Back Draft: Lisa Dillman
January 13, 2021
The translator on selecting her subjects, discovering the work of Andrés Barba, and the dangers of cultural hegemony.
Ben Purkert
Back Draft: Danez Smith
December 3, 2020
The poet on a hard year for books, getting a rise out of an audience, and “Frankensteining” your archives.
Back Draft: Rachel Eliza Griffiths
August 3, 2020
The poet on radical revision, our reflections, and photographing poets.
Back Draft: Emily Wilson
February 24, 2020
The translator on being drawn to Homer, and the timelessness of toxic masculinity.
Back Draft: John Murillo
October 21, 2019
The poet discusses chasing butterflies, and the perpetual relevance of political verse.
Back Draft: Martín Espada
August 12, 2019
The poet discusses his relationship with the late Donald Hall and the power of art, incarnate.
Back Draft: Edward Hirsch
April 5, 2019
The poet discusses insomnia, civility (or the lack thereof) in cities, and losing his sight.
Back Draft: Natasha Trethewey
February 26, 2019
The acclaimed poet discusses a devastating fire, and the painterly in poetry.
Back Draft: Catherine Barnett
November 27, 2018
The poet discusses the separation of mind and body—literally and figuratively—the transformation of influence, and imagining an audience.
Back Draft: Cedar Sigo
September 28, 2018
The poet on escaping the confines of academia, striving for imperfection, and moving back home.
Back Draft: Cynthia Cruz
August 23, 2018
The poet on perfectionism, surrendering control, and a poetry that reflects the practical realities of American life today.
Back Draft: Heather Christle
July 11, 2018
The poet discusses the spark of life in a poem and the intersection of the imaginative and the political.
Back Draft: Carl Phillips
May 3, 2018
The inaugural installment of a new series about the revision process in poetry. First up: Carl Phillips.
An Inspired Time for American Poetry
October 19, 2017
Fifteen debut poetry collections that define the cultural moment.
Raising the Dead
September 27, 2017
An author’s visitation seems, in my students' eyes, a resurrection.
