https://simplecast.com The Air/Light Podcast Conversations and interviews with the best of contemporary literature. Produced in Los Angeles, The Air/Light Podcast brings you literature from a Southern California perspective. This is the official podcast of Air/Light, an online literary journal published by the English Department at the University of Southern California. We showcase both traditional and innovative works. We are firmly of the West Coast, but also national, international. We mean to look out expansively from this place rather than to gaze narrowly back at it, to express a West Coast aesthetic, a West Coast sensibility, and direct that lens onto the world. If you like what you hear, check out the magazine online at https://airlightmagazine.org/ 2021 Air/Light en Tue, 19 Apr 2022 06:00:00 +0000 Tue, 19 Apr 2022 06:00:10 +0000 https://the-air-light-podcast.simplecast.com The Air/Light Podcast https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/c039446e-835d-4db7-8497-6977ae1cba7b/bfcc5fa0-6e12-4482-aed1-96b4e986db39/3000x3000/img-733e1c3dccb9-1.jpg?aid=rss_feed https://the-air-light-podcast.simplecast.com episodic Conversations and interviews with the best of contemporary literature. Produced in Los Angeles, The Air/Light Podcast brings you literature from a Southern California perspective. This is the official podcast of Air/Light, an online literary journal published by the English Department at the University of Southern California. We showcase both traditional and innovative works. We are firmly of the West Coast, but also national, international. We mean to look out expansively from this place rather than to gaze narrowly back at it, to express a West Coast aesthetic, a West Coast sensibility, and direct that lens onto the world. If you like what you hear, check out the magazine online at https://airlightmagazine.org/ Air/Light Editors, David L. Ulin, Aaron Winslow no https://feeds.simplecast.com/rz4Ez8Hq Aaron Winslow editor@airlightmagazine.org 30920688-8ec1-47d5-89f3-84cd8f4ae821 Christos Ikonomou and Karen Emmerich Interviewed by David L. Ulin "A Dreadful Consolation," written by by Christos Ikonomou and translated from the Greek by Karen Emmerich: https://airlightmagazine.org/airlight/issue-5/a-terrible-consolation/

]]> Tue, 19 Apr 2022 06:00:00 +0000 editor@airlightmagazine.org (Christos Ikonomou, Karen Emmerich, David L. Ulin) https://the-air-light-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/christos-ikonomou-GQsVMvhp "A Dreadful Consolation," written by by Christos Ikonomou and translated from the Greek by Karen Emmerich: https://airlightmagazine.org/airlight/issue-5/a-terrible-consolation/

]]> Christos Ikonomou and Karen Emmerich Interviewed by David L. Ulin Christos Ikonomou, Karen Emmerich, David L. Ulin 00:41:39 In this essay, Air/Light editor David L. Ulin talks with Christos Ikonomou and Karen Emmerich about writing and translation, particularly Ikonomou’s story “A Dreadful Consolation,” which appears in Air/Light this week. Ikonomou is among Greece’s pre-eminent contemporary fiction writers, the author of four collections of short stories, including “Something Will Happen, You’ll See” and “Good Will Come From the Sea,” both of which Emmerich has translated into English. Emmerich is an Associate Professor of Comparative Literature at Princeton, and a translator of modern Greek poetry and prose. She received her Ph.D. from Columbia University in 2010. Ikonomou will be the inaugural recipient of the Chowdhury Prize in Literature, a new annual international mid-career prize for writers, presented at the University of Southern California through the auspices of the Subir and Malini Chowdhury Foundation and in collaboration with Kenyon College and The Kenyon Review. The prize seeks to identify authors who are at an inflection point, with a body of work already behind them, but also with significant future potential. It is this future work the prize means to encourage; it is not a retrospective award but rather one that is intended to actively assist writers on the creative cusp to push ahead into new territories. Ikonomou, Emmerich, and Ulin spoke together on a Zoom call from three different time zones: Athens, New York, and Los Angeles. In this essay, Air/Light editor David L. Ulin talks with Christos Ikonomou and Karen Emmerich about writing and translation, particularly Ikonomou’s story “A Dreadful Consolation,” which appears in Air/Light this week. Ikonomou is among Greece’s pre-eminent contemporary fiction writers, the author of four collections of short stories, including “Something Will Happen, You’ll See” and “Good Will Come From the Sea,” both of which Emmerich has translated into English. Emmerich is an Associate Professor of Comparative Literature at Princeton, and a translator of modern Greek poetry and prose. She received her Ph.D. from Columbia University in 2010. Ikonomou will be the inaugural recipient of the Chowdhury Prize in Literature, a new annual international mid-career prize for writers, presented at the University of Southern California through the auspices of the Subir and Malini Chowdhury Foundation and in collaboration with Kenyon College and The Kenyon Review. The prize seeks to identify authors who are at an inflection point, with a body of work already behind them, but also with significant future potential. It is this future work the prize means to encourage; it is not a retrospective award but rather one that is intended to actively assist writers on the creative cusp to push ahead into new territories. Ikonomou, Emmerich, and Ulin spoke together on a Zoom call from three different time zones: Athens, New York, and Los Angeles. greek literature, translation, short stories no full 14 9faf88b3-76c8-4df9-8fc8-22e25ba530f7 Vickie Vértiz and Alex Espinoza Vickie Vértiz, "Little Earthquakes": https://airlightmagazine.org/airlight/fall2020/little-earthquakes-on-fear-and-family-violence/

Alex Espinoza, "Lit": https://airlightmagazine.org/authors/alex-espinoza/

]]> Tue, 21 Dec 2021 16:00:00 +0000 editor@airlightmagazine.org (Vickie Vértiz, Alex Espinoza, Aaron Winslow) https://the-air-light-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/vickie-vertiz-and-alex-espinoza-rpnlKyNL Vickie Vértiz, "Little Earthquakes": https://airlightmagazine.org/airlight/fall2020/little-earthquakes-on-fear-and-family-violence/

