SoundPages Podcast

Calvin Gimpelevich’s piece in the 2017 Jack Straw Writers Anthology is an excerpt from his novel Tenderloin, set in an alternate reality present-day San Francisco, tracing the intersections of various movements and communities through the 1970s. His conversation with curator Jourdan Imani Keith covers his love of history, using writing as a tool to build […] The post Tenderloin – Calvi...

2017 Jack Straw Writer Catalina Marie Cantú has been working a on a series of short creative non-fiction stories as a way to speak to young women about feeling okay with who they are in a Photoshop world. Her conversation with curator Jourdan Imani Keith covers bullying, the influence of teachers, and the ubiquity of […] The post Shoes – Catalina Marie Cantú appeared first on Jack Stra...

After a series of personal transitions, 2017 Jack Straw Writer afrose fatima ahmed went from “running around and achieving” to spending a year and a half on the Olympic Peninsula to be with herself in nature.  Her collection of poems blood gold and honey, which grew out of poetry commissions at farmer’s markets and festivals, […] The post Divination – afrose fatima ahmed appeared first on Ja...

2017 Jack Straw Writer D.A. Navoti describes his piece “One Pima Pilgrim” as a love-letter/goodbye letter to the Gila River Indian Community outside of Phoenix, AZ, in the Sonoran Desert. In the 2017 Jack Straw Writers Anthology, Dan explores the beauty of the landscape and what it feels like to be an outsider in his […] The post Pilgrim – D.A. Navoti appeared first on Jack Straw Cultu...

2017 Jack Straw Writer Brandon Young spoke with curator Jourdan Imani Keith about hoarding and its range of meanings and expressions, from bountiful treasure to suffocating trash. Brandon and Jourdan explore the idea that hoarding can provide salvation from an emotional trauma and is often a sign of an insecure environment. For Brandon’s work, he […] The post Salvage – Brandon Young appeared...

Steph Kesey‘s piece in the 2017 Jack Straw Writers Anthology is an excerpt from a book-length memoir in progress about her father’s battle with mental illness. She talks with curator Jourdan Imani Keith about this experience, how she began as a sculptor and became a writer, and how she finds form by putting the brutal […] The post Smoke – Steph Kesey appeared first on Jack Straw Cultur...

Jack Straw Writer Shontina Vernon‘s piece in the 2016 Jack Straw Writers Anthology is inspired by her youth in rural Texas and subsequent departure to the big city to attend a performing arts school. She talks with curator Karen Finneyfrock about this experience, her current work with youth through 4Culture’s Creative Justice program, and the […] The post Apples – Shontina Vernon appea...

2016 Jack Straw Writer Carolyne Wright talks with program curator Karen Finneyfrock about her current work in progress – a collection of poems about important women in her life, including her mother and sister – as well as her long career, global travels, and postgrad brush with the influential poet Elizabeth Bishop. “She said things […] The post Sister – Carolyne Wright appeared first on Ja...

2016 Jack Straw Writer EJ Koh found her calling as a poet at the very end of her college experience, after years of acting as her own guardian while her parents worked in Korea. She talks about her unusual adolescence and the sudden realization that she was a poet with program curator Karen Finneyfrock. “Everyone’s […] The post A Lesser Love – EJ Koh appeared first on Jack Straw Cultural Cen...

2016 Jack Straw Writer Ramon Isao‘s short stories combine obsession, fear, and disaster with humor and absurdity. He talks with program Curator Karen Finneyfrock about his fascination with worst-case scenarios, his early realization that he could be a writer, and how he knows a story is finished. “I know that I’m done with them when […] The post Worst-case Scenarios – Ramon Isao appear...

2016 Jack Straw Writer Alison Stagner‘s poems balance lyricism and beauty with threat and violence as she attempts to bridge the seemingly insurmountable gap between our internal selves and the outer world. She talks to program curator Karen Finneyfrock about this and other fascinations, as well her method of writing poems orally, often while walking […] The post Communication – Alison...

2016 Jack Straw Writer Casandra Lopez has worked in several literary forms, including poetry, fiction, and essays. Her project during her Jack Straw fellowship was a hybrid work of creative non-fiction, crossing and blending genres to explore the grief and loss that followed her brother’s murder. She talks to program curator Karen Finneyfrock about making […] The post Brother – Casandra Lope...

2016 Jack Straw Writer Anis Gisele‘s project for the Writers Program is Pinweight, a young adult novel inspired by her own experience. She talks to program curator Karen Finneyfrock about her connection to the book’s main character, finding herself as a writer in the slam poetry scene, and surviving as an artist in a rapidly […] The post Pinweight – Anis Gisele appeared first on Jack S...

