Episode 508
with Roger Reeves, Anis Mojgani, Franny Choi, and Derrick C. Brown & The Helio Sequence
To celebrate National Poetry Month, host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello share listener-penned haikus and some of Live Wire's most memorable poet appearances: Roger Reeves explains why poetry is the harbinger of the future; Oregon Poet Laureate Anis Mojgani performs "Today's Love is Brought to You by the Letter John Sands;" Franny Choi discusses how she incorporated Google Translate into her latest collection Soft Science; and Derrick C. Brown teams up with indie band The Helio Sequence for a rhythmically-moving poetic experience.
Roger Reeves
Poet
Roger Reeves is a poet who, in his own words, wants to be “catapulted into a poem.” He earned his Ph.D. in Poetry at the University of Texas at Austin, where he is currently an associate professor of English and creative writing. Reeves’s work, which has been published in The Best American Poetry, The New Yorker, Poetry, Ploughshares, and Tin House, among others, has earned him two Pushcart Prizes, a Whiting Award, an NEA Fellowship, and a Ruth Lilly Fellowship, among other honors. His first collection, King Me, was published by Copper Canyon Press in 2013, and his second book, Best Barbarian, was released in March of 2022. Listen · Website
Franny Choi
Poet, Editor, Playwright
Franny Choi is all about asking loaded questions. A poet, performer, editor, and playwright, Choi is the author of two poetry collections (Floating, Brilliant, Gone and Soft Science) and the chapbook Death by Sex Machine. Her writing examines issues of trauma, identity, memory, and perception while asking questions of the mind and body, making her work feel both cerebral and physical. Choi's poems have appeared in Poetry Magazine, American Poetry Review, and the New England Review, among others, and her essays have been published in The Georgia Review, The Rumpus, and the PEN Poetry Series. Choi is currently a Leavitt Artist-in-Residence at Williams College, a member of the Dark Noise Collective, and the cohost of the Poetry Foundation's podcast, VS, alongside fellow poet Danez Smith. She has two projects forthcoming on Ecco Books. Twitter · Website
Anis Mojgani
Poet and Author
Anis Mojgani is the author of five books of poetry, is a two time National Poetry Slam Champion, and winner of the International World Cup Poetry Slam. His work has appeared on HBO, NPR, and in such journals as Bat City Review, Rattle, Buzzfeed Reader, Thrush, and Forklift Ohio. He has been commissioned to create work for the Getty Museum, TWLOHA, and the Portland Timbers. Originally from New Orleans, Anis currently lives in Portland, OR, where he serves on the Board of Directors for Literary Arts. Twitter · Website
Derrick C. Brown
Novelist, Comedian, Poet
Derrick C. Brown is a novelist, comedian, poet, and storyteller. A former paratrooper for the 82nd Airborne, he is now the owner and president of Write Bloody Publishing, which Forbes and Filter Magazine have called one of the best independent poetry presses in the country. In 2013, his book Strange Light was named “Texas Book of The Year for Poetry”, and his other books of poetry include Hello. It Doesn't Matter. (2018) and How the Body Works the Dark: New and Revised Poems (2020). The New York Times calls his work “…a rekindling of faith in the weird, hilarious, shocking, beautiful power of words.” He lives in Portland, Oregon. Twitter · Website