Alex Espinoza, "Lit": https://airlightmagazine.org/authors/alex-espinoza/

]]> Vickie Vértiz and Alex Espinoza Vickie Vértiz, Alex Espinoza, Aaron Winslow 01:00:02 We're thrilled to welcome two powerhouses of Los Angeles literature onto The Air/Light Podcast. Vickie Vértiz and Alex Espinoza were both born and raised in Los Angeles, and they also make the city, its people, and its communities the center of their poetry and fiction. Vickie and Alex use their writing as both a means of artistic expression and as a process of social justice, helping to redraw the cognitive maps of Los Angeles, to orient them toward a more equal city and society. Vickie and Alex are public writers in the sense that they do so much more than write: they are also teachers, activists, and organizers.  Vickie Vértiz is a native Angelena and the oldest child of an immigrant Mexican family. Her poetry and essays have appeared in the New York Times Magazine, the Los Angeles Review of Books, KCET Departures, and the San Francisco Chronicle. Her book Palm Frond with Its Throat Cut (University of Arizona Press) won the 2018 PEN America Literary Prize in poetry. A VONA, Macondo, and CantoMundo Fellow, she teaches at UC Santa Barbara. Alex Espinoza earned his MFA from UC Irvine and is the author of the novels Still Water Saints (Random House) and The Five Acts of Diego León (Random House). His most recent book is Cruising: An Intimate History of a Radical Pastime (Unnamed Press). He’s written for the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times Magazine, Virginia Quarterly Review, and NPR’s All Things Considered. The recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the MacDowell Colony, as well as an American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation, he is the Tomás Rivera Endowed Chair of Creative Writing at UC Riverside.   In our conversation, we discuss the history and present of literature in Southern California, how art intersects with community, and more. And keep listening after the closing theme music to hear Vickie and Alex reading from new work. We hope you enjoy the episode!  We're thrilled to welcome two powerhouses of Los Angeles literature onto The Air/Light Podcast. Vickie Vértiz and Alex Espinoza were both born and raised in Los Angeles, and they also make the city, its people, and its communities the center of their poetry and fiction. Vickie and Alex use their writing as both a means of artistic expression and as a process of social justice, helping to redraw the cognitive maps of Los Angeles, to orient them toward a more equal city and society. Vickie and Alex are public writers in the sense that they do so much more than write: they are also teachers, activists, and organizers.  Vickie Vértiz is a native Angelena and the oldest child of an immigrant Mexican family. Her poetry and essays have appeared in the New York Times Magazine, the Los Angeles Review of Books, KCET Departures, and the San Francisco Chronicle. Her book Palm Frond with Its Throat Cut (University of Arizona Press) won the 2018 PEN America Literary Prize in poetry. A VONA, Macondo, and CantoMundo Fellow, she teaches at UC Santa Barbara. Alex Espinoza earned his MFA from UC Irvine and is the author of the novels Still Water Saints (Random House) and The Five Acts of Diego León (Random House). His most recent book is Cruising: An Intimate History of a Radical Pastime (Unnamed Press). He’s written for the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times Magazine, Virginia Quarterly Review, and NPR’s All Things Considered. The recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the MacDowell Colony, as well as an American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation, he is the Tomás Rivera Endowed Chair of Creative Writing at UC Riverside.   In our conversation, we discuss the history and present of literature in Southern California, how art intersects with community, and more. And keep listening after the closing theme music to hear Vickie and Alex reading from new work. We hope you enjoy the episode!  poetry, fiction, creative writing, literature, los angeles no full 13 3abf018f-4d3d-433a-88f6-9046130e9d9f Lilliam Rivera & Mark Haber Lilliam Rivera, "The Undercurrent": https://airlightmagazine.org/airlight/fall2020/the-undercurrent/

Mark Haber: "Tegucigalpa": https://airlightmagazine.org/airlight/issue-3/tegucigalpa/

]]> Mon, 22 Nov 2021 09:00:00 +0000 editor@airlightmagazine.org (Lilliam Rivera, Mark Haber, Aaron Winslow) https://the-air-light-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/lilliam-rivera-mark-haber-etPJ1GN6 Lilliam Rivera, "The Undercurrent": https://airlightmagazine.org/airlight/fall2020/the-undercurrent/

Mark Haber: "Tegucigalpa": https://airlightmagazine.org/airlight/issue-3/tegucigalpa/

]]> Lilliam Rivera & Mark Haber Lilliam Rivera, Mark Haber, Aaron Winslow 00:54:19 We are thrilled and delighted to have Lilliam Rivera and Mark Haber join us. Lilliam’s story, “The Undercurrent,” was published in Issue 1 of Air/Light and Mark’s story “Tegucigalpa” published in Issue 3. Lilliam Rivera is an award-winning author of children’s books, including the young adult novel Never Look Back (Bloomsbury). Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times, and Elle. A Bronx, New York native, she now lives in Los Angeles. Lilliam’s latest book, WE LIGHT UP THE SKY, came out on October 26 to critical acclaim. Mark Haber’s collection of stories, Deathbed Conversions, was translated into Spanish in a bilingual edition as Melville’s Beard by Editorial Argonáutica. His debut novel, Reinhardt’s Garden (Coffee House Press), was longlisted for the PEN/Hemingway Award. His second novel, Saint Sebastian’s Abyss, will also be published by Coffee House Press in May 2022. He is the operations manager and a bookseller at Brazos Bookstore in Houston, Texas. In this wide ranging conversation, I talked to Lilliam and Mark about how they create characters, horror and genre fiction, literary influences, sacrifices to Slender Man, and, of course, books. We are thrilled and delighted to have Lilliam Rivera and Mark Haber join us. Lilliam’s story, “The Undercurrent,” was published in Issue 1 of Air/Light and Mark’s story “Tegucigalpa” published in Issue 3. Lilliam Rivera is an award-winning author of children’s books, including the young adult novel Never Look Back (Bloomsbury). Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times, and Elle. A Bronx, New York native, she now lives in Los Angeles. Lilliam’s latest book, WE LIGHT UP THE SKY, came out on October 26 to critical acclaim. Mark Haber’s collection of stories, Deathbed Conversions, was translated into Spanish in a bilingual edition as Melville’s Beard by Editorial Argonáutica. His debut novel, Reinhardt’s Garden (Coffee House Press), was longlisted for the PEN/Hemingway Award. His second novel, Saint Sebastian’s Abyss, will also be published by Coffee House Press in May 2022. He is the operations manager and a bookseller at Brazos Bookstore in Houston, Texas. In this wide ranging conversation, I talked to Lilliam and Mark about how they create characters, horror and genre fiction, literary influences, sacrifices to Slender Man, and, of course, books. latin american fiction, fiction, ya literature, books, horror, literature, interviews no full 12 c318cbc1-5f05-4572-828c-d4f8bd0d5678 A Sonic Offering: Michiko Theurer and Jonathan Leal Read and listen to "Reach" in Air/Light here: https://airlightmagazine.org/airlight/winter-2021/reach/

