Danez Smith leads a thinking-and-reading through of Nate Marshall

On Thursday, November 21st, 2024, Danez Smith led a thinking-and-reading-through of “Palindrome” by Nate Marshall, followed by a short reading of their own work

Danez Smith is the author of four collections including Homie, Don’t Call Us Dead, and their most recent collection Bluff. Their work has been awarded the UK’s Forward Prize for Best Collection, the Minnesota Book Award in Poetry, the Kate Tufts Discovery Award, and has been a finalist for the NAACP Image Award in Poetry, the National Book Critic Circle Award, and the National Book Award. Former co-host of the Webby nominated podcast VS, they live in Minneapolis near their people.

Photographer: Hieu Minh Nguyen

Lee Ann Brown leads a thinking-and-reading through of Sophia Dahlin

On Thursday, November 7th, 2024, Lee Ann Brown led a thinking-and-reading-through of “Life Stuff” by Sophia Dahlin, followed by a short reading of her own work

Lee Ann Brown was born in Japan and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina. She attended Brown University, where she earned both her undergraduate and graduate degrees. She is the author of Other Archer, which also appears in French translation by Stephane Bouquet as Autre Archere (Presses Universitaires de Rouen et du Havre, 2015),  In the Laurels, Caught (Fence Books, 2013), which won the 2012 Fence Modern Poets Series Award, as well as Crowns of Charlotte (Carolina Wren Press, 2013), The Sleep That Changed Everything (Wesleyan, 2003), and Polyverse (Sun & Moon Press, 1999), which won the 1996 New American Poetry Competition, selected by Charles Bernstein. In 1989, Brown founded Tender Buttons Press, which is dedicated to publishing experimental women’s poetry. She has taught at Brown University, Naropa University, Bard College, and The New School,St. John’s University, among others. Brown has held fellowships with Teachers & Writers Collaborative, Yaddo, Djerassi, the MacDowell Colony, the International Center for Poetry in Marseille, France, the Howard Foundation and is now the Judith E. Wilson Poetry Fellow at Cambridge University.

Tom Healy leads a thinking-and-reading-through of Anne Carson

On Thursday, October 24th, 2024, Tom Healy led a thinking-and-reading-through of “O Small Sad Ecstasy of Love” by Anne Carson, followed by a short reading of his own work

Tom Healy is the author of three books of poems, Velvet, Animal Spirits and What the Right Hand Knows, which was a finalist for the L.A. Times Book Prize and the Lambda Literary Award. His poems and art writing have appeared in The New York Times, The Paris Review, Boston Review, Yale Review, Salmagundi, The Slowdown and other journals and anthologies. Tom is a trustee of PEN America and the chair of the O, Miami Poetry Festival. He also serves on the boards of The Bass Museum and the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Sarah Giragosian leads a thinking-and-reading-through of Reginald Shepherd,

On Thursday, October 10th, 2024, Sarah Giragosian led a thinking-and-reading-through of “A Brief Manual for Swimmers” by Reginald Shepherd, followed by a short reading of her own work

Sarah Giragosian is the author of the poetry collections Queer Fish, a winner of the American Poetry Journal Book Prize (Dream Horse Press, 2017), and The Death Spiral (Black Lawrence Press, 2020). In 2023, the University of Akron Press published the craft anthology Marbles on the Floor: How to Assemble a Book of Poems, which she co-edited. In 2024, Middle Creek Press released Mother Octopus, a co-winner of the Halcyon Prize.  Sarah's writing has appeared in such journals as Orion, Ecotone, Tin House, Pleiades, and Prairie Schooner, among others. She teaches at the University at Albany-SUNY.

