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Winter 2005: Volume 3, No.1

Poetry: "Nipples of Destiny" by Linda Baldanzi

Poetry: "Dart" by Dore Kiesselbach

Fiction: The Newlyweds by Jessica Warman

Interview: Major Jackson by Christopher Tonelli

I caught up with Major Jackson, via e-mail, in fits and spurts over the last year or so, during his trips between Vermont and North Carolina (he teaches at the University of Vermont and Queens University), a brief meeting in Vancouver at the AWP conference (his drink—at least on that night—was gin & tonic), and the seemingly joyful (maybe he was kidding) postponement of his second book Hoops (his first: the Cave Canem Poetry Award winning Leaving Saturn)...(read more)

Interview: Richard Russo by Chip Cheek

The career of Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Richard Russo stands out somewhat from those of other “serious” writers for its strong, if arm’s-length, connection to the film industry. Since working with director Robert Benton on the 1994 adaptation of his novel Nobody’s Fool, Russo has written not only adaptations of his own works — including Empire Falls, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 2002 and became an Emmy Award-winning miniseries on HBO in 2005 — but original screenplays as well, including “The Ice Harvest,” released in 2005...(read more)

Spring 2005: Volume 2, No. 2

Poetry: The Director's Prayer During the Production of a Film Based on the Gospel by J. Peter Mishler

Fiction: Seven Seas by Rob Walsh

Essay:
Automatic Pathos: The Abuse of Subject in Contemporary Poetry by Christopher Tonelli

In “Adagia,” Wallace Stevens writes, “It is life we are trying to get at in poetry.” Later in the same piece, he writes, “Poetry is not personal” and later still, “Poetry is not a personal matter.” The latter adages may or may not seem to contradict the former, but certain questions arise for a poet trying to marry these ideas. If we are trying to “get at” life, then how are we to avoid life, the personal, as a subject?... (read more)

Interview: Jincy Willett

The trajectory of Jincy Willett’s literary career has been an unusual one. After its publication in 1987, her brilliant first book, Jenny and the Jaws of Life, fell out of print for years, and she didn’t really anticipate ever publishing a second one.
Fortunately, through the intervention of a prominent American humorist (read the interview to find out who!)... (read more)

Fall 2004: Volume 2, No.1

Poetry: Cry Me A River by Michael Gushue

Fiction: Trace by Scott Hughes

Interview: Greg Orr

If you don’t already believe in the transformative power of lyric poetry, Gregory Orr just might be the one to convince you. The poet, literary critic, University of Virginia professor, and, in recent years, memoirist, displays an undeniable and infectious passion for poetry. When Orr lectures on the role lyric poetry can play in creating order from disorder in a culture or a single life, he makes even a cynical poet want to hope.... (more)

Interview: Nancy Pearl

Nancy Pearl is the world’s coolest celebrity librarian: she has served as the Executive Director of the Washington Center for the Book, founded the Seattle Reads program, invented the Rule of 50 (a guideline for deciding when to give up on a book), and written two—almost three—books... (more)

Spring 2004: Volume 1, No.1

Interview: Daniel Handler

As I write this, Daniel Handler has two novels on the New York Times best-seller list, one of which has been there for over three years. He’s played accordion on one of the most lavishly praised pop albums of the past decade. And a film based on his work starring Jim Carrey, Meryl Streep, and Jude Law is currently being filmed in Los Angeles. Yet the odds are good that you’ve never heard of the man... (more)

Review: Nick Halpern

For inexperienced students of poetry, the most daunting task when approaching a master for the first time is deciding which book to start with. There are several strategies to employ here. The first or latest collection. The prize-winning collection. The thinnest collection. The least expensive collection. The collection you are assigned in class. All are rather back-handed ways to enter into intimidating careers, none of which provide any context as to where, in the span of these careers, a particular book or poem falls... (more)

Spring 2003: Volume 16, No. 2
(as Beacon Street Review)

Interview: David Berman

He is “not a cub scout seduced by Iron Maiden’s mirror worlds.” He thinks that “if you laugh out loud at Shakespeare’s jokes….you’re trying too hard.” He “can’t remember being born,” and he is not willing to reveal his middle name.... (more)