Finally, after a long break, Waves Breaking returns with this interview with Kamden Ishmael Hilliard. Kam generously shares their time with me to discuss their debut book of poems, MissSettl, out last year with Nightboat Books. We go in deep to discuss their thoughts around the sentence, modes of speech, writing poems within this current era of lat…

Photo of Yanyi, taken by him In this episode I spoke with Yanyi about his new book, Dream of the Divided Field, and his newsletter, The Reading. Yanyi is the author of Dream of the Divided Field (One World Random House, 1 March 2022) and The Year of Blue Water (Yale University Press 2019), winner of the 2018 Yale Series of Younger Poets Prize. His …

In this interview, I spoke with Sarah Nnenna Loveth Nwafor about their latest publication Already Knew You Were Coming. We discuss Igbo cosmology and time, vengeance poetry, their process in writing this chapbook, and more. Sarah Nnenna Loveth Nwafor (They/Them) is a queer Igbo-American Poet, Educator, and Facilitator who descends of a powerful anc…

In this episode, I spoke with Cody-Rose Clevidence about their latest publication, Aux Arc / Trypt Ich, out with Nightboat Books. We dug into language, exploring motif, grief, love—all that good stuff. Cody-Rose Clevidence is the author of BEAST FEAST (2014) and Flung/Throne (2018), both from Ahsahta Press, Listen My Friend This is the Dream I Drea…

In this episode, I spoke with féi hernandez about Hood Criatura, their poetry collection released in 2020. We also spoke about their incredible skills as an illustrator, and féi recommends some fantastic reads. féi hernandez (b.1993 Chihuahua, Mexico) is a trans, Inglewood- raised, formerly undocumented immigrant artist, writer, healer. They have …

In this episode, I spoke with Larkin Christie about their book gather all your supple creatures. Larkin Christie is a queer poet living on unceded Pocumtuc land in what is currently known as Western Massachusetts. Their second collection, gather all your supple creatures, is out now. Their creative work draws on experiences as an educator, organize…

In this episode, I spoke with KB about their zine “A New Relationship to Pain,” their relationship to poetry, the pandemic, working as a poet and educator, and more. KB is from Stop Six, Fort Worth, Texas. They are a Black queer nonbinary poet, educator, student affairs professional, and lover of most plants/people. They want to be your friend as w…

In this episode I spoke with Rainie Oet about their recent publication Glorious Veils of Diane. Content warning: We talk a lot about blood and some about self-harming Rainie Oet is a nonbinary writer and game designer, former Editor-in-Chief of Salt Hill Journal, and the author of Glorious Veils of Diane (Carnegie Mellon University Press, 2021), as…

In this episode, I dive deep into one poem with its authors, Anaïs Duplan and imogen xtian smith. Tune in for our conversation about of art, love, and utopias. Anaïs Duplan is a trans* poet, curator, and artist. He is the author of a book of essays, Blackspace: On the Poetics of an Afrofuture (Black Ocean, 2020), a full-length poetry collection, Ta…

In this episode I spoke with noor ibn najam about her recent work and writing process. they also discussed showing work to friends and skill-sharing. Sorry that the intro and outro audio is a little wonky this time around, but my interview with noor is still good. noor is a poet who teases, challenges, breaks, and creates language. she's received f…

This month’s guest is Aeon Ginsberg. We dug into their recently published book Greyhound and also talked about PoBiz/Big Lit, death, and teeth poetry. Aeon Ginsberg (they/them) is an agender transfeminine writer and performer from Baltimore City, MD. They are the author of Greyhound, the 2019 winner of the Noemi Press Poetry Prize, and their work h…

This month I got to speak with Kama La Mackerel about their just-released book, ZOM-FAM, published by Metonymy Press. We go in-depth in discussion about their decolonial artistic practices and inspiration for the book. Kama La Mackerel is a Montreal-based Mauritian-Canadian multi-disciplinary artist, educator, writer, community-arts facilitator and…

In this episode, I spoke with poet kiki nicole about their manuscript, Autobiography of the boi Venus which not published (yet!), their embroidery work, film work, and current interests. kiki nicole is a Black, Queer, and Non-binary multimedia artist and poet based in Charlotte, North Carolina.. They’ve received invitations to fellowships such as P…

Như and I discussed her recent chapbook A System of Satellites and her writing practice, finding dignity as a trans poet, and writing past ingrained fear and doubt. She also asked me questions. Hear me stumble trying to answer questions about my writing practice and how I approach writing with personal experiences. Như Xuân Nguyễn is a queer and tr…

By Waves Breaking

In this episode, I had the opportunity to talk with Zefyr Lisowski about her book Blood Box. Zefyr Lisowski is a trans and queer writer, artist, and North Carolinian currently living in NYC. She's a Poetry Co-editor for Apogee Journal and the author of Blood Box, winner of the Black River Editor's Choice Award from Black Lawrence Press and forthcom…

