Back Draft: Javier Zamora

By Ben Purkert and Javier Zamora April 3, 2023

The memoirist on the politicization of children, Salvadoran slang, and repressed trauma.

Back Draft: Charif Shanahan

By Ben Purkert and Charif Shanahan February 13, 2023

The poet on ancestral homelands, Blackness in the Arab world, and living with poetry in your bones.

Back Draft Interview

Back Draft: Antoine Wilson

By Antoine Wilson and Ben Purkert October 24, 2022

The novelist discusses airport lounges, post-revision regret, and what it means to save someone’s life.

Arts & Culture Lit World

Back Draft Interview

Back Draft: Hangama Amiri

By Hangama Amiri and Hua Xi September 12, 2022

The textile artist on examining the nature of memory through large-scale fabric installations.

Back Draft Interview

Back Draft: Ada Limón

By Ada Limón and Ben Purkert July 18, 2022

The new US poet laureate discusses the myth of individualism, the climate crisis, and what makes a “core poem.”

Back Draft Interview

Back Draft: Corey Van Landingham

By Corey Van Landingham and Ben Purkert June 6, 2022

The poet discusses the risks of false comparisons, objectification, and the need for distance.

Back Draft Interview

Back Draft: Jiha Moon

By Jiha Moon May 2, 2022

The artist talks about creating vibrant celebrations of Asian identity in her large yellow paintings.

Arts & Culture

Back Draft Interview

Back Draft: Meghan O’Rourke

By Meghan O’Rourke and Ben Purkert March 1, 2022

The memoirist talks about the limitations of “the traditional illness narrative” and what healing really means.

Bodies & Nature

Back Draft Interview

Back Draft: Hala Alyan

By Ben Purkert and Hala Alyan January 31, 2022

The novelist discusses the strain of translating herself to others, and explains why she enjoys brainstorming more than editing.

Lit World

Back Draft Interview

Back Draft: Rebecca Donner

By Tana Wojczuk and Rebecca Donner November 2, 2021

The author discusses her family's connection to the Nazi resistance in Germany and writing through historical gaps.

Lit World

Back Draft Interview

Back Draft: Laura Blackett and Eve Gleichman

By Eryn Loeb, Laura Blackett, and Eve Gleichman October 19, 2021

Two fiction writers on how collaborating on a novel changed their friendship.

Lit World

Back Draft Interview

Back Draft: Sterling HolyWhiteMountain

By Sterling HolyWhiteMountain and Ben Purkert July 23, 2021

The fiction writer discusses Native art, breakup phone calls, and the line between politics and propaganda.

Lit World

Back Draft Interview

Back Draft: Lisa Dillman

By Ben Purkert and Lisa Dillman January 13, 2021

The translator on selecting her subjects, discovering the work of Andrés Barba, and the dangers of cultural hegemony.

Arts & Culture Lit World

Back Draft Interview

Back Draft: Bianca Stone and Ruth Stone

By Bianca Stone, Ruth Stone, and Ben Purkert June 22, 2021

The poet discusses Emily Dickinson, strip clubs, and grieving over the loss of her grandmother.

Lit World

Back Draft Interview

Back Draft: Clint Smith

By Clint Smith and Ben Purkert May 3, 2021

The writer and poet talks about novelistic nonfiction and why he thinks of his grandparents as monuments.

Arts & Culture Lit World Race

Back Draft Interview

Back Draft: Danez Smith

By Danez Smith and Ben Purkert December 3, 2020

The poet on a hard year for books, getting a rise out of an audience, and “Frankensteining” your archives.

Arts & Culture Lit World

Back Draft Interview

Back Draft: Emma McMillan

By Kat Herriman and Emma McMillan September 9, 2020

The painter on frottage, a decorative rebellion, and the destruction of the traditional family unit.

Arts & Culture

Back Draft Interview

Back Draft: Rachel Eliza Griffiths

By Ben Purkert and Rachel Eliza Griffiths August 3, 2020

The poet on radical revision, our reflections, and photographing poets.

Lit World

Back Draft Interview

Back Draft: Miranda Popkey

By Kate Dwyer and Miranda Popkey May 5, 2020

The novelist discusses the shape of a narrative, and the value of retyping.

Arts & Culture Lit World

Back Draft Interview

Back Draft: Emily Wilson

By Ben Purkert and Emily Wilson February 24, 2020

The translator on being drawn to Homer, and the timelessness of toxic masculinity.

Arts & Culture Lit World

Back Draft Interview

Back Draft: John Murillo

By Ben Purkert and John Murillo October 21, 2019

The poet discusses chasing butterflies, and the perpetual relevance of political verse.

Lit World

Back Draft Interview

Back Draft: Martín Espada

By Ben Purkert, Martín Espada, and Donald Hall August 12, 2019

The poet discusses his relationship with the late Donald Hall and the power of art, incarnate.

Lit World

Back Draft Interview

Back Draft: Edward Hirsch

By Ben Purkert and Edward Hirsch April 5, 2019

The poet discusses insomnia, civility (or the lack thereof) in cities, and losing his sight.

Lit World

Back Draft Interview

Back Draft: Natasha Trethewey

By Ben Purkert and Natasha Trethewey February 26, 2019

The acclaimed poet discusses a devastating fire, and the painterly in poetry.

Arts & Culture Lit World

Back Draft Interview

Back Draft: Catherine Barnett

By Ben Purkert and 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.

Lit World

Back Draft Interview

Back Draft: Cedar Sigo

By Cedar Sigo and Ben Purkert September 28, 2018

The poet on escaping the confines of academia, striving for imperfection, and moving back home.

Lit World

Back Draft Interview

Back Draft: Cynthia Cruz

By Ben Purkert and Cynthia Cruz August 23, 2018

The poet on perfectionism, surrendering control, and a poetry that reflects the practical realities of American life today.

Lit World

Back Draft Interview

Back Draft: Heather Christle

By Ben Purkert and Heather Christle July 11, 2018

The poet discusses the spark of life in a poem and the intersection of the imaginative and the political.

Lit World

Back Draft Interview

Back Draft: Victoria Chang

By Victoria Chang and Ben Purkert June 6, 2018

The poet on her revision process and coping with grief.

Lit World

Back Draft Interview

Back Draft: Carl Phillips

By Carl Phillips and Ben Purkert May 3, 2018

The inaugural installment of a new series about the revision process in poetry. First up: Carl Phillips.

Arts & Culture Lit World