THE POETRY QUESTION: TPQ20

Chris sits solo with Todd Dillard to discuss passions, process, pitfalls, and poetry!  Todd Dillard grew up in Houston, Texas, completing his undergraduate degree at the University of Houston with a concentration in creative writing and poetry. From there, he moved to New York to study in the creative writing program at Sarah Lawrence College, where he received his MFA in poetry in 2008. After living for a few years in Brooklyn and the Bronx, Todd moved to Philadelphia with his wife to start a family. He’s now the father of a wonderful daughter, and works as a writer and editor for a teaching hospital. Todd’s work has appeared in numerous publications, including Best New Poets, McSweeney’s Internet Tendencies, Electric Literature, Nimrod, Superstition Review, and Split Lip Magazine. His work was selected as a finalist for the 2018 “Best Small Fictions” anthology, and has been nominated numerous times for the “Best of the Net” and the Pushcart anthologies. He is a recipient of the Birdwhistle Poetry Prize. His debut collection “Ways We Vanish” was released in 2020 from Okay Donkey Press. Visit The Poetry Question at HTTP://www.thepoetryquestion.com --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tpq20/support

Chris sits solo with Todd Dillard to discuss passions, process, pitfalls, and poetry!  Todd Dillard grew up in Houston, Texas, completing his undergraduate degree at the University of Houston with a concentration in creative writing and poetry. From there, he moved to New York to study in the creative writing program at Sarah Lawrence College, where he received his MFA in poetry in 2008. After living for a few years in Brooklyn and the Bronx, Todd moved to Philadelphia with his wife to start a family. He’s now the father of a wonderful daughter, and works as a writer and editor for a teaching hospital. Todd’s work has appeared in numerous publications, including Best New Poets, McSweeney’s Internet Tendencies, Electric Literature, Nimrod, Superstition Review, and Split Lip Magazine. His work was selected as a finalist for the 2018 “Best Small Fictions” anthology, and has been nominated numerous times for the “Best of the Net” and the Pushcart anthologies. He is a recipient of the Birdwhistle Poetry Prize. His debut collection “Ways We Vanish” was released in 2020 from Okay Donkey Press. Visit The Poetry Question at HTTP://www.thepoetryquestion.com --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/tpq20/support

Courtney and Chris sit down with George Abraham, author of Birthright (Button Poetry), to talk about passions, process, pitfalls, and poetry!  George Abraham is a Palestinian American poet and writer from Jacksonville, FL. Their debut poetry collection Birthright (Button Poetry, 2020) won the Arab American Book Award and the Big Other Book Award in Poetry, was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in Bisexual Poetry, and was named  on Best of 2020 lists with The Asian American Writers' Workshop and The New Arab. He is also the author of the chapbooks al youm (The Atlas Review, 2017), and the specimen's apology (Sibling Rivalry Press, 2019). He is a board member for the Radius of Arab American Writers (RAWI), a recipient of fellowships from Kundiman, The Arab American National Museum, The Boston Foundation, and the Poetry Foundation, a winner of the 2018 Cosmonauts Avenue Poetry Prize selected by Tommy Pico, and a recipient of the "Best Poet" title from the 2017 College Union Poetry Slam International. Their writing has appeared in The Nation, The American Poetry Review, Guernica, The Baffler, The Paris Review, The Missouri Review, West Branch, Mizna, and anthologies such as Nepantla, Bettering American Poetry, and Beyond Memory: an Anthology of Arab American Creative Nonfiction. A graduate of Swarthmore College and Harvard University, and affiliated faculty member at Emerson College, Abraham is currently based in Chicago, IL, where he is a Litowitz MFA+MA  Candidate in Poetry at Northwestern University. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/tpq20/support

Chris sits down for a one-on-one with Elizabeth Horan. Elisabeth Horan is a poet, mother, and small press publisher living in the wilds of Vermont. She is the author of numerous poetry chapbooks and collections, and the Editor-In-Chief of Animal Heart Press. Elisabeth is passionate about discovering new voices and mentoring emerging poets. She is also a fierce advocate for those impacted by mental illness. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/tpq20/support