This episode, I had the chance to speak with Cyrée Jarelle Johnson about their book, SLINGSHOT. Cyrée Jarelle Johnson (He/They) is a poet and writer from Piscataway, NJ. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Boston Review, Wussy, The Wanderer, Vice, Rewire News, The Root, and Nat. Brut among other publications. They earned an MFA in Creative…

It's been a minute! Thanks for your patience as I've slogged through life. In this episode I spoke with Samuel Ace about his book Our Weather Our Sea. Samuel Ace is a trans/genderqueer poet and sound artist. He is the author of several books, most recently Our Weather Our Sea (Black Radish 2019), the newly re-issued Meet Me There: Normal Sex and Ho…

I had the opportunity to talk with S. Brook Corfman at AWP this year! S. Brook Corfman is the author of Luxury, Blue Lace, chosen by Richard Siken for the Autumn House Rising Writer Prize, and two chapbooks: the letterpress Meteorites from DoubleCross Press and the digital collection of performance pieces The Anima from GaussPDF. The recipient of g…

Hello, hello! Happy Spring! I'm here with another interview for you fine people. I had the opportunity to interview B'ellana Johannx aka Chloe Rose about their two upcoming chapbooks! B'ellana Johannx's gender is Rilke’s dark god: a webbed scrim made of a thousand roots drinking in silence. Also known as Chloe Rose, she/they are a fat, queer, femme…

I'm back! Hello! I got to talk with Andrea Abi-Karam this time, and I had a blast catching up with them about their latest book "EXTRATRANSMISSION." Andrea Abi-Karam is an arab-american genderqueer punk poet-performer cyborg, writing on the art of killing bros, the intricacies of cyborg bodies, trauma & delayed healing. Their chapbook, THE AFTERMAT…

This month I got to talk to June Gehringer about her latest book. June Gehringer is the author of "I Love You It Looks Like Rain" (Be About It 2017), and "I Don't Write About Race" (Civil Coping Mechanisms 2018), the latter of which was the winner of Civil Coping Mechanisms's 2017 Mainline contest. She lives in Philadelphia and has more crushes tha…

In this episode I got to speak to Chase Berggrun about their new book R E D (Birds, LLC, 2018). Their work has appeared or is forthcoming in POETRY, Pinwheel, PEN Poetry Series, Sixth Finch, Diagram, The Offing, Prelude, Beloit Poetry Journal, and elsewhere. They received their MFA from New York University. They are Poetry Editor at Big Lucks. Chas…

This month I got to talk with Luis Lopez-Maldonado. Prepare yourself, this episode gets a little more sexy than usual. Luis is a Xicanx poeta, playwright, dancer, choreographer, and educator. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California Riverside in Creative Writing and Dance. His poetry has been seen in The American Poetry…

This month I got to chat with Kayleb Rae Candrilli. Kayleb is author of "What Runs Over," winner of the 2016 Pamet River Prize, with YesYes Books. "What Runs Over" is a 2017 Lambda Literary finalist for Transgender Poetry. Candrilli is published or forthcoming in Puerto del Sol, Booth, RHINO, Cream City Review, Hayden's Ferry Review, Adroit, Better…

This month(ish) I got to interview Nat Raha! Nat Raha is a poet and trans / queer activist, living in Edinburgh, Scotland. Her poetry includes two collections countersonnets (Contraband Books, 2013) and Octet (Veer Books, 2010); and numerous pamphlets including ‘de/compositions’ (Enjoy Your Homes Press, 2017), '£/€xtinctions' (sociopathetic distro,…

This month I got to speak with Chely Lima and Margaret Randall, the translator for his new collection of poetry What the Werewolf Told Them/ Le que los dijo el licantropo. Chely Lima is a queer Cuban-American writer who has published numerous books (poetry, novel, short story, theater, literature for children) in his country of origin, and also in …

This month I had the opportunity to interview H. Melt about the anthology they've just edited: Subject to Change: Trans Poetry & Conversation. H. Melt is a poet, activist, and educator whose work proudly celebrates Chicago’s queer and trans communities. Their writing has appeared many places including In These Times, The Offing, and Them, the first…

This month, I had the pleasure of meeting Venus Selenite in person while she started her first leg of her #RehabYearTour. Venus is a Bettering American Poetry 2016 nominee, a 2017 Pink Door Fellow, and one of the most notable trans women of color interdisciplinary artists in the United States. She is the author of two books: trigger and the fire be…

This month I speak with Raquel Salas Rivera from their residence in Puerto Rico. Raquel Salas Rivera es una poeta, traductora, ensayista y educadora puertorriqueña que vive y trabaja en Filadelfia. Ha publicado poemas, traducciones y ensayos en numerosas revistas y antologías; también ha publicado cuatro libros de poesía: Caneca de anhelos turbios …

