Rattle Poetry

Latest Episodes:

ep. 37 - Charles Harper Webb Apr 15, 2020

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Episode #37 welcomes long-time Rattle contributor Charles Harper Webb and his latest book, Sidebend World. Webb was our very first interviewee, way back in issue #4 (1995). Charles Harper Webb has published twelve books of poetry, including Brain Camp. Webb’s awards in poetry include the Morse Prize, the Kate Tufts Discovery Award, the Felix Pollock Prize, and the Benjamin Saltman Prize. Webb is Professor of English at California State University, Long Beach, where he teaches in the MFA Creative Writing Program. For more information, visit: https://upittpress.org/authors/charles-harper-webb/ This Week's Prompt: Erasure poem using a news article from the past week. Next Week's Prompt: From the point of view of the oldest living tree.

ep. 36 - Katherine Barrett Swett Apr 08, 2020

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Rattlecast #36 features Katherine Barrett Swett and her Donald Justice Prize-winning collection, Voice Message. A high school English teacher, Katherine Barrett Swett lives in New York City. She received a PhD in American Literature from Columbia University. Her poems have been published in various journals including, The Lyric, Rattle, Mezzo Cammin, The Raintown Review, and The Orchards Poetry Journal. Her sonnets were finalists for the Nemerov Contest in 2016 and 2017. Her chapbook, Twenty-one was published by Finishing Line Press in 2016. For more information, visit: https://www.autumnhouse.org/our-authors/katherine-barrett-swett/ As always, we'll also include live open mic for responses to our weekly prompt. For details on how to participate, either pre-recorded, via Skype, or by phone, go to: https://www.rattle.com/rattlecast/ This Week's Prompt: A happy love poem. (It’s harder than it sounds!) Try to avoid cliches. Next Week’s Prompt: Erasure poem using a news article from the past week.

ep. 35 - Wendy Barker Apr 01, 2020

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Rattlecast #35 features Wendy Barker and her new book Gloss. Wendy Barker’s seventh full-length collection of poems, Gloss, is due out in 2020 from St. Julian Press. Her sixth collection, One Blackbird at a Time, was chosen for the John Ciardi Prize and was published by BkMk Press in 2015. Recipient of an NEA fellowship, a Rockefeller residency fellowship in Bellagio, as well as other awards in poetry, she has also been a Fulbright senior lecturer in Bulgaria. Her work has been translated into Hindi, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, and Bulgarian. She is Poet-in Residence and the Pearl Lewinn Endowed Chair at the University of Texas at San Antonio, where she has taught since 1982. For more information, visit: https://www.wendybarker.net/ As always, we'll also include live open mic for responses to our weekly prompt. For details on how to participate, either pre-recorded, via Skype, or by phone, go to: https://www.rattle.com/rattlecast/ Warm-up Poems: “The Preakness” by John Colasacco https://www.rattle.com/the-preakness-by-john-colasacco/ “Bob the Bear” by Frank Colasacco https://www.rattle.com/bob-the-bear-by-frank-colasacco/ This Week's Prompt: The first word must start with the letter “z,” the last word must end with the letter “z.” Next Week's Prompt: A happy love poem. (It’s harder than it sounds!) Try to avoid cliches.

ep. 34 - Jimmy Pappas Mar 25, 2020

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Episode #34 welcomes Rattle Chapbook Prize winner and Readers' Choice Award winner Jimmy Pappas and his new book Falling off the Empire State Building. Jimmy Pappas served during the Vietnam War as an English language instructor training South Vietnamese soldiers. He received a BA in English at Bridgewater State University and an MA in English literature from Rivier University. His poems have been published in over 80 journals, including Sheila-Na-Gig, Cha:An Asian Literary Journal, Shot Glass Journal, Off the Coast, and Boston Literary Magazine. The poem “Bobby’s Story” was winner of the 2017 Rattle Poetry Prize Readers’ Choice Award. Other poems about veterans are included in Jimmy’s first book, Scream Wounds, published by A15 Press in 2019. Jimmy is vice president of the Poetry Society of New Hampshire and lives with his wife Barbara in the small town of Chichester, where they enjoy the state’s vibrant poetry culture. For more on Falling Off, visit: https://www.rattle.com/chapbooks/falling-off-the-empire-state-building/ Order Scream Wounds at: https://www.amazon.com/Scream-Wounds-Jimmy-Pappas/dp/1970155043/ Warmup Poem: "Glance" by Jennifer Givhan https://jennifergivhan.com/ This Week's Prompt: A girl lying next to a radio in 1932. Suggestion: Sonnet. Next Week's Prompt: The first word must start with the letter “z,” the last word must end with the letter “z.”