Chris and Courtney sit down with Danez Smith to talk about Passion, Process, Pitfalls, and Poetry!  Danez Smith is a Black, Queer, Poz writer & performer from St. Paul, MN. Danez is the author of “Homie” (Graywolf Press, 2020), "Don’t Call Us Dead" (Graywolf Press, 2017), winner of the Forward Prize for Best Collection, the Midwest Booksellers Choice Award, and a finalist for the National Book Award, and "[insert] boy" (YesYes Books, 2014), winner of the Kate Tufts Discovery Award and the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry. They are the recipient of fellowships from the Poetry Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, the Montalvo Arts Center, Cave Canem, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Danez's work has been featured widely including on Buzzfeed, The New York Times, PBS NewsHour, Best American Poetry, Poetry Magazine, and on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Danez has been featured as part of Forbes’ annual 30 Under 30 list and is the winner of a Pushcart Prize. They are a member of the Dark Noise Collective and is the co-host of VS with Franny Choi, a podcast sponsored by the Poetry Foundation and Postloudness. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/tpq20/support

Courtney sits down with the legendary Ebony Stewart for a special one-on-one edition of TPQ20 Ebony Stewart is an international touring poet and performance artist. Her work speaks to the black experience, with emphasis on gender, sexuality, womanhood, and race, with the hopes to be relatable, remove shame, heal minds, encourage dialogue, and inspire folks in marginalized communities. As one of the most decorated poets in Texas, Ebony is a respected coach & mentor, one of the top touring poets in the country, and a Woman of the World Poetry Slam Champion. The Sexual Health activist and former Sexual Health Educator is also pursuing a license as a Clinician Therapist. As a playwright, Ebony’s one-woman shows, Hunger and Ocean, have received B. Iden Payne Awards & the David Mark Cohen New Play Award. She is the author of Love Letters to Balled Fists and Home.Girl.Hood. Her work has been featured in For Harriet, AfroPunk, Teen Vogue, and The Texas Observer. The only poet to perform at the 2018 Seattle Pride Festival before 200,000 people, was Ebony Stewart. She is, #thestoryoftheblackgirlwinning Poets/Writers mentioned: Ariana Brown, Janae Johnson, Ayokunle Falomo & Suzi Q Smith --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tpq20/support

Courtney sits down with the legendary Ebony Stewart for a special one-on-one edition of TPQ20 Ebony Stewart is an international touring poet and performance artist. Her work speaks to the black experience, with emphasis on gender, sexuality, womanhood, and race, with the hopes to be relatable, remove shame, heal minds, encourage dialogue, and inspire folks in marginalized communities. As one of the most decorated poets in Texas, Ebony is a respected coach & mentor, one of the top touring poets in the country, and a Woman of the World Poetry Slam Champion. The Sexual Health activist and former Sexual Health Educator is also pursuing a license as a Clinician Therapist. As a playwright, Ebony’s one-woman shows, Hunger and Ocean, have received B. Iden Payne Awards & the David Mark Cohen New Play Award. She is the author of Love Letters to Balled Fists and Home.Girl.Hood. Her work has been featured in For Harriet, AfroPunk, Teen Vogue, and The Texas Observer. The only poet to perform at the 2018 Seattle Pride Festival before 200,000 people, was Ebony Stewart. She is, #thestoryoftheblackgirlwinning Poets/Writers mentioned: Ariana Brown, Janae Johnson, Ayokunle Falomo & Suzi Q Smith --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/tpq20/support

Courtney and Chris Margolin sit down with Sam Herschel Wein to talk about Passions, Process, Pitfalls, and Poetry.  Sam Herschel Wein (pronouns: he/they) is a lollygagging plum of a poet who specializes in perpetual frolicking. They are an MFA candidate in poetry at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. Their first chapbook, Fruit Mansion (Split Lip Press, 2017) was selected as the winner of the 2016 Turnbuckle Chapbook prize. Their second chapbook, GESUNDHEIT!, a collaboration with Chen Chen, is part of the 2019-2020 Glass Poetry Press series. He co-founded and edits the poetry journal Underblong. Recent poems can be found in Shenandoah, Sundog Lit, and The Adroit Journal, among others. They can be found in the cheese aisle of most stores, in the middle of a hug, or editing poems at your local coffee shop. Books referenced: Pet by Akwaeke Emezi; Detransition, Baby: A Novel by Torrey Peters Find Sam on Twitter  Head to The Poetry Question to keep up with independent poetry! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/tpq20/support

Welcome to the trailer for TPQ20 where we highlight a few of the names for season 1. Always remember to like, review, and subscribe! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/tpq20/support