Deborah Meadows leads a thinking-and-reading-through of Rosmarie Waldrop

On Thursday, September 26th, 2024, Deborah Meadows led a thinking-and-reading-through of “Conversation 23: On Cause” by Rosmarie Waldrop, followed by a short reading of her own work

Deborah Meadows has a new book of poetry: Bumblebees (Roof Books, 2024) and her other works include: Neo-bedrooms (Shearsman), Lecture Notes, a duration poem in twelve parts (BlazeVOX [books]), The Demotion of Pluto: Poems and Plays (BlazeVOX [books]), Three Plays (BlazeVOX [books]), Translation, the bass accompaniment: Selected Poems (Shearsman Books), Saccade Patterns (BlazeVOX [books]), How, the means (Mindmade Books), Depleted Burden Down (Factory School), Goodbye Tissues (Shearsman Press, UK), involutia (Shearsman Press, UK), The Draped Universe (Belladonna* Books), Thin Gloves (Green Integer), Growing Still (Tinfish Press), Representing Absence (Green Integer), Itinerant Men (Krupskaya Press),“The 60’s and 70’s: from The Theory of Subjectivity in Moby-Dick” (Tinfish Press). She is an Emerita faculty member at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, lives with her husband in Los Angeles’ Arts District/Little Tokyo.

Tommye Blount leads a thinking-and-reading-through of Atsuro Riley

On Thursday, May 30th, 2024, Tommye Blount led a thinking-and-reading-through of “O” by Atsuro Riley, followed by a short reading of his own work

Tommye Blount (he/him) is the author of the chapbook What Are We Not For (Bull City Press) and the full-length collection of poetry Fantasia for the Man in Blue (Four Way Books)—which was finalist for: the National Book Award, the Kate Tufts Discovery Award, the Lambda Literary Award in Gay Poetry, the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, and others. He is the recipient of commendations, fellowships, and grants from: the Whiting Foundation, Cave Canem, Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Kresge Arts in Detroit, and the Aninstantia Foundation. Just a few miles shy of his hometown in Detroit, Tommye now lives in Novi, Michigan.

Shira Dentz leads a thinking-and-reading-through of Lyn Hejinian

On Thursday, May 16, 2024, Shira Dentz led a thinking-through of “[A straight rain is rare…]” by Lyn Hejinian followed by a short reading of her own work

Shira Dentz is the author of five books including SISYPHUSINA (PANK Books), winner of the Eugene Paul Nassar Prize 2021, and two chapbooks including FLOUNDERS (Essay Press). Her writing appears in many venues including Poetry, American Poetry Review, Cincinnati Review, Iowa Review, Gulf Coast, jubilat, Pleiades, Denver Quarterly, Diagram, Colorado Review, Idaho Review, New American Writing, Brooklyn Rail, Apartment, Lana Turner, Academy of American Poets' Poem-a-Day Series (Poets.org), Poetry Daily, Verse Daily, Poetrysociety.org, and NPR, and she’s a recipient of awards including an Academy of American Poets Prize and Poetry Society of America's Lyric Poem and Cecil Hemley Awards. Her roles have included working as a graphic artist in the music industry, Reviews Editor at Drunken Boat, Special Features Editor at Tarpaulin Sky, and as an educator. She holds an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop and a PhD from the University of Utah, and currently works as a Senior Education Specialist at The Research Foundation at SUNY (Albany), and until recently taught in Goddard College's M.F.A. Creative Writing program.

Tan Lin leads a thinking-and-reading-through of a section of Descent of Alette by Alice Notley

On Thursday, May 2, 2024, Tan Lin led a thinking-through of Descent of Alette by Alice Notley followed by a short reading of his own work.

Tan Lin is the author of over 13 books. He is the recipient of a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grant for Poetry, a Getty Distinguished Scholar Grant and a Warhol Foundation/Creative Capital Arts Writing Grant. 7 Controlled Vocabularies received the Association for American Studies Award for Poetry/Literature. A novel, Our Feelings Were Made by Hand is forthcoming from Coffee House in 2025.

Bianca Stone leads a thinking-and-reading-through of Larry Levis

On Thursday, April 18, 2024, Bianca Stone led a thinking-through of "Ghazal" by Larry Levis followed by a short reading of her own work.

Bianca Stone is the author of the poetry collections What is Otherwise Infinite (Tin House, 2022), The Möbius Strip Club of Grief (Tin House, 2018), Someone Else’s Wedding Vows (Octopus Books and Tin House, 2014) and collaborated with Anne Carson on the illuminated version of Antigonick (New Directions, 2012). Her work has appeared in many magazines, including The New Yorker, The Atlantic and The Nation. She teaches classes on poetry and poetic study at the Ruth Stone House (501c3) where she is editor-at-large for Iterant magazine and host of Ode & Psyche Podcast.

