LitCit: Antioch's Literary Citizen Podcast

Lee Takemoto sits down with Jenny Qi as they talk about her new book of poetry, Focal Point .  Qi discusses poetry, science and how writing contained the grief of losing her mother.  The episode was produced by Kevin Cummins and mastered by Lee Takemoto.

Host Lisa Locascio Nighthawk chats with novelist Mary Gaitskill about her latest book The Devil's Treasure . Gaitskill discusses the devil, defamiliarization and the feeling of dislocation, the writing process, writing programs, and the qualities that make a true writer.  This episode was produced by Amy Klipstine and mastered by Samantha Rahmani.

Host Ahsan Butt in conversation with guest Farah Ali about Karachi, Pakistan as home, estrangement as a fundamental human condition, avoiding sentimentality on the page, and getting to the "why behind the why" of her complicated characters. Ali reads passages from "Loved Ones," a short story from her debut collection People Want to Live .

Host Kevin Cummins engages author Anne Liu Kellor about her path to publishing Heart Radical: A Search for Language, Love, and Belonging , her memoir about a bilingual, mixed-race American woman's three-year sojourn in China, the country of her mother's birth. The writers discuss racial identity, free-writing, and silence. This episode was produced and mastered by Samantha Rahmani, Amy Mills Klips...

Host Louise Rozett engages children's author Lauren Tarshis in a discussion about her path to publishing the popular I Survived series, the need to develop children as readers, research rapture, and constrained timelines when writing creative nonfiction. This episode was produced and mastered by Amy Mills Klipstine, Kevin Cummins, and Lee Takemoto Salo.

Host Julie Sugar leads guest Sharman Apt Russell in a discussion about her latest book, Within Our Grasp , and the push to end childhood malnutrition, the use of metafiction, and finding satisfaction in your writing life.   This episode was produced and mastered by Julie Sugar and Amy Mills Klipstine

Host Yamini Pathak engages poet Jaswinder Bolina in a discussion about writing as a person of color, adopting a persona, and the freedom of poetry. Bolina reads from his essay " Writing Like a White Guy " and his poems " Supremacy " and " Station ."   This episode was produced and mastered by Amy Mills Klipstine.

Host Mair Allen chats with poet Sally Wen Mao about her essay High-Rise Syndrome published in The Believer magazine, temporality and the self portrait, and poetry as a refusal of silencing. Mao reads her poem Batshit featured in the anthology Together in a Sudden Strangeness (ed. Alice Quinn). Part 2 of 2.   This episode was produced by Amy Mills Klipstine and mastered by Samantha Rahmani. Graphic...

Host Mair Allen chats with poet Sally Wen Mao about her collection Oculus , the politics of recognition and consumption of the self, the hustle of the poetry life, and art as collaboration and protest. Mao reads Anna May Wong Goes Viral from Oculus. Part 1 of 2.    This episode was produced by Amy Mills Klipstine and mastered by Samantha Rahmani. Graphic design by Lisa Croce.

Host Lisa Locascio chats with writer and psychotherapist Wendy C. Ortiz about her books Excavation: A Memoir and Hollywood Notebook , as well as some of her personal essays, her experiences as an alumni of the Antioch MFA program, the practice of writing, writing about the self, her relationship with the City of Los Angeles, and how astrology weaves into her writing.  This episode was produced and...

Host Samantha Rahmani and author Megan Giddings discuss her debut novel Lakewood and its grappling with the American healthcare system, medical experimentation, race, trust, and friendship. Giddings also talks about editorial experiences, the transition from writing short stories to a novel, the concept of certainty in fiction, genre in the modern day, and the role of happiness and play in writing...

Host Lisa Locascio chats with writer Francesca Lia Block about her latest novel House of Hearts , her long, successful career in writing, going back to school to get her MFA, what she loves about teaching creative writing, the long afterlife of books, and themes in her writing like climate change, self-harm, eating disorders, and delicious food.  This episode was produced and mastered by Barbara P...

Sarah Haas engages writer and mentor Sarah Manguso in a discussion about the need to write, concision and omission in regards to social justice, and Manguso's forthcoming book Very Cold People . This episode was produced and mastered by Amy Mills Klipstine with graphic design by Lisa Croce.

Host Lisa Locascio and guest Melissa Broder discuss disordered eating and desire in her new novel Milk Fed , along with love and death in The Pisces , her works of poetry and prose, her podcast eating alone in my car , writing in motion, and publicity and promotion. Broder reads a passage from Milk Fed and the poem My Own Nothing featured in Superdoom and republished from Last Sext . This episode...

Host Antoinette Wiley leads award-winning author Tananarive Due in a discussion about her upcoming novel The Reformatory , the allure of horror, recognizing Black trauma, using fiction to repair harm, and the value of honing short fiction skills. This episode was produced and mastered by Amy Mills Klipstine with graphic design by Lisa Croce.

Host Lisa Croce engages author Naima Coster in conversation about her New York Times bestselling novel, What's Mine And Yours . Coster discusses inspiration, craft, and themes of integration and gentrification in her novel.  Episode produced and mastered by Samantha Rahmani. Graphic design by Lisa Croce.

Host Victoria Chang in discussion with poet Xochitl-Julisa Bermejo about the publication journey of her first book,  Posada: Offerings of Witness and Refuge , poetry as witness from her time at the border with No More Deaths , and the influence and importance of family and community. Bermejo reads "Upon Celebrating America's Birthday," "The Story of the Stolen Metate," and "The Poem I'm Writing Al...

Host Barbara Platts chats with writer, publisher, and software developer Lise Quintana about her eclectic range of experience in the publishing world, working as the editor-in-chief of Lunch Ticket , Antioch MFA's literary journal, launching Zoetic Press and its award-winning journal NonBinary Review, and inventing the e-reader software Lithomobilus. This episode was produced and mastered by Barba...

Host Victoria Chang and guest Laura Buccieri discuss Laura's dual roles of publicist and poet, wearing different hats in the literary world, gender in language, and staying creative. Laura reads her poem " St. Rays " published in Apogee . Part 2 of 2. This episode was produced and mastered by Amy Mills Klipstine.

Host Victoria Chang and guest Laura Buccieri , Director of Publicity at Copper Canyon Press , discuss the life of a literary publicist: strategies for gaining reviews, managing author expectations, discovering the story of a book, the longevity of poetry, and Laura's commitment that every book gets heard. Part 1 of 2. This episode was produced and mastered by Amy Mills Klipstine.

Host Lisa Locascio and guest Garth Greenwell discuss his works Cleanness and What Belongs to You , along with taking leaps of faith, participating in systems that don't support your values, the allure of teaching, finding inspiration, the ethics of writing about other places, and the influence of W. G. Sebald , Javier Marias , and Thomas Bernhard .  This episode was produced and mastered by Amy Mi...

Host Victoria Chang engages poet Dana Levin in a discussion about poetry: those who have been an influence, such as Louise Glück , Jorie Graham , and Anne Carson , teaching craft, having readers who do not share your aesthetic, negative space and the field of the page, endings, and poetry in the modern era of social media. Levin reads " Ars Poetica " and " The Point of the Needle " from published...