ep. 33 - Ellen Bass Mar 18, 2020

Show notes

Episode #33 features Ellen Bass and her new book Indigo. Ellen has appeared in Rattle three times and was the featured conversation in issue #40. Ellen Bass’s other poetry books include Like a Beggar, The Human Line, and Mules of Love. Her poems appear frequently in The New Yorker, American Poetry Review, and many other journals. Among her awards are Fellowships from the NEA, the California Arts Council, three Pushcart Prizes, The Lambda Literary Award, The Pablo Neruda Prize, The Larry Levis Prize and the New Letters Prize. She coedited the first major anthology of women’s poetry, No More Masks!, and her nonfiction books include the groundbreaking The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse and Free Your Mind: The Book for Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Youth. A Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets, Bass founded poetry workshops at Salinas Valley State Prison and the Santa Cruz, California jails, and teaches in the MFA writing program at Pacific University. For more information, visit: https://www.ellenbass.com/ Warm-up Poem: "You Moved Your Whole Town" by Paul T. Corrigan This Week’s Prompt: A motel with no windows. Must use the words “descent” and “twin.” Prompt Poems: Megan Green Carla Schwartz Next Week’s Prompt: A girl lying next to a radio in 1932. Suggestion: Sonnet.

ep. 32 - Lola Haskins Mar 11, 2020

Show notes

Episode #32 features Lola Haskins and her new book Asylum. Lola has appeared in Rattle seven times, including the just-released spring issue. Lola Haskins lives in Gainesville, Florida and Skipton, Yorkshire. Her poetry has appeared in The Atlantic, the London Review of Books, London Magazine, The New York Quarterly, Georgia Review, Prairie Schooner, Rattle and elsewhere, as well as having been broadcast on NPR and BBC radio. She has published fourteen collections of poems, a poetry advice book and a non-fiction book about fifteen Florida cemeteries. Ms. Haskins has been awarded three book prizes, two NEA fellowships, four Florida Cultural Affairs fellowships,the Emily Dickinson/Writer Magazine award from Poetry Society of America, and several prizes for narrative poetry. She retired from teaching Computer Science at the University of Florida in 2005 and served from then until 2015 on the faculty of Rainier Writers Workshop. For more information, visit: https://lolahaskins.com/ This Week’s Prompt: An addiction to soap operas. Suggestion: Epigram (short and witty). Next Week's Prompt: A motel with no windows. Must use the words “descent” and “twin.”

ep. 31 - Rachel Custer Mar 04, 2020

Show notes

Episode #31 welcomes Rachel Custer to the Rattlecast. Rachel has appeared in three issues of Rattle and three times in Poets Respond, including with "How I Am Like Donald Trump," perhaps the most-read and most-discussed poem in the entire series. Rachel Custer is the author of The Temple She Became (Five Oaks Press, 2017) and the recipient of a 2019 NEA Fellowship in Poetry. She has previously published poetry, personal essays, and flash fiction in many literary journals. She lives in Indiana, and her work is constantly informed by and wrestles with the values and struggles of the rural Rust Belt. Her Christian faith is vital to her understanding of the world and her art. For more information, visit: https://rachelcuster.wordpress.com/ Prologue: "Siege Machinery" by Craig van Rooyen This Week’s Prompt: President Trump goes to the arcade. Bonus suggestion: Villanelle. Prompt poems by: Tim Megan Shaun Hines Kathy Gibbons Corinne O'Reilly Next Week’s Prompt: An addiction to soap operas. Suggestion: Epigram (short and witty).

