugar (1992), winner of the Paterson Prize; This Time: New and Selected Poems (1998), which won the National Book Award; Last Blue (2002); American Sonnets (2002); Everything is Burning (2005); Save the Last Dance (2008);  Early Collected Poems: 1965–1992 (2010), a volume collecting six of Stern’s earliest books; Galaxy Love (2017); and Blessed As We Were: Late Selected & New (forthcoming). Stern has also written two collections of essays, including the autobiographical What I Can’t Bear Losing: Notes from a Life (2004; 2009).
 

Erika Meitner + Hibiscus on the Sleeping Shores

Dear ones: we were blessed for this week's episode to have Erika Meitner come through. We chatted it up about documentary poetics, political rhetoric, pop culture detritus, saviors, and more. But before that conversation, your cute hosts waded into the *poetry plagarism* discussion. 

ERIKA MEITNER is the author of five books of poems. Her first book, Inventory at the All-Night Drugstore, won the 2002 Robert Dana-Anhinga Prize for Poetry, and was published in 2003 by Anhinga Press. Her second book, Ideal Cities, was selected by Paul Guest as a winner of the 2009 National Poetry Series competition, and was published in 2010 by HarperCollins. Her third collection, Makeshift Instructions for Vigilant Girls, was published by Anhinga Press in 2011. Her fourth collection of poems, Copia, was published by BOA Editions in 2014 as part of their American Poets Continuum Series, and her newest collection, Holy Moly Carry Me, was also published by BOA Editions in September 2018. Holy Moly Carry Me is the winner of the 2018 National Jewish Book Award in poetry, and a finalist for the 2018 National Book Critics Circle award in poetry.

HIBISCUS ON THE SLEEPING SHORES

“Shut to the blather that the water made / Rose up besprent and sought the sleeping red… all the stupid afternoon” —Wallace Stevens, “Hibiscus on the Sleeping Shores”

This drink glows a bright, hypnotic pink in the light, making it a perfect day-drinking cocktail. Pairs well with a view of water, naps in the sun, and our conversation with the equally bright, equally delightful Erika Meitner.

INGREDIENTS: Ice, Gin, Tonic Water, Fresh lime, Hibiscus tea (strong, chilled), Hibiscus bloom (garnish, optional)

*Your ratios are your own—Mix it to taste!

 

Erika Meitner reads Campbell McGrath's "Night Travelers"

Ayyye—look at us here together again! I'm sure you know by now, love, but last week we talked it up with Erika Meitner on whiteness, witness, and weathering trauma. This week, she brought us the poem "Night Travelers" by Campbell McGrath for us to be mesmerized by. Check it out!

ERIKA MEITNER is the author of five books of poems. Her first book, Inventory at the All-Night Drugstore, won the 2002 Robert Dana-Anhinga Prize for Poetry, and was published in 2003 by Anhinga Press. Her second book, Ideal Cities, was selected by Paul Guest as a winner of the 2009 National Poetry Series competition, and was published in 2010 by HarperCollins. Her third collection, Makeshift Instructions for Vigilant Girls, was published by Anhinga Press in 2011. Her fourth collection of poems, Copia, was published by BOA Editions in 2014 as part of their American Poets Continuum Series, and her newest collection, Holy Moly Carry Me, was also published by BOA Editions in September 2018. Holy Moly Carry Me is the winner of the 2018 National Jewish Book Award in poetry, and a finalist for the 2018 National Book Critics Circle award in poetry.

CAMPBELL MCGRATH has published numerous collections of poetry, including Spring Comes to Chicago (1996), which won the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. McGrath’s many books of poetry include Capitalism (1990); American Noise (1994); Florida Poems (2002); Pax Atomica (2005); Seven Notebooks (2007); and In the Kingdom of the Sea Monkeys (2012). McGrath’s work typically works as a kind of catalog; its long lines attempt to look at the vast complexity of America and penetrate its paradoxes and attractions. McGrath is also the co-translator of Aristophanes’s The Wasps (1999). He has won a MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Grant, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Witter Bynner Fellowship from the Library of Congress, the Academy of American Poets Prize, the Cohen Award from Ploughshares literary journal, and a Pushcart Prize. His poetry has been widely anthologized, including in The New Bread Loaf Anthology of Contemporary American Poetry (1999), The New American Poets (2000), and Great American Prose Poems (2003). McGrath has taught at the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, and Florida International University.

 

 

Hanif Abdurraqib + Sprite

It's goin up on a Tuesday, dearest listener, and for this week's episode we get into it with the inimitable Hanif Abdurraqib about sneakers, slashes, and suffering for one's art. Mmhmmm. But first your favs chat it up about how many rejections we can take before letting go of a dream journal... 

HANIF ABDURRAQIB is a poet, essayist, and cultural critic from Columbus, Ohio. His first full-length poetry collection, The Crown Ain't Worth Much, was released in 2016 from Button Poetry, was named a finalist for the Eric Hoffer Book Prize, and was nominated for a Hurston-Wright Legacy Award. His first collection of essays, They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us, was released in 2017 by Two Dollar Radio and was named a book of the year by Buzzfeed, Esquire, NPR, Oprah Magazine, and The Los Angeles Review, among others. Hanif’s book Go Ahead In The Rain published this year by University of Texas Press debuted as a New York Times Best Seller. His next books are A Fortune For Your Disaster from Tin House and They Don't Dance No' Mo'  2020 from Random House.

SPRITE in a glass. No ice. Straw optional.