Other music, essays, and performances mentioned by Michi and Jonathan include:

The Tyshawn Sorey performance Michi mentioned will soon be archived and/or uploaded by Harvard’s New Music Ensemble. 

Jonathan's interview with Tyshawn Sorey can be found here:  https://www.sfcv.org/articles/artist-spotlight/decorating-time-tyshawn-sorey) 

Matana Roberts:  https://matana-roberts.bandcamp.com/album/coin-coin-chapter-four-memphis

Freedom, by Yvette Jackson https://yvettejaninejackson.bandcamp.com/album/freedom

Haruna Lee:  https://www.harunalee.com/haruna-lee

Writing on Pauline Oliveros:  https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/listening-as-activism-the-sonic-meditations-of-pauline-oliveros

]]> Thu, 4 Nov 2021 16:00:00 +0000 editor@airlightmagazine.org (Jonathan Leal, Michiko Theurer, Aaron Winslow) https://the-air-light-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/michiko-theurer-and-jonathan-leal-PrBYPMZ9 Read and listen to "Reach" in Air/Light here: https://airlightmagazine.org/airlight/winter-2021/reach/

Other music, essays, and performances mentioned by Michi and Jonathan include:

The Tyshawn Sorey performance Michi mentioned will soon be archived and/or uploaded by Harvard’s New Music Ensemble. 

Jonathan's interview with Tyshawn Sorey can be found here:  https://www.sfcv.org/articles/artist-spotlight/decorating-time-tyshawn-sorey) 

Matana Roberts:  https://matana-roberts.bandcamp.com/album/coin-coin-chapter-four-memphis

Freedom, by Yvette Jackson https://yvettejaninejackson.bandcamp.com/album/freedom

Haruna Lee:  https://www.harunalee.com/haruna-lee

Writing on Pauline Oliveros:  https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/listening-as-activism-the-sonic-meditations-of-pauline-oliveros

]]> A Sonic Offering: Michiko Theurer and Jonathan Leal Jonathan Leal, Michiko Theurer, Aaron Winslow 00:52:12 Michiko Theurer and Jonathan Leal discuss their collaborative music and essay, “Reach.” Michi and Jonathan are both musicians, scholars, and writers whose work examines issues of community, collaboration, and the legacies of colonialism in American music and culture. I spoke with Michi and Jonathan about music, writing, working together virtually, and much more. Michiko Theurer creates music, art, and spaces to support shared vulnerability. She is a PhD candidate in musicology at Stanford, and earned her doctorate in violin performance from CU Boulder. She is currently producing an arts-research project that explores music and the collaborative imagination. Jonathan Leal is a scholar-musician and Postdoctoral Fellow in the Society of Fellows in the Humanities at the University of Southern California. A native of the South Texas borderlands, he studies and creates music and narrative across sonic, visual, and literary textual media to unpack the legacies of colonialism in and beyond the United States. His essays and criticism have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Review of Books, the Rumpus, the San Francisco Classical Voice, and elsewhere; and his scholarship has appeared or is forthcoming in ASAP/Journal, the Journal for the Society of American Music, Critical Studies in Improvisation, Río Bravo, Quarterly Review of Film and Video, and elsewhere. He is the co-creator and co-producer (with Charlie Vela) of ‘Wild Tongue’ (2018), a celebration of the Rio Grande Valley’s musical geographies, as well as ‘Futuro Conjunto’ (2020), a transmedia, Chicanx speculative fiction album named one of the best Latinx releases of 2020 by Pitchfork, Texas Highways, and Raymus Media Magazines. Michiko Theurer and Jonathan Leal discuss their collaborative music and essay, “Reach.” Michi and Jonathan are both musicians, scholars, and writers whose work examines issues of community, collaboration, and the legacies of colonialism in American music and culture. I spoke with Michi and Jonathan about music, writing, working together virtually, and much more. Michiko Theurer creates music, art, and spaces to support shared vulnerability. She is a PhD candidate in musicology at Stanford, and earned her doctorate in violin performance from CU Boulder. She is currently producing an arts-research project that explores music and the collaborative imagination. Jonathan Leal is a scholar-musician and Postdoctoral Fellow in the Society of Fellows in the Humanities at the University of Southern California. A native of the South Texas borderlands, he studies and creates music and narrative across sonic, visual, and literary textual media to unpack the legacies of colonialism in and beyond the United States. His essays and criticism have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Review of Books, the Rumpus, the San Francisco Classical Voice, and elsewhere; and his scholarship has appeared or is forthcoming in ASAP/Journal, the Journal for the Society of American Music, Critical Studies in Improvisation, Río Bravo, Quarterly Review of Film and Video, and elsewhere. He is the co-creator and co-producer (with Charlie Vela) of ‘Wild Tongue’ (2018), a celebration of the Rio Grande Valley’s musical geographies, as well as ‘Futuro Conjunto’ (2020), a transmedia, Chicanx speculative fiction album named one of the best Latinx releases of 2020 by Pitchfork, Texas Highways, and Raymus Media Magazines. art, writing, community, music, interviews no full 11 6e797d9e-65e1-4e2c-88da-508c35fdc337 bridgette bianca and MICHAEL CHANG in Conversation bridgette bianca: https://www.bridgettebianca.com/

MICHAEL CHANG: https://bateaupress.org/index.php/2021/02/27/drakkar-noir-by-michael-chang/