ep. 30 - Kelly Grace Thomas Feb 26, 2020

Show notes

Episode #30 features Kelly Grace Thomas and her new book Boat Burned. Kelly's poem "And the Woman Said" appeared in Rattle #51 and won the Neil Postman Award for Metaphor. Kelly Grace Thomas is a 2018 finalist for the Rita Dove Poetry Award. Her first full-length collection, Boat Burned, released with YesYes Books in January 2020. Kelly’s poems have appeared or are forthcoming in: Best New Poets 2019, Los Angeles Review, Redivider, Nashville Review, Muzzle, DIAGRAM, and more. Kelly currently works to bring poetry to underserved youth as the Director of Education and Pedagogy for Get Lit-Words Ignite. Kelly is a three-time poetry slam championship coach and the co-author of Words Ignite: Explore, Write and Perform, Classic and Spoken Word Poetry (Literary Riot), currently taught in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Kelly has received fellowships from Tin House Winter Workshop, Martha's Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing and the Kenyon Review Young Writers. Kelly and her sister, Kat Thomas, won Best Feature Length Screenplay at the Portland Comedy Film Festival for their romantic comedy, Magic Little Pills. Kelly lives in the Bay Area with her husband, Omid, and is currently working on her debut novel, a YA thriller, titled Only 10.001. For more information, visit: https://www.kellygracethomas.com/ Prologue: "The Girls on Josephine Street" by Melissa McEwen Prompt Responses: Tim Megan Brenda Komarinski Kris Beaver Richard Chetwynd David Cooke This Week's Prompt: An undiscovered constellation. Must be no longer than 280 characters (“Twitter length”.) Next Week’s Prompt: President Trump goes to the arcade. Bonus suggestion: Villanelle.

ep. 29 - Susan Browne Feb 19, 2020

Show notes

Episode #29 features Susan Browne and her new book Just Living. Susan's poems have appeared in issues 64, 66, and the forthcoming issue 67 of Rattle. Susan Browne’s poetry has appeared in Ploughshares, The Sun, Subtropics, The Southern Review, Superstition Review, Rattle, New Ohio Review, B O D Y, American Life in Poetry, The American Journal of Poetry, Love’s Executive Order, and 180 More, Extraordinary Poems for Every Day. She has published two books of poetry, Buddha’s Dogs and Zephyr. Awards include prizes from Four Way Books, the Los Angeles Poetry Festival, the River Styx International Poetry Contest, and The Fischer Poetry Prize. She received a fellowship from the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center, and her work has been nominated for three Pushcart Awards. She has also collaborated to create a word/music CD. Her third collection, Just Living, recently won the Catamaran Poetry Prize. She lives in Oakland, California. For more information, visit: http://www.susanbrownepoems.com/index.html This Week’s Prompt: The dinosaur museum at 3 AM. Must be at least 40 lines long, lines can be of any length. Next Week's Prompt: An undiscovered constellation. Must be no longer than 280 characters (“Twitter length”.)

ep. 28 - Christina Olson Feb 12, 2020

Show notes

Episode #28 features 2019 Rattle Chapbook Prize winner Christina Olson and her book The Last Mastodon. Christina Olson is the author of the poetry collections Terminal Human Velocity and Before I Came Home Naked as well as the chapbooks Weird Science and Rook & The M.E.: A Law & Order-Inspired Narrative. Her poetry and nonfiction has appeared in Arts & Letters, Virginia Quarterly Review, The Southern Review, Brevity, River Styx, Gulf Coast, Passages North, The Normal School, Hayden’s Ferry Review, and The Best Creative Nonfiction, Volume 3. She is the recipient of fellowships from the Vermont Studio Center and Willapa Bay AiR. She teaches creative writing at Georgia Southern University and tweets as @olsonquest. For more information, visit: https://thedrevlow-olsonshow.com/ Prologue: "After the Bowling Stopped" by Thadra Sheridan https://www.thadrasheridan.com/ This Week’s Prompt: The dinosaur museum at 3am. Must be at least 40 lines long, lines can be of any length.

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