In this interview National Book Award winner Nikky Finney discusses her journey into poetry, her editing process, why she is frustrated with history’s lion hunters, and the story behind her gripping poem “The Afterbirth, 1931.”
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In this interview, author Lori Jakiela discusses Pittsburgh’s literary community, her writing process, the “particular kind of truth” in memoir, and why her working-class background is important for her career.
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In this interview conducted at City of Asylum Pittsburgh, poet Angela Jackson discusses the importance of being a curious cultural historian, the writing of Where I Must Go, and the way that Jackson reaches the universal through the hyper-specific.
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In this interview, Israel Centeno sits down with Sampsonia Way to talk about his new book Bamboo City (a hybrid text that moves smoothly between poetry and fiction), the translation process, and upcoming publications.
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Former poet laureate of South Africa Keorapetse Kgositsile and K. Mensah Wali, artistic director of Kente Arts Alliance discuss South Africa’s progress since the end of apartheid, the effects of exile on family, and the relationship between poetry and jazz.
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Pittsburgh-based poet Bonita Lee Penn discusses of her poetry, describes her inspirations, explains her vision of Pittsburgh’s writing community, and provides some advice for young writers.
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Sampsonia Way is delighted to share three poems by Penn: “Absurdity or if I hear one more racist thing about the President of the United States,” “Rivers Run Red” and “Orangeburg SC – February 8, 1968.”
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