Jan Wagner is a German poet, essayist, and translator. He is the author of The Art of Topiary, translated in collaboration with David Keplinger. The editor of two influential anthologies of German language poetry, Wagner is also the German translator of several British and American poets, including James Tate, Matthew Sweeney, and Charles Simic. In 2017, he was awarded the Georg Büchner Prize. He lives in Berlin.
During our Kickstarter campaign, one of the promises we made was to support emerging writers—those with just a debut or second book to their name. Emerging writers often struggle to reach readers in the marketplace because it favors guaranteed sales from proven authors, so we pledged to read, stock, and celebrate their books in part by devoting an entire section of Milkweed Books to their work. Our front display (the first thing you see when you walk in the door!) is dedicated to these important books, but that’s not the only place you can find them. Shelf talkers noting “Debut Author!” punctuate…
David Keplinger is the author of Ice and Another City. His collections of poems also include The Most Natural Thing, The Prayers of Others, The Clearing, and The Rose Inside. His translations include Carsten René Nielsen’s World Cut Out with Crooked Scissors and House Inspections, a Lannan Translations Selection; his most recent translation is Jan Wagner’s The Art of Topiary.
Milkweed Books presents a celebration of the release of a double-broadside printed by Sam Gould of Beyond Repair, in honor of the Great Twin Cities Poetry Read. Featuring poetry and performance from Harmony Holiday and her experimental collection Hollywood Forever (Fence 2017), as well as Minneapolis-based artists D. Allen and Erin Sharkey.
Milkweed Books presents Alison McGhee, Minnesota Book Award winning local author, with a launch event in celebration of her fifth novel, Never Coming Back. McGhee’s latest is a moving novel which explores the relationship between a mother and daughter on the brink of reconnection, even as they must both come to terms with the mother’s early-onset Alzheimer’s.
Alison Mcghee is an award-winning novelist, whose previous books for children and adults have been featured by the Today Show, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Join us at The Loft Literary Center for a special evening as Eileen Myles presents their new memoir, Afterglow. Book sales provided by Milkweed Books. Afterglow joins a grand literary tradition of writers paying homage to a beloved dog, but Myles’ entry in the canon subverts both genre and tradition and stands apart as resolutely its own thing. Combining screenplay, monologue, science fiction, and lucid memory, the text is animated with photos, diagrams, drawings, and poems. Afterglow illuminates the surreal and familiar aspects of what it means to dedicate your existence to a dog.
Eileen…
Dalia Rosenfeld, author of the debut story collection The Worlds We Think We Know, joined Milkweed editor Joey McGarvey in a discussion about place, humor, and literary influences. From the meaning of symbolism to the catalysts for character creation, Rosenfeld recounts how her book came into being.
Milkweed Editions, in partnership with Riva Ariella Ritvo-Slifka and the Alan B. Slifka Foundation, is pleased to announce the inaugural Max Ritvo Poetry Prize. The winning poet will receive publication by Milkweed Editions in April 2018 and $10,000, making the Max Ritvo Poetry Prize the most lucrative first-book prize.
