The Galleons: Poems book cover
Seattle, WA —

Elliott Bay Book Company: Kazim Ali & Rick Barot with Paisley Rekdal

Two stellar poets are joined by a third in reading and conversation via virtual means here this evening. Kazim Ali, poet, translator (in more directions than one), novelist, memoirist, writer in various forms (this doesn’t begin to say it) is on hand with his newest book of poems, The Voice of Sheila Chandra (Alice James Books). Reading with him, in what would be the ‘host’ position were we doing this in-person is Tacoma-based poet and head of the Rainier Writing Workshop at Pacific Lutheran University, Rick Barot, whose new collection, The Galleons (Milkweed Editions), has just been longlisted for the 2020 National Book Awards. Joining them in conversation will be poet Paisley Rekdal, whose most recent books are Nightingale (poetry) and The Broken Country (prose). Register here.

Authors / Poetry & Migration

5 Reasons to Teach This Book: The Century

Bailey Hutchinson — 10/08/2020

Welcome, friends, to the latest installment of 5 Reasons to Teach This Book! In this interview series, we examine what we can learn from Milkweed’s titles by discussing our books with educators, authors, and booksellers. This month, we’re featuring Éireann Lorsung’s recently-released collection, The Century.

These poems navigate cross-continental histories as best they can with the flawed vehicle we have collectively inherited: language. “I need a language more open / than the language of forms, more / spacious than the language poetry / can be,” Lorsung writes, cueing readers to this book’s mission: not to solve the dilemma of situating…

San Francisco, CA —

The 41st Annual American Book Awards, featuring Jake Skeets

The Before Columbus Foundation recognizes the winners of the 41st Annual American Book Awards, including Jake Skeets, author of Eyes Bottle Dark with a Mouthful of Flowers. The ceremony will be held on Zoom at 2pm PT: register here.