SoundPages Podcast

Corbin Louis’s zine poetry project “Hypomania” investigates mental illness, addiction, and chronic pain. In his conversation with curator Daemond Arrindell, he discusses his subversive approach to poetry, the toxicity of American culture, and the Via Dolorosa. “In the land of commercials, in the land of big studio movies, in factory-made clothes . . . anything […] The post Hypomania –...

2018 Jack Straw writer Kamari Bright spoke with curator Daemond Arrindell about her poetic film project “Respek” and the myth of a post-racial America, the visibility of black female writers, and the methodical nature of her work. “A lot of what I do focuses on understanding of yourself and of your surroundings. I think there […] The post Respek – Kamari Bright appeared first on Jack S...

2018 Jack Straw Writer Bryan Edenfield’s contribution to the 2018 Jack Straw Writers Anthology is a collection of opening paragraphs to books that have never been written to create a literary history of a fictional community that reflects the history of America. In his conversation with curator Daemond Arrindell, he discusses the inspiration behind this […] The post Silver Cliffs – Bryan Ede...

Ashlan Runyan’s project for the 2017 Jack Straw Writers Program combines an essay, “All That Is Seen and Unseen,” exploring the creation of work and healing with a poem/quilt project entitled nothing is sacred, everything is holy. Her conversation with curator Jourdan Imani Keith covers religion in modern times, finding the sacred in the everyday […] The post Holy – Ashlan Runyan appea...

2017 Jack Straw writer Hera McLeod’s memoir in progress chronicles her experience of surviving an abusive relationship and her fight to protect both herself and her son. In her conversation with curator Jourdan Imani Keith, Hera discusses her journey, the process of discarding illusions, and using her voice as a warrior. “I can’t protect anyone […] The post Victim, Survivor, Warrior – Hera M...

2017 Jack Straw Writer Ellie Belew’s mytho-historic novel, Isotopia, examines the intersection of science, one’s sense of place, and the personal life of a female physicist working on the Manhattan Project.  In her interview with Jourdan Imani Keith, Ellie discusses Post-WWII America, the emergence of the modern woman, and the ways in which these themes […] The post Isotopia – Ellie Belew ap...

Quenton Baker’s project for the 2017 Jack Straw Writers Program was to write a series of erasure poems, exploring the omission of certain events and narratives of enslaved people in the United States. In his conversation with curator Jordan Imani Keith, Quenton talks about the slave revolt of 1841, his process for creating this kind […] The post Erasure – Quenton Baker appeared first o...

In 2017 Jack Straw Writer Wancy Young Cho’s piece “The Men on the Hill”–from his collection in progress tentatively titled Let’s Pretend We Don’t Know Each Other–a man describes his romantic encounters with a series of men who move in and out of his housing complex.  Though his work is fiction, the bulk of his […] The post Love – Wancy Young Cho appeared first on Jack Straw...

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...