The Personhood Project

In this, the final episode of The Personhood Project , host Aaron Tyler Hand sits down with poet Kathy Fagan. Fagan is the author of six poetry collections, including Bad Hobby , Sycamore , and The Raft . In the episode, the two discuss how poetry is often felt before it’s understood, and how its music and mystery allow both readers and writers to access emotions and truths that ordinary language...

In this penultimate episode of The Personhood Project, poet Diannely Antigua sits down with host Aaron Tyler Hand for a conversation about the intersection of healing and craft. In the episode, the two discuss Antigua’s poetry collections Ugly Music and Good Monster , and how diary-entry poems can serve as a bridge between the therapeutic and the artistic. They also discuss the importance of notic...

This month poet Rosebud Ben-Oni sits down with Aaron Tyler Hand for the season two finale of The Personhood Project. In this episode, the two discuss the ways in which poetry can offer hope when all other signs point towards there not being any and the ways poetry allows us to see people more three-dimensionally. The two also discuss the pain of watching a loved one get locked up as well as the im...

Sitting down with host Aaron Tyler Hand this month is poet, editor, and copywriter Phil Goldstein. In it they discuss Goldstein's debut collection, How To Bury a Boy at Sea, and the ways he used the poems in the book to help process childhood trauma and help close a painful chapter in his life. Goldstein also recommends ways to write towards a personal truth when there isn’t much separation be...

For the 18th episode of The Personhood Project, host, Aaron Tyler Hand, sits down with poet Megan Fernandes. In it, they discuss Fernandes' latest collection, I Do Everything I'm Told, from Tin House books and the way her sonnet crowns play with repetition compulsion. They also examine the right and wrong way to approach writing a poem, the ways we hold contradictions within ourselves and...

This month, The Personhood Project welcomes poet James Fujinami Moore to speak with our host, Aaron Tyler Hand. In this episode, the two discuss Moore's debut collection, Indecent Hours, from Four Way Books. Additionally, they speak on reflections of violence within our culture and how being a firsthand witness to violence can change us. Moore speaks on the power of poetry to deal with ambigui...

For our 16th episode, host, Aaron Tyler Hand is joined by poet, environmental educator, and cultural preservationist Ashia Ajani. Outside of giving insight into their debut full length collection called Heirloom, Ashia and Aaron discuss the crossroads between environmental justice and social harm. Additionally, they talk about the importance of connecting to nature and greenspaces, especially for...

This month, poet Joshua Burton joins our host Aaron Tyler Hand to discuss his debut collection of poetry, Grace Engine, as well as his chapbook Fracture Anthology. In conversation, they bring up Terrance Hayes, the usefulness of exploring Juxtaposition, and the grace found within the tension. The two also discuss writing about family in an honest yet ethical way. Most importantly, they discuss how...

This month, the amazing Mag Gabbert sits down with our host, Aaron Tyler Hand, to discuss her two chapbooks Minimal Poems and The Breakup, as well as her brand new debut collection Sex Depression Animals. The two talk about the difference in sitting down to write from an emotional place versus forcing oneself to write in a poetic form. To this point, Gabbert speaks on the importance of finding a c...

For the first episode of season two of The Personhood Project, host Aaron Tyler Hand, sits down with poet and educator Jose Hernandez Diaz. Diaz discusses his 2020 chapbook The Fire Easter, as well as his forthcoming full-length collection Bad Mexican, Bad American. The two then discuss the accessibility of prose poetry for new writers and how far poetry has evolved since John Donne. Diaz shares t...

For the final episode of season 1, poet and playwright, Ebony Stewart joins our host, Aaron Tyler Hand, to discuss her two 2022 poetry collection releases, Bloodfresh and Home. Girl. Hood . Stewart also offers insight into her exploration of her mother's family through her two one woman plays Hunger and Ocean . The two also examine the differences in writing long forms like plays and short forms l...

For episode 11, host, Aaron Tyler Hand, is joined by poet Taylor Byas. In this episode, Byas offers insight into her forthcoming full-length collection I Done Clicked My Heels Three Times , as well as two forthcoming anthologies she is co-editing, The Southern Poetry Anthology, Vol. X: Alabama and Poemhood: Our Black Revival . The two also discuss the places we call home and the ways one can find...

After a whirlwind of events, poet Jason B. Crawford sits down with Aaron Tyler Hand for episode 10 of The Personhood Project. They discuss Crawford's debut collection, Year of the Unicorn Kidz , and take a closer look at vulnerability that radiates through the pages of Crawford's book. Crawford shares insight into writing from memory even when those memories don't present the writer on their best...

Poet Jayme Ringleb sits down with Aaron Tyler Hand for episode 9 of The Personhood Project. The two talk about Jayme's debut collection of poetry title So Tall It Ends In Heaven and themes seen throughout the book. Specifically, they talk about estrangement and how writing can help someone overcome feelings of estrangement, as well as distances and ways that writing can help close both physical an...

For episode 8, poet, essayist, and rapper Sean Avery Medlin sits down with our host, Aaron Tyler Hand. They discuss the importance of expressing vulnerability in ones writing and how poetry doesn't have to be a place to only express pain. They also get into a conversation about pop culture and how much of it is just a rehashing of Black culture. This leads into conversations about James Baldwin an...

In this episode, host Aaron Tyler Hand is joined by poet, musician, and Director of Prison and Justice Writing at PEN America, Caits Meissner. They discuss some of the amazing work that she is doing at PEN America such as editing the book The Sentences That Create Us and hosting writing contests for incarcerated writers. Meissner also goes into the difference in sitting down to wrong lyrics versus...

In this episode, guest Vincent Cooper welcomes host Aaron Tyler Hand into his home to discuss being inspired by the places they grew up, fostering a dedication to poetry without taking any college classes, finding time to write when you have a life outside of writing, and the ways in which writing can help bring people closer together. You can find our writing prompts and the incarcerated writers'...

In our first ZOOM interview, host Aaron Tyler Hand is joined by the amazing Melissa Lozada-Oliva for a conversation about writing in different forms, spoken word vs written poetry, the importance of therapy, and the power of going head first into hurt. You can find our writing prompts and the incarcerated writers' poems HERE !

In this episode, the wonderful poet and essayist Jane Wong joins host Aaron Tyler Hand in a discussion about honoring family, remembering home, and finding creativity in the day-to-day actions of our lives. This is our first episode to go over an hour, so we help you all enjoy! You can find our writing prompts and the incarcerated writers' poems HERE!

In this episode, host, Aaron Tyler Hand is joined by the amazing poet and author of a brand new memoir, Tomás Q. Morín. They discuss the differences in writing poet and nonfiction, with close examination on how each can help a writer find personal growth in their own unique ways. (NOTE: We apologize for any disruptive background noise, we did our best to edit it out).  You can find our writin...

In this episode, host, Aaron Tyler Hand sits down for a conversation with poet Roger Jones in his office on the campus of Texas State University. They talk about short poems, long poems, and everything in between, all while reading and discussing poetry written by incarcerated individuals. You can find our writing prompts and the incarcerated writers' poems HERE!

In this episode, host, Aaron Tyler Hand sits down for a conversation with acclaimed poet Naomi Shihab Nye on her front porch in San Antonio, Texas. They talk about the power of poetry to process the loss of a loved one, as well as read and discuss poetry written by incarcerated folks. You can find our writing prompts and the incarcerated writers' poems HERE!