]]> Fri, 15 Oct 2021 05:32:57 +0000 editor@airlightmagazine.org (Michael Chang, Aaron Winslow, bridgette bianca) https://the-air-light-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/bridgette-bianca-and-michael-chang-MNlLd3gI bridgette bianca: https://www.bridgettebianca.com/

MICHAEL CHANG: https://bateaupress.org/index.php/2021/02/27/drakkar-noir-by-michael-chang/

]]> bridgette bianca and MICHAEL CHANG in Conversation Michael Chang, Aaron Winslow, bridgette bianca 01:14:04 In this episode, we host a conversation between two outstanding poets: bridgette bianca and MICHAEL CHANG. bridgette bianca is a poet and professor from South Central Los Angeles. She co-curates two literary series, Making Room for Black Women and the Women’s Center for Creative Work Reading Series. Her debut collection of poetry, be/trouble, is out now from Writ Large Press. MICHAEL CHANG (they/them) is the author of several collections of poetry, including DRAKKAR NOIR (winner of the Bateau Press BOOM Chapbook Contest), CHINATOWN ROMEO (Ursus Americanus Press, 2021), as well as BOYFRIEND PERSPECTIVE (Really Serious Literature, 2021). Tapped to edit Lambda Literary's Emerge anthology, their poems have been nominated for Best New Poets, Best of the Net, & the Pushcart Prize. In 2021, they were awarded the Poetry Project's prestigious Brannan Prize. Their collection ALMANAC OF USELESS TALENTS is forthcoming from CLASH Books. bridgette experiments with poetic form, deploying radical enjambment and extended metaphors to powerful effect. She writes poetry that is direct and forceful; she doesn’t hold back. The same could be said of MICHAEL’s poems that deploy wild, all-caps disjunction to evoke abrasive, uncomfortable scenes of public and private sociality. And yet, both bridgette and MICHAEL write poems that are incredibly subtle and even intimate. Bridgette and MICHAEL’s poetry pushes the art of poetry forward, even as they each use poetry as a vehicle to investigate their own lived experience. In our conversation, we discussed how poets relate to an audience, the role of poetry communities, workshop, revision, and much, much more. In this episode, we host a conversation between two outstanding poets: bridgette bianca and MICHAEL CHANG. bridgette bianca is a poet and professor from South Central Los Angeles. She co-curates two literary series, Making Room for Black Women and the Women’s Center for Creative Work Reading Series. Her debut collection of poetry, be/trouble, is out now from Writ Large Press. MICHAEL CHANG (they/them) is the author of several collections of poetry, including DRAKKAR NOIR (winner of the Bateau Press BOOM Chapbook Contest), CHINATOWN ROMEO (Ursus Americanus Press, 2021), as well as BOYFRIEND PERSPECTIVE (Really Serious Literature, 2021). Tapped to edit Lambda Literary's Emerge anthology, their poems have been nominated for Best New Poets, Best of the Net, & the Pushcart Prize. In 2021, they were awarded the Poetry Project's prestigious Brannan Prize. Their collection ALMANAC OF USELESS TALENTS is forthcoming from CLASH Books. bridgette experiments with poetic form, deploying radical enjambment and extended metaphors to powerful effect. She writes poetry that is direct and forceful; she doesn’t hold back. The same could be said of MICHAEL’s poems that deploy wild, all-caps disjunction to evoke abrasive, uncomfortable scenes of public and private sociality. And yet, both bridgette and MICHAEL write poems that are incredibly subtle and even intimate. Bridgette and MICHAEL’s poetry pushes the art of poetry forward, even as they each use poetry as a vehicle to investigate their own lived experience. In our conversation, we discussed how poets relate to an audience, the role of poetry communities, workshop, revision, and much, much more. poetry, workshop, literature, poetry readings no full 10 01afcacf-48c7-4062-8511-9d2f1732086d The Inevitable Word: Diane Mehta and Jordan Smith in Conversation We host a conversation with two incredible poets: Diane Mehta and Jordan Smith, whose poems were published in Air/Light Issue 3.

Diane was a student at Union College, where Jordan teaches, and even though they were never in the classroom together the resonance between their work is obvious. Both are poets of the particular, of the moment; the world around them provides entryways into deep memories both personal and historical. Diane and Jordan write poems that bend time and space and the ancient world is a constant presence in the now--in Jordan’s poem “Good Morning,” burnt coffee in Schenectady sits alongside the ferry to Piraeus in classical Athens. Tree trimming, in Diane’s “Rock Garden,” connects us to the Iliad and the blood sacrifices of early religion.  

Jordan Smith is the author of eight full-length books of poems, most recently Little Black Train, winner of the Three Mile Harbor Press Prize, Clare’s Empire (The Hydroelectric Press), a fantasia on the life and work of John Clare, and The Light in the Film (University of Tampa Press). He has also worked on several collaborations with artist Walter Hatke including What Came Home and Hat & Key. The recipient of grants from the Guggenheim Foundation and the Ingram Merrill Foundation, he lives with his wife, Malie, in upstate New York, where he is the Edward Everett Hale Jr., Professor of English at Union College.

Diane Mehta is the author of the poetry collection Forest with Castanets (Four Way Books). She received a 2020 Spring Literature Grant from the Café Royal Cultural Foundation for her nonfiction writing. Her poems and essays have appeared in The New Yorker, Harvard Divinity Bulletin, Agni, American Poetry Review, The Common, Harvard Review, and Southern Humanities Review. She’s completing an essay collection and a novel set in 1946 India.

 

Diane Mehta's poems in Air/Light: https://airlightmagazine.org/airlight/issue-3/rock-garden-in-the-back-yard-with-a-ghost-tree-and-an-evergreen-stay-disappearing-act/

Jordan Smith's poems in Air/Light: https://airlightmagazine.org/airlight/issue-3/good-morning-wrong-question/

]]> Fri, 1 Oct 2021 06:57:31 +0000 editor@airlightmagazine.org (Diane Mehta, Jordan Smith) https://the-air-light-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/the-inevitable-word-diane-mehta-and-jordan-smith-in-conversation-a_qtfPDP We host a conversation with two incredible poets: Diane Mehta and Jordan Smith, whose poems were published in Air/Light Issue 3.