2016 Jack Straw Writer Corinne Manning talks with program curator Karen Finneyfrock about the development of her novel Potential Monsters and the feedback she received that led her to reevaluate her relationship to the narrow confines of contemporary literature. “That . . . fueled me  to explore how I can tell my stories authentically without […] The post Monsters – Corinne Manning appeared...

Multidisciplinary writer and artist Shin Yu Pai, known primarily for her poetry, worked on a collection of personal essays about her relationship to Taiwanese identity during her time as a 2016 Jack Straw Writer. She talks with curator Karen Finneyfrock about her writing and research practices, and why she chose to explore these particular themes […] The post Firstborn – Shin Yu Pai appeared...

2016 Jack Straw Writer Robert Lashley talks with program curator Karen Finneyfrock about Up South, the forthcoming collection of poetry he was working on during his Jack Straw residency. Robert also shares his thoughts on his favorite forms of poetry and some of the writers who’ve inspired him, including his uncle, Moses Williams. “He considered […] The post Up South – Robert Lashley appeare...

2016 Jack Straw Writer Ruby Hansen Murray‘s novel The Heart Stays People tells the story of Maria, a 16-year-old Osage girl raised by Cherokee who longs for her own people and doesn’t know what to do next. She talks with Curator Karen Finneyfrock about the challenges of creating an original story that reflects history accurately. […] The post Maria – Ruby Hansen Murray appeared first o...

2016 Jack Straw Writer Kirsten Sundberg Lunstrum talks with Curator Karen Finneyfrock about her in-progress collection of short stories addressing many forms of disaster, from the personal to the geological. She also shares some of her process as a writer and her thoughts on the perfection of the short story: “There’s a sense of complete […] The post Disaster – Kirsten Sundberg Lunstru...

Linda Andrews‘ work – whether poetry, prose, or a hybrid of the two – is always written with an ear for the spoken word. She talks with 2015 Jack Straw Writers Program Curator Kevin Craft about writing for the ear, her experience as a teacher, and doing rewrites while driving through the Palouse. ” I […] The post Incidentals – Linda Andrews appeared first on Jack Straw Cultural Center .

For her Jack Straw Writers Program project, L. J. Morin (Lisa Carcia) wrote a series of poems inspired by the tale of a parrot in Venezuela who was the last known speaker of a dead language. She speaks with 2015 Writers Program Curator Kevin Craft about Alexander Von Humboldt, the tirelessly curious discoverer of this […] The post Humboldt – L. J. Morin appeared first on Jack Straw Cultural...

Anca Szilágyi‘s novel Paralegal looks at the runup to the 2008 financial crash through the eyes of Binnie Greenson, a diorama artist working a summer job in a corporate law firm and struggling with her identity as an artist. She talks with 2015 Jack Straw Writers Program curator Kevin Craft about Joseph Cornell, the gradually […] The post Paralegal – Anca Szilágyi appeared first on Jack Stra...

Matthew Schnirman‘s poems combine humor, nostalgia, intimacy, and sex into a voice that’s by turns sardonic and sincere, ironic and heartfelt. He talks to 2015 Jack Straw Writers Program Curator Kevin Craft about his “Zac Poems,” whose titular character floats through the films of Zac Efron as viewed through Matthew’s poetic lens. THIS PODCAST CONTAINS […] The post Zac – Matthew Schnirman ap...

Clare Johnson‘s writing delves both into the past – resurrecting voices and stories from generations past – and into her own personal experiences. She talks with 2015 Writers Program curator about the influence of travel and homesickness on her work and her process for creating these patchwork pieces, which Craft refers to as “core samples […] The post Histories – Clare Johnson appeared firs...

Bernard Grant‘s stories and essays are carefully constructed, his language terse and spare. Phrases like “I saw my father twice,” and “brand new screen door” instantly pull the reader into the world he’s created. He talks with 2015 Writers Program curator Kevin Craft about his craft and how he shapes his text. “When I write […] The post Work – Bernard Grant appeared first on Jack Straw...

Emily Bedard’s poems are full of wild, vivid, and unusual imagery: Her disappointing moments in life gather in one room, each visible in its own horrible failure; she gives advice to younger girls about dating, sex, and love; God takes her car for a joyride and enjoys the experience. 2015 Writers Program Curator Kevin Craft […] The post Cargo – Emily Bedard appeared first on Jack Straw Cultu...