AWP Special Number Three. Sunday, May 19, 2013.

Ben & Daniel present the 3rd and final presentation of their conversations with writers at the 2013 AWP (Association of Writers & Writing Programs) Annual Conference & Bookfair. 

Jose Gonzalez, editor of "Latino Boom: An Anthology of U.S. Latino Literature" (http://latinostories.com) talks about his upcoming book of poetry; Steven Church, author of "The Guinness Book of Me," talks about working on a new collection of essays and about the online Normal School Journal (http://thenormalschool.com), of which he is founding editor; Celeste Guzman Mendoza, a poet and CantoMundo Fellow, talks about her new book-length poem about family violence; Eddie Gonzalez, a fiction writer & poet, talks about receiving his MFA at the University of Houston, and how he works as a chaplain for a hospice program; Kristin Dykstra talks about her latest project with the University of Alabama Press, and about Alabama's writer exchange program with Cuba; Bojan Louis, a poet and fiction writer talks about being a member of the Navajo Nation, and about his work as an electrician and English instructor (http://bojanlouis.com/); and Sherwin Bitsui, also of the Navajo Nation, talks about his recent move to Albuquerque (http://www.bitsui.com/) 

For this week's Poem of the Week, Daniel Chacon reads his own poem, "Father's Writing."

Interview with Denise Duhamel. Sunday, May 5th, 2013.

Denise Duhamel and Daniel talk about drawing the "spirit, emotion" and energy out of loss. Denise's recent book of poems is titled, "Blowout." The writers discuss divorce in parallel to other losses and the importance of writing throughout the periods of grief. Denise Duhamel says, "write and let time go by...it frees the monster" and 'later, once the words are written, once the "monster" or the mood of the painful experience has been captured, it will always be there, even if the content and direction of the poem changes.' 

Denise contributes this week's Poem of the Week: "My Strip Club" from "Blowout." 

Daniel reads a Poetic License about the distances between what we can see and what we have access to enter.

Hotel Juárez is Open!

Book-Release Reading for Hotel Juárez: Stories, Rooms and Loops

Publisher’s Weekly

Starred Review

Chacon, winner of the 2007 Hudson Prize for Unending Rooms, returns with a collection of short fiction concerned with American and Mexican relations in which a world of race and identity politics emerges. Linked but never repetitive, these beautiful stories are fresh, with just enough Borges-ian magic to make them feel extraordinary. The specter of Juarez's problems is at the forefront, and Chacon references everything from fascist dictators to Harold and the Purple Crayon. Some characters spill into other stories, others vanish without resolution. A library in "Birds" becomes the entire world for a couple that doesn't know each other's names, and Joseph, a recurring figure, buys a book of poetry to take on the feminine voice as protection in Juarez, where drug dealers, as in the story "14", appear in the guise of old men interested in tortas. The young girl in "Tasty Chicken" is afraid that glitter will infect her, while in "Sabado Gigante", Bruno, despite his large size, is more interested in playing with dolls than playing sports. From drug trafficking to murdered and missing women, Chacon addresses major issues without feeling preachy or heavy-handed. The stories are rooms, images that you can walk into, taking the reader to wherever Chacon wants him to go.

AWP Boston Special, Part 2. Sunday, April 21, 2013.

Ben & Daniel talk to writers who attended the 2013 AWP (Association of Writers & Writing Programs) Conference & Bookfair, which took place this past March in Boston, MA. 

In this 2nd of 3 AWP shows, Ben & Daniel talk to a number of writers: Rich Villar talks about his latest projects; M. Evelina Galang talks about "Her Wild American Self, and Patrick Rosal talks about an ongoing project using excerpts from interviews to create poetry; Jose Skinner, author of "Flight and Other Stories," talks about his latest project; Xanath Caraza de Holland reads an excerpt from a poem from her collection "Conjuro," and Denise Low, former Kansas Poet Laureate stops in for a brief moment; Juan Luis Guzman and Liz Scheid talk about how to get into AWP on a budget; Mark Brunetti talks about his underground literary magazine, The Idiom Mag; Juan Ochoa talks about his book "Marijuano," Joe Haske talks about his latest book on the working class, and poet Rodney Gomez talks about a manuscript he is shopping around; Dan Vera, author of "Speaking Wiri Wiri" talks about winning the Letras Latinas/Red Hen Poetry Prize and his upbringing in South Texas; Fresno poet Andre Yang talks about being a founding member of the Hmong American Writers Circle; and Antonio Farias, an army veteran, talks about a program which introduces poetry to cadets at the U.S. Coast Guard.

Interview with Natalie Goldberg. April 14, 2013.

Natalie Goldberg talks about her new book, "The True Secrets of Writing" and discursive vs. language driven writing. The authors weave concepts of Rio De Bajo El Rio, wild mind and the writing practice into the show. Secrets of writing are actually shared. 

Daniel reads Frank O'hara's "Ave Maria" and Jon Nehls shares an essay on bilingualism and cacography for this week's Poetic License.