Diane was a student at Union College, where Jordan teaches, and even though they were never in the classroom together the resonance between their work is obvious. Both are poets of the particular, of the moment; the world around them provides entryways into deep memories both personal and historical. Diane and Jordan write poems that bend time and space and the ancient world is a constant presence in the now--in Jordan’s poem “Good Morning,” burnt coffee in Schenectady sits alongside the ferry to Piraeus in classical Athens. Tree trimming, in Diane’s “Rock Garden,” connects us to the Iliad and the blood sacrifices of early religion.  

Jordan Smith is the author of eight full-length books of poems, most recently Little Black Train, winner of the Three Mile Harbor Press Prize, Clare’s Empire (The Hydroelectric Press), a fantasia on the life and work of John Clare, and The Light in the Film (University of Tampa Press). He has also worked on several collaborations with artist Walter Hatke including What Came Home and Hat & Key. The recipient of grants from the Guggenheim Foundation and the Ingram Merrill Foundation, he lives with his wife, Malie, in upstate New York, where he is the Edward Everett Hale Jr., Professor of English at Union College.

Diane Mehta is the author of the poetry collection Forest with Castanets (Four Way Books). She received a 2020 Spring Literature Grant from the Café Royal Cultural Foundation for her nonfiction writing. Her poems and essays have appeared in The New Yorker, Harvard Divinity Bulletin, Agni, American Poetry Review, The Common, Harvard Review, and Southern Humanities Review. She’s completing an essay collection and a novel set in 1946 India.

 

Diane Mehta's poems in Air/Light: https://airlightmagazine.org/airlight/issue-3/rock-garden-in-the-back-yard-with-a-ghost-tree-and-an-evergreen-stay-disappearing-act/

Jordan Smith's poems in Air/Light: https://airlightmagazine.org/airlight/issue-3/good-morning-wrong-question/

]]> The Inevitable Word: Diane Mehta and Jordan Smith in Conversation Diane Mehta, Jordan Smith 01:20:22 A conversation with two incredible poets: Diane Mehta and Jordan Smith, whose poems were published in "Air/Light" Issue 3. A conversation with two incredible poets: Diane Mehta and Jordan Smith, whose poems were published in "Air/Light" Issue 3. poetry, creative writing, writing, literature, essays, interviews no full 9 50eb0ade-9187-4d26-94b2-cef1eedbc964 Salidummay” by Ina Cariño Music by Ina Cariño. 

Ina Cariño is a poet, musician, and artist with an MFA in creative writing from North Carolina State University. Their poetry appears or is forthcoming in Poetry Magazine, Waxwing, New England Review, Tupelo Quarterly, and elsewhere. Ina is a Kundiman fellow, a Best of the Net finalist, a Pushcart Prize nominee, and a recipient of a fellowship from the Vermont Studio Center. They are the winner of the 2021 Alice James Award for their manuscript Feast, forthcoming from Alice James Books in March 2023. Most recently, Ina was selected as one of the four winners of the 2021 92Y Discovery Poetry Prize.

]]> Mon, 5 Jul 2021 12:00:00 +0000 editor@airlightmagazine.org (Ina Cariño) https://the-air-light-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/ina-carino-42uyAt13 Music by Ina Cariño. 

Ina Cariño is a poet, musician, and artist with an MFA in creative writing from North Carolina State University. Their poetry appears or is forthcoming in Poetry Magazine, Waxwing, New England Review, Tupelo Quarterly, and elsewhere. Ina is a Kundiman fellow, a Best of the Net finalist, a Pushcart Prize nominee, and a recipient of a fellowship from the Vermont Studio Center. They are the winner of the 2021 Alice James Award for their manuscript Feast, forthcoming from Alice James Books in March 2023. Most recently, Ina was selected as one of the four winners of the 2021 92Y Discovery Poetry Prize.

]]> Salidummay” by Ina Cariño Ina Cariño 00:04:21 Indigenous peoples of Kalinga and other Cordilleran descent in the Philippines sing and dance to a folksong called "salidummay," which has no direct translation into English but which speaks to the idea, "this is life." The samples used in this track are from recordings of mountain workers singing and dancing on the way home. Indigenous peoples of Kalinga and other Cordilleran descent in the Philippines sing and dance to a folksong called "salidummay," which has no direct translation into English but which speaks to the idea, "this is life." The samples used in this track are from recordings of mountain workers singing and dancing on the way home. music no bonus aa869ef6-87a1-434f-82a0-690f205d0578 Marvin Bell: A Discussion of his Career with Christopher Merrill and David St. John Mon, 14 Jun 2021 07:00:00 +0000 editor@airlightmagazine.org (Christopher Merrill, David St. John, David L. Ulin) https://the-air-light-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/marvin-bell-YuDOLZqZ Marvin Bell: A Discussion of his Career with Christopher Merrill and David St. John Christopher Merrill, David St. John, David L. Ulin 00:46:37 A discussion of the life and career of poet Marvin Bell with Christopher Merril and David St. John. A discussion of the life and career of poet Marvin Bell with Christopher Merril and David St. John. poetry, literature, teaching, poetics no bonus 57fb3638-864a-4ab8-a164-dfca1a1c3c05 Victoria Chang Victoria Chang’s poems encapsulate something that makes poetry unique among literature: they capture a fleeting moment and render it into a form that’s frozen in time yet dynamic. Her work is precise, with an attention to detail at a granular level; at the same time, Chang’s poetry casts a view on the larger, more universal qualities of a subject. Chang’s lemons and peaches are both singular pieces of fruit while also pointing us toward greater symbolic resonances. Impermanence and the ephemerality of material objects--including the body--are persistent themes throughout her writing. Chang’s poetry deftly balances two opposing registers of scale, the micro and the macro, the particular and the universal, the individual and the collective. In Chang’s poems, there’s an inbuilt tension that makes them exciting, energetic, open, and present. 