I got to talk on the phone with poet Kenyatta JP Garcia and their most recent collection Slow Living. Kenyatta JP Garcia is the author of They Say, Slow Living and ROBOT. JP was raised in Brooklyn but currently resides in Albany, N.Y. where they received degrees in English and linguistics. They are an editor at both Rigorous and Five 2 One Literary…

In this interview, I get to talk IN-PERSON with Julian Shendelman about his new chapbook, Dead Dad Club (Nomadic Press, 2017). Julian Shendelman has a weird looking dog (part fawn, part fruit bat) and a nice Jewish boyfriend. After 10 years of living in Oakland, where he was an organizer for the Bay Area Trans Writers Workshop, Julian is relocating…

This month I had the pleasure of interviewing Ching-In about their recent publication, recombinant. We got to talk about archive, language, history, and gender. Ching-In Chen is the author of The Heart's Traffic (Arktoi Books) and recombinant (Kelsey Street Press) and co-editor of The Revolution Starts at Home: Confronting Intimate Violence Within …

While I was on the East Coast to attend/table AWP, Tyler Vile and I got the chance to meet up with each other in D.C.'s Green Lantern bar to talk poetry and punk. The photo for this month's episode was taken just after our interview. Tyler Vile is a writer, performer, and activist from Baltimore, MD whose novel-in-verse, Never Coming Home, is avail…

It was such a gift to speak with emerging-talent Aristilde Kirby for this month's episode! Aristilde Kirby is a twenty-five year old lesbian trans-woman poet and songsmith originally from Bronx, NY, but now resides from Carrollton, GA. She is a UGA Master Gardener. She is working on a chapbook entitled [bitácora total bust] and an EP entitled [LA P…

This month’s interview is with none other than Jayy Dodd! In this episode we talk about their work in other genres of art and critique, compensation for labor, and their newest chapbook, [sugar in the tank]. [sugar in the tank] can be found here Jayy Dodd’s website “All my exes look like mass murderers” Jayy as an editor Jayy as a graphic designer …

I am so honored to get to speak with Vita E. Cleveland about her recent chapbook Dedications. The conversation, of course, wanders toward her percussion expertise, musings on art's intersection with activism, slut shaming in activist circles, and more. Notes of Poets Mentioned in this episode: Vita E's tumblr Vita E's youtube Vita's new ebook, Dedi…

In this month's episode, Jay Besemer and I talk about his recent book, Chelate, along with other topics, including: living with chronic illness, our relationship with nature, sci-fi, poetry comics, and time. Books and things mentioned in this episode: Jay's Tumblr Samuel Delany's Babel-17 Petra Kuppers' essay in Transgender Studies Quarterly Oliver…

In this episode I talk with Cameron Awkward-Rich about his approaches to poetry and theory, and the poetry in his new book Sympathetic Little Monster. Cameron has published poems in The Journal, cream city review, Muzzle Magazine, Hobart, The Seattle Review, The Offing and elsewhere. He is a Cave Canem Fellow, a poetry editor at Muzzle Magazine, an…

Jai Arun Ravine talks to me about their newest book, The Romance of Siam, just released from Timeless, Infinite Light. We talk about their use of humor in critiquing orientalism, the tourist industry in Thailand, and their process as an interdisciplinary artist. The sound of waves breaking is "Once in a Lifetime," the theme song for Thailand's tour…

In this episode I get to talk to Zoe Tuck in a coffee shop in Oakland. We discuss speculative fiction, the second wave feminism she navigated during her coming of age years, spirituality, trans identities and collective memory, and more. Zoe's website is here: zoetuck.com and you can order Terror Matrix from TIL here: http://timelessinfinitelight.c…

In this episode I have the pleasure of interviewing the current editors of Vetch: A Magazine of Trans Poetry and Poetics: Kay Gabriel, Stephen Ira, Liam O'Brien and Rylee Lyman. We talk about their approaches to putting the journal together, their insights into transgender poetics, and touch on the archival of transgender/gender-variant art. There'…

In this interview I get a chance to talk with Joy Ladin. We talk about her latest book Impersonation, how her relationship to poetic language changed as she transitioned, the use of persona in poetry, the early Modernists, and trends in trans & gender-variant poetry. Joy's website is: joyladin.com. GO BUY IMPERSONATION IT'S GREAT. Email me at: wave…

Today's show features a conversation between Loma and me about the government influence on poetry, the boundaries of a poem between other objects and being, poetry & activism, struggling with how to write poetry about domestic abuse, fearlessness, and more. Poets & essays mentioned in this episode: Juliana Spahr and her influential essay on Contemp…

In this interview I am in conversation with poet and activist Amir Rabiyah. This is the first episode of "Waves Breaing," a podcast in which I, a lonesome transbaby, interview my contemporaries in trans and genderqueer poetry. Help out Aurora Levins Morales at http://www.littlevehicleforchange.org/ and Amir Rabiyah's Hambidge Residency at https://w…