Ryo Yamaguchi lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he works as the publisher of Copper Canyon Press, an independent, poetry-focused press established over fifty years ago. He has worked in publishing for more than a decade, including roles at Wave Press and the University of Chicago Press. Ryo is the author of The Refusal…
American Culture and Poetry in the Internet Age
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“Has a Chicken Never Chowed Down on a Fox?”: Eight Questions for Andrea Cohen
Born in 1961, Andrea Cohen grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, where she developed a love for poetry at a young age, stemming from her frequent walks with her dog through the woods where she would compose songs in her head. Currently, she teaches at Boston University and directs the Blacksmith House Poetry Series in Cambridge,…
“Ode to Everything”: Six Questions for Major Jackson
I have always been drawn to the moments where doing something normal feels electric. Taking a test and knowing you are going to do really well, standing in the rain at night, laying down and listening to music, just to name a few. In those moments I sense that poetry isn’t just something made in…
Completely Subjective: Jeffery Harrison’s “Amnesia”
Jeffery Harrison’s poem “Amnesia,” describes a scene that most people reading the poem can easily immerse themselves in. A moment of remembering something, but it being on the tip of your tongue— a memory you can almost reach, yet one that becomes murky once specific details are required. Harrison was born in Cincinnati in 1957…
Completely Subjective: Anne Carson’s “A Fragment of Ibykos Translated Six Ways”
“[T]his is the magic of fragments—the way that poem breaks off leads into a thought that can’t ever be apprehended. There is the space where a thought would be, but which you can’t get hold of. I love that space. It’s the reason I like to deal with fragments. Because no matter what the thought…
“Moonrise”: Eight Questions for Maureen McLane
Maureen McLane was born in December, 1967, and she grew up in upstate New York and studied at Oxford University, the University of Chicago, and Harvard. She is a successful poet, critic, and professor at New York University, where she teaches English. In past years, she has taught at MIT, Harvard, and East Harlem Poetry…
“Places with Terrible Wi-Fi”: Eight Questions for Josh Estanislao Lopez
Growing up in a world where we’re constantly surrounded by screens, from schoolwork to conversations, poetry has always felt different to me. It’s one of the few things that I feel remains isolated and pure in my mind, asking us to slow down and think, to feel something that isn’t filtered through technology. We text,…
“Night Herons”: Eight Questions with Amy Gerstler
Amy Gerstler is a poet, a writer of fiction, non-fiction, and art criticism. She is currently developing a full-length play with artist and writer Benjamin Weissman. Gerstler has taught writing, literature, and visual art at the University of California, Irvine, California Institute of the Arts, Cal Tech, and other schools in the West. She has…
“Gaslighter”: Eight Questions for Kristin Bock
Through my training and experiences as a volunteer for a nonprofit focused on supporting dancer mental health, I have learned about different types of relationships, communication strategies, and how one’s perspective can warp their reality. My experience as an emotional leader of an organization that was created in response to the abusive relationships that arise…
“Elegy On Fire”: Eight Questions for D.A. Powell
I have always been very interested in how family and past experiences affect your life. Poetry is such an engaging way to see the world through different artists’ views of life and the world around them. Poetry allows the readers to relate to their experiences, and feel their grief and emotions while connecting it to…
“This Is a Love Poem to Trees”: Seven Questions for Hannah Marshall
Trees are perhaps one of the most consistent and prevalent things in our everyday lives, yet one of the most overlooked. Not many people notice the types of trees that they pass everyday or the specific trees that are part of significant moments. For poet Hannah Marshall, specific trees are connected in her mind to…