Victoria Chang is the author of numerous volumes of poetry including, Barbie Chang, The Boss, Salvinia Molesta, and Circle. Her children’s books include Is Mommy?, illustrated by Marla Frazee, and Love, Love, a middle grade novel. She serves as program chair of Antioch’s low-residency MFA program.

Her most recent book of poetry, OBIT, out from Copper Canyon Press, was longlisted for the 2020 National Book Award and the 2021 PEN America Literary Award, and was included on the New York Times list of 100 Notable Books of 2020. 

We are thrilled to have Victoria on the The Air/Light Podcast.

]]> Wed, 13 Jan 2021 18:23:05 +0000 editor@airlightmagazine.org (Victoria Chang, Aaron Winslow) https://the-air-light-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/victoria-chang-_gPrkDds Victoria Chang’s poems encapsulate something that makes poetry unique among literature: they capture a fleeting moment and render it into a form that’s frozen in time yet dynamic. Her work is precise, with an attention to detail at a granular level; at the same time, Chang’s poetry casts a view on the larger, more universal qualities of a subject. Chang’s lemons and peaches are both singular pieces of fruit while also pointing us toward greater symbolic resonances. Impermanence and the ephemerality of material objects--including the body--are persistent themes throughout her writing. Chang’s poetry deftly balances two opposing registers of scale, the micro and the macro, the particular and the universal, the individual and the collective. In Chang’s poems, there’s an inbuilt tension that makes them exciting, energetic, open, and present. 

Victoria Chang is the author of numerous volumes of poetry including, Barbie Chang, The Boss, Salvinia Molesta, and Circle. Her children’s books include Is Mommy?, illustrated by Marla Frazee, and Love, Love, a middle grade novel. She serves as program chair of Antioch’s low-residency MFA program.

Her most recent book of poetry, OBIT, out from Copper Canyon Press, was longlisted for the 2020 National Book Award and the 2021 PEN America Literary Award, and was included on the New York Times list of 100 Notable Books of 2020. 

We are thrilled to have Victoria on the The Air/Light Podcast.