Ron Silliman leads a thinking-and-reading-through of Charles Bernstein

On Thursday, April 4, 2024, Ron Silliman led a thinking-through of “All the Whiskey in Heaven” by Charles Berstein followed by a short reading of his own work.

Ron Silliman is an American poet and lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania. He has written and edited over fifty (50) books and has had his poetry and criticism translated into nineteen (19) languages. The most recent (forthcoming) is a Russian translation of You by Ivan Sokolov, which will be published in Petersburg, Russia later this year. He is often associated with language poetry. Silliman has worked as a political organizer, lobbyist, ethnographer, newspaper editor, director of development, and executive editor of the Socialist Review (US). Between 1979 and 2004, Silliman wrote a single poem, The Alphabet. He has begun writing a new poem, Universe, the first section of which appears to be called Revelator.

t. liem leads a thinking-and-reading-through of Sawako Nakayasu

On Thursday, March 24, 2024, t. liem led a thinking-through of “Morning Song” by Sawako Nakayasu followed by a short reading of their own work.

t. liem is the author of Slows: Twice (Coach House 2023), and Obits. (Coach House, 2018), which was shortlisted for a Lambda Literary Award, and won the Gerald Lampert Memorial Award as well as the A.M. Klein Prize. Their writing has been published in Apogee, Plenitude, The Boston Review, Grain, Maisonneuve, Catapult, The Malahat Review, The Fiddlehead, and elsewhere. They live in Montreal, Tio’Tia:ke, unceded Kanien’kehá:ka territories.

Rachelle Rahmé leads a thinking-and-reading-through of John Ashbery

On Thursday, February 8th, 2024 Rachelle Rahmé led a thinking-and-reading-through of “Sleeping in the Corners of Our Lives” by John Ashbery followed by a short reading of her own work.

Rachelle Rahmé is a Lebanese-American scholar interested in collaborative liberation methodologies. She was the recipient of the Poetry Project's 2021-2022 ESB Fellowship, and her poems and translations have been published in Fonograf, Fieldnotes, the tiny, and The Brooklyn Rail, among others. Rahmé holds a Masters in Philosophy from NSSR. She is currently an MFA Candidate in Literary Arts at Brown University.

Funto Omojolla leads a thinking-and-reading-through of Myung Mi Kim

On Thursday, February 8th, 2024 at 3–4pm (ET)—Funto Omojola led a thinking-and-reading-through of Myung Mi Kim's "[accumulation of land]," followed by a short reading of their own work.

Susan Wheeler leads a thinking-and-reading-through of Kamau Brathwaite

On Thursday, February 8th, 2024 at 3–4pm (ET)—Susan Wheeler led a thinking-and-reading-through of selections from Kamau Brathwaite’s “Mesongs,” followed by a short reading of his own work.

Susan Wheeler is the author of six books of poetry, including Meme, shortlisted for the National Book Award, and Assorted Poems. About her Chicago-based novel, Record Palace, Toni Morrison wrote, “Susan Wheeler’s deft touch and flawless ear have produced an irresistible work, both fresh and sage.” Wheeler teaches at Princeton University and lives in Philadelphia. [Photo credit: Mel Edelman]

Mark Wunderlich leads a thinking-and-reading-through of Diane Seuss

On Thursday, January 25th, 2024 at 3–4pm (ET)—Mark Wunderlich led a thinking-and-reading-through of Diane Seuss’ “Young Hare,” followed by a short reading of his own work.

Mark Wunderlich is the author of four books of poems, the most recent of which is God of Nothingness, published by Graywolf Press. His other books include The Earth Avails, which received the Rilke Prize, Voluntary Servitude, and The Anchorage, which received the Lambda Literary Award. He has received awards from the Guggenheim Foundation, the NEA, Civitella Ranieri Foundation, the Amy Lowell Trust and elsewhere, and his work has been widely anthologized. He is Executive Director of the Bennington Writing Seminars graduate writing program and lives in Catskill, New York.