This is a rad interview between Matthew Zapruder and Dean Rader over at SFGate. It’s pretty amazing to hear both poets talk about how there poems come together. Here’s a quote from Rader:

I tend to think of poetry as a manual for a different way of knowing. We know data pretty well. But, there are other kinds of knowledge–emotional understanding. Good poems don’t just help us “know our feelings.” They can also enable us to feel knowledge. This is the case for me with a poet like Wallace Stevens or Jorie Graham. But, even then it all comes back to language.

Drew Scott Swenhaugen, co-editor of the Poor Claudia, is beginning a series of pieces on small-presses over at Tin House’s blog. The first installment is an interview with Octopus Books editor Zachary Schomburg.

Speaking of Poor Claudia, here’s their web site. They make immaculate chapbooks and journals. And you can purchase an annual subscription for like 30 bucks!

As long as I’m plugging small presses, I may as well tell you about Brave Men Press, an operation run by poet Brian Foley and artist E.B. Goodale. Brave Men books are small, sturdy wonders. Their most recent chapbook is No, I Will Be in the Woods, by Michelle Taransky, and Because We Must by Ben Kopel is a personal favorite of mine.

Also, if you’re close to Brooklyn this Saturday the 100 Poets for Change Reading will be rad.