]]> Victoria Chang Victoria Chang, Aaron Winslow 00:39:53 An interview with National Book Award-nominated poet Victoria Chang. An interview with National Book Award-nominated poet Victoria Chang. poetry, covid, writing, literature, teaching no full 8 b2fe171c-4ca3-4186-8e0c-2d75d50624d3 Pam Houston on "Postcards from the West" Wed, 6 Jan 2021 02:47:56 +0000 editor@airlightmagazine.org (Aaron Winslow, Pam Houston) https://the-air-light-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/pam-houston-kN_hr2Vr Pam Houston on "Postcards from the West" Aaron Winslow, Pam Houston 00:42:04 Pam Houston writes about nature and the environment the way that Dickens writes about London or Tolstoy writes military history–not as an object in and of itself but as a terrain for understanding the human condition. Houston is a pivotal figure in feminist and environmental writing, and a master of the short story, novel, and essay form. From her first, acclaimed book of short stories Cowboys are My Weakness, across novels such as Contents May Have Shifted and Sight Hound, and up to the essays gathered in her recent memoir Deep Creek, Houston portrays women and men in perilous situations, whether it’s from the natural, social, or emotional environment. Air/Light was honored to publish Houston’s “Postcards from the West” in our first issue. This piece combines photographs taken by Houston of her 120 acre ranch in the Colorado Rockies with occasional essays about the last tumultuous year that included the pandemic, protests for racial justice, wild fires, and the end of the Trump presidency. Pam joins us on the Air/Light podcast to talk about “Postcards from the West”, as well as teaching, writing, the prospects of political activism after Trump, and her new book, Air Mail: Letters on Politics, Pandemic, and Place, co-written with Amy Irvine. Pam Houston writes about nature and the environment the way that Dickens writes about London or Tolstoy writes military history–not as an object in and of itself but as a terrain for understanding the human condition. Houston is a pivotal figure in feminist and environmental writing, and a master of the short story, novel, and essay form. From her first, acclaimed book of short stories Cowboys are My Weakness, across novels such as Contents May Have Shifted and Sight Hound, and up to the essays gathered in her recent memoir Deep Creek, Houston portrays women and men in perilous situations, whether it’s from the natural, social, or emotional environment. Air/Light was honored to publish Houston’s “Postcards from the West” in our first issue. This piece combines photographs taken by Houston of her 120 acre ranch in the Colorado Rockies with occasional essays about the last tumultuous year that included the pandemic, protests for racial justice, wild fires, and the end of the Trump presidency. Pam joins us on the Air/Light podcast to talk about “Postcards from the West”, as well as teaching, writing, the prospects of political activism after Trump, and her new book, Air Mail: Letters on Politics, Pandemic, and Place, co-written with Amy Irvine. nature, memoir, climate change, writing, photography, literature, environmentalism, teaching no full 7 d18dfcc5-34cc-4147-84a6-3cd14c034bc4 A Conversation between Andre Tyson and Douglas Kearney Mon, 14 Dec 2020 04:05:36 +0000 editor@airlightmagazine.org (David L. Ulin, Andre Tyson, Douglas Kearney) https://the-air-light-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/andre-tyson-and-douglas-kearney-rlJf_5Wm A Conversation between Andre Tyson and Douglas Kearney David L. Ulin, Andre Tyson, Douglas Kearney 00:34:20 As the first installment of the Air/Light Podcast, we’re thrilled to present a conversation between choreographer Andre Tyson and Douglas Kearney about their performance, Code~dIsSoNaNcE~REVERIE. The conversation was hosted by Air/Light editor David L. Ulin. It was recorded on October 20, 2020. As the first installment of the Air/Light Podcast, we’re thrilled to present a conversation between choreographer Andre Tyson and Douglas Kearney about their performance, Code~dIsSoNaNcE~REVERIE. The conversation was hosted by Air/Light editor David L. Ulin. It was recorded on October 20, 2020. family, art, poetry, writing, music, dance, elections, politics no full 1 20f8116f-1f7f-4633-b951-f9bcd48b4e50 “This granular level of evil manifesting itself on my ballot”: Tracy Jeanne Rosenthal and the Two Evils Voting Guide Mon, 14 Dec 2020 04:02:15 +0000 editor@airlightmagazine.org (Aaron Winslow, Tracy Jeanne Rosenthal) https://the-air-light-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/tracy-jeanne-rosenthal-wrIET7lR “This granular level of evil manifesting itself on my ballot”: Tracy Jeanne Rosenthal and the Two Evils Voting Guide Aaron Winslow, Tracy Jeanne Rosenthal 00:25:46 With the election coming up in a few days, we here at Air/Light wanted to help you not make a choice, but to make the right choice. We’re thrilled to present a conversation with Tracy Jeanne Rosenthal, a writer, artist, and co-founder of the Los Angeles Tenants Union. Tracy’s Two Evils voting guide is informed, impeccably researched, opinionated, and unabashedly radical. And hilarious. You’ll LOL as you burn with righteous rage. Tracy’s guide, and our interview with her, will make you want to get out there and vote and also join the LA Tenants Union, your local mutual aid network, your local labor struggle, and just take to the streets to demand justice. We hope you enjoy the conversation! With the election coming up in a few days, we here at Air/Light wanted to help you not make a choice, but to make the right choice. We’re thrilled to present a conversation with Tracy Jeanne Rosenthal, a writer, artist, and co-founder of the Los Angeles Tenants Union. Tracy’s Two Evils voting guide is informed, impeccably researched, opinionated, and unabashedly radical. And hilarious. You’ll LOL as you burn with righteous rage. Tracy’s guide, and our interview with her, will make you want to get out there and vote and also join the LA Tenants Union, your local mutual aid network, your local labor struggle, and just take to the streets to demand justice. We hope you enjoy the conversation! writing, anti-gentrification, california, black lives matter, politics, los angeles, election no full 2 6dd707fe-582b-422a-ad38-c5509ca5ca38 “Language is failing us”: Mónica de la Torre and Alex Balgiu on “Women in Concrete Poetry, 1959-1979" Mon, 14 Dec 2020 03:58:20 +0000 editor@airlightmagazine.org (Monica de la Torre, Alex Balgiu, Aaron Winslow) https://the-air-light-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/women-in-concrete-poetry-CjkwxXP8 “Language is failing us”: Mónica de la Torre and Alex Balgiu on “Women in Concrete Poetry, 1959-1979" Monica de la Torre, Alex Balgiu, Aaron Winslow 00:27:26 In this episode of the Air/Light Podcast, we’re interviewing Mónica de la Torre and Alex Balgiu, the editors of the new anthology, Women in Concrete Poetry: 1959-1979, out now from Primary Information press. Concrete poetry was one of the most important post-war avant-garde literary movements. It was truly international in scope, with major practitioners and groups located in Brazil, Argentina, Western Europe, the Soviet Bloc countries, and North America. Across the globe, concrete poets created art objects composed of words, letters, colors, and typefaces, in which graphic space plays a central role in both design and meaning. Women in Concrete Poetry is the first volume ever to focus solely on concrete poetry created by women. De la Torre and Balgiu take as their starting point Materializzazione del linguaggio—the groundbreaking exhibition of visual and concrete poetry by women curated by Italian feminist artist Mirella Bentivoglio for the Venice Biennale in 1978. The volume features work by Lenora de Barros, Ana Bella Geiger, and Mira Schendel from Brazil; Mirella Bentivoglio, Tomaso Binga, Liliana Landi, Anna Oberto, and Giovanna Sandri from Italy; Amanda Berenguer from Uruguay; Suzanne Bernard and Ilse Garnier from France; and many, many more. We spoke with de la Torre and Balgiu about the challenges of creating an archival anthology during a pandemic, the importance of feminist recovery projects, and the politics of experimenting with language. In this episode of the Air/Light Podcast, we’re interviewing Mónica de la Torre and Alex Balgiu, the editors of the new anthology, Women in Concrete Poetry: 1959-1979, out now from Primary Information press. Concrete poetry was one of the most important post-war avant-garde literary movements. It was truly international in scope, with major practitioners and groups located in Brazil, Argentina, Western Europe, the Soviet Bloc countries, and North America. Across the globe, concrete poets created art objects composed of words, letters, colors, and typefaces, in which graphic space plays a central role in both design and meaning. Women in Concrete Poetry is the first volume ever to focus solely on concrete poetry created by women. De la Torre and Balgiu take as their starting point Materializzazione del linguaggio—the groundbreaking exhibition of visual and concrete poetry by women curated by Italian feminist artist Mirella Bentivoglio for the Venice Biennale in 1978. The volume features work by Lenora de Barros, Ana Bella Geiger, and Mira Schendel from Brazil; Mirella Bentivoglio, Tomaso Binga, Liliana Landi, Anna Oberto, and Giovanna Sandri from Italy; Amanda Berenguer from Uruguay; Suzanne Bernard and Ilse Garnier from France; and many, many more. We spoke with de la Torre and Balgiu about the challenges of creating an archival anthology during a pandemic, the importance of feminist recovery projects, and the politics of experimenting with language. art, poetry, books, avant-garde, anthologies, archives no full 3 2b229790-79e2-468e-9a35-78c9be4d98ec The Art of Bookselling #1: Josh Spencer of The Last Bookstore Mon, 14 Dec 2020 03:55:06 +0000 editor@airlightmagazine.org (Katarina Dames, Josh Spencer) https://the-air-light-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/the-art-of-bookselling-1-_MY1usDy The Art of Bookselling #1: Josh Spencer of The Last Bookstore Katarina Dames, Josh Spencer 00:14:31 If literature is an ecosystem, then bookstores are its foundation. They’re where literature intersects with community. They introduce people to new and idiosyncratic books while hosting events to support authors. Through it all, they serve as neighborhood community centers for readers and book lovers. But the pandemic has been hard on independent bookstores. Many have had to make direct appeals to their customers through GoFundMe and other crowdsourced campaigns. Local bookstores are facing what Dorany Pineda of the Los Angeles Times calls an “existential crossroads.” Losing our independent bookstores would be a truly devastating blow to the literary community and would only entrench the dominance of Amazon. A world without brick-and-mortar indie bookstores is not a world we want to live in. So Air/Light wants to help in our own small way. In a series of podcasts, we talk with the owners and workers at independent bookstores around Los Angeles to explore how they’re moving forward during COVID, what they’re looking forward to, what people are buying and reading, and more. Through this series we explore the art of bookselling. It’s also our hope that after you listen to these interviews, you’ll go online or in person—masked up and socially distant, of course—and support your local indie bookstore. In the first episode, Air/Light’s Katarina Dames speaks with Josh Spencer, owner and operator of The Last Bookstore in Downtown Los Angeles. Listen to the interview and then go do some holiday shopping…locally and independently! If literature is an ecosystem, then bookstores are its foundation. They’re where literature intersects with community. They introduce people to new and idiosyncratic books while hosting events to support authors. Through it all, they serve as neighborhood community centers for readers and book lovers. But the pandemic has been hard on independent bookstores. Many have had to make direct appeals to their customers through GoFundMe and other crowdsourced campaigns. Local bookstores are facing what Dorany Pineda of the Los Angeles Times calls an “existential crossroads.” Losing our independent bookstores would be a truly devastating blow to the literary community and would only entrench the dominance of Amazon. A world without brick-and-mortar indie bookstores is not a world we want to live in. So Air/Light wants to help in our own small way. In a series of podcasts, we talk with the owners and workers at independent bookstores around Los Angeles to explore how they’re moving forward during COVID, what they’re looking forward to, what people are buying and reading, and more. Through this series we explore the art of bookselling. It’s also our hope that after you listen to these interviews, you’ll go online or in person—masked up and socially distant, of course—and support your local indie bookstore. In the first episode, Air/Light’s Katarina Dames speaks with Josh Spencer, owner and operator of The Last Bookstore in Downtown Los Angeles. Listen to the interview and then go do some holiday shopping…locally and independently! covid 19, books, bookstores, los angeles no full 4 8cb81816-7b37-4950-b2f1-1fa1a411e305 The Art of Bookselling #2: Mary Williams of Skylight Books Mon, 14 Dec 2020 03:51:31 +0000 editor@airlightmagazine.org (Claire Robertson, Mary Williams) https://the-air-light-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/the-art-of-bookselling-2-XOuSeJJi The Art of Bookselling #2: Mary Williams of Skylight Books Claire Robertson, Mary Williams 00:09:58 Since it opened in 1996, Skylight Books has become a fixture in the Los Feliz and a center of the neighborhood’s literary community by hosting readings, book clubs, and launch parties. In the second installment of our “Art of Bookselling” podcast series, Air/Light‘s Claire Robertson talks to Mary Williams, the general manager of Skylight. Mary tells us about her favorite book of the year, comfort book buying in the run-up to the first lockdown, and how their customers are helping support the store throughout the pandemic. And remember: after you’ve listened, visit Skylight (or your own local bookshop) in person or online and buy a book or two. If you missed it, be sure to check out the first episode in the “Art of Bookselling” featuring Josh Spencer of Los Angeles’ The Last Bookstore. Since it opened in 1996, Skylight Books has become a fixture in the Los Feliz and a center of the neighborhood’s literary community by hosting readings, book clubs, and launch parties. In the second installment of our “Art of Bookselling” podcast series, Air/Light‘s Claire Robertson talks to Mary Williams, the general manager of Skylight. Mary tells us about her favorite book of the year, comfort book buying in the run-up to the first lockdown, and how their customers are helping support the store throughout the pandemic. And remember: after you’ve listened, visit Skylight (or your own local bookshop) in person or online and buy a book or two. If you missed it, be sure to check out the first episode in the “Art of Bookselling” featuring Josh Spencer of Los Angeles’ The Last Bookstore. covid 19, books, bookstores, los angeles no full 5 e407c7e1-8d3a-4f49-a683-fedb116be469 The Art of Bookselling #3: Julia Cowlishaw of Vroman’s and Book Soup Air/Light editor David L. Ulin talks to Julia Cowlishaw, the CEO of Vroman’s and Book Soup. Cowlishaw and Ulin discuss the issues facing independent booksellers in the world of COVID-19, how she approaches managing two very different bookstores, and more.]]> Thu, 10 Dec 2020 01:55:21 +0000 editor@airlightmagazine.org (Julia Cowlishaw, David L. Ulin) https://the-air-light-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/the-art-of-bookselling-3-AwO_Lw9g The Art of Bookselling #3: Julia Cowlishaw of Vroman’s and Book Soup Julia Cowlishaw, David L. Ulin 00:15:34 Vroman's in Pasadena and Book Soup in West Hollywood are two of Southern California's most iconic bookstores. Though they're in very different communities, each one plays a central role in the life of the city. Which is why, in late September, Vroman’s sent a shudder through the world of Southern California’s readers when the 126 year old bookstore announced it was at risk of closing due to the effects of the pandemic. In an extraordinary bit of outreach, Vroman’s asked its community to shop early and often for the holidays and to recommend the store by word of mouth. The situation has since stabilized, but the risk remains. In the third part of our "Art of Bookselling" series, Air/Light editor David L. Ulin talks to Julia Cowlishaw, the CEO of Vroman’s and Book Soup. Cowlishaw and Ulin discuss the issues facing independent booksellers in the world of COVID-19, how she approaches managing two very different bookstores, and more. Vroman's in Pasadena and Book Soup in West Hollywood are two of Southern California's most iconic bookstores. Though they're in very different communities, each one plays a central role in the life of the city. Which is why, in late September, Vroman’s sent a shudder through the world of Southern California’s readers when the 126 year old bookstore announced it was at risk of closing due to the effects of the pandemic. In an extraordinary bit of outreach, Vroman’s asked its community to shop early and often for the holidays and to recommend the store by word of mouth. The situation has since stabilized, but the risk remains. In the third part of our "Art of Bookselling" series, Air/Light editor David L. Ulin talks to Julia Cowlishaw, the CEO of Vroman’s and Book Soup. Cowlishaw and Ulin discuss the issues facing independent booksellers in the world of COVID-19, how she approaches managing two very different bookstores, and more. covid-19, bookselling, books, literature, bookstores no full 6