Author. Journalist. Poet.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR BANNO is an incredible debut collection. Already so excited to re-read it, and so grateful to brilliant Kiran Bath for answering all my questions! I can’t wait to read more from her.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR BANNO is available for purchase here!
Interested in being a future featured guest? Let me know!
I had such a restorative conversation with one of my favorite poets, Diannely Antigua, following the release of her sophomore collection, GOOD MONSTER!
I met Diannely Antigua at Open Mouth’s third annual poetry festival, for which she was a featured reader, and it was one of the most moving readings I’ve ever experienced. I talked about it and UGLY MUSIC, Diannely’s debut collection, last year during National Poetry Month.
Needless to say, I was eagerly anticipating GOOD MONSTER’s release— and it did not disappoint!
GOOD MONSTER is available for purchase here!
Interested in being a future featured guest? Let me know!
I can’t believe it’s already the end of the Season! I had so much fun talking to Chinese-Iranian poet and editor Saba Keramati about her stunning debut collection Self-Mythology, a finalist for the 2024 Miller Williams Poetry Prize from the University of Arkansas Press!
I’ve long been a fan of Saba’s work, and I already can’t wait to revisit this collection.
Some topics of discussion: an unexpectedly early release, a fixation on the self, a behind-the-scenes look into the poetry prize submission process, the significance of mirrors and memory, Anne Carson’s impact, and dealing with loneliness and fear as a writer.
Self-Mythology had a surprise early book release and is already available for purchase!
Interested in being a future featured guest? Let me know!
I met poet & software developer Olatunde Osinaike back in 2019 during Open Mouth Literary Center’s Third Annual Poetry Festival, and I’ve long admired his work!
I had so much fun speaking to him ahead of the release of his debut full-length collection, Tender Headed— a beautifully and deliberately crafted collection that I deeply enjoyed reading last month and that I’m already so excited to revisit! Camille Rankine, who selected it as a winner of the 2022 National Poetry Series, called it “a two-step on a tightwire,” and I agree. I’m ecstatic to feature Olatunde as my last guest this year on Tightwires, and I learned so much from our conversation!
Tender Headed comes out next Tuesday, December 5 from Akashic Books!
Preorder it now from any of these retailers: Akashic Books, Bookshop, Books-A-Million, Target, Barnes & Noble, Walmart.
Interested in being a future featured guest? Let me know!
I am now booking for 2024!
I had a great time talking to J. Bailey Hutchinson, the second of my three Season 4 guests, in a special Halloween episode of Tightwires!
Bailey is a fellow Open Mouth Literary Center and Arkansas MFA alum— she was a fourth year when I was a first year— and I’ve long admired her work. Including her 2022 Miller Williams Poetry Prize-Winning debut collection Gut, which we discussed at length during our conversation and for which she is currently touring.
Other topics of discussion: the post-grad school job hunt, navigating truth in writing, our endless admiration for poet & professor Geffrey Davis, how butchery is like poetry, and the best chicken wings in Fayetteville!
Interested in being a future featured guest? Let me know!
I am now booking for 2024!
This week on Tightwires, I’m so excited to feature a recent conversation with poet and Ph.D. Taylor Byas, who shared some incredibly valuable words on poetry and process.
I have long been a Taylor Byas fan and so enjoyed reading her debut full-length collection, I DONE CLICKED MY HEELS THREE TIMES, this summer. It’s the sort of book that rewards repeat reading, a poignant journey full of careful considerations that have come to feel like hallmarks of Taylor’s work. (A tiny example: The first line of the first poem is in conversation with the last line of the last poem.) I already can’t wait to revisit!
I DONE CLICKED MY HEELS THREE TIMES will be released on Tuesday, August 22 from Soft Skull Press. You can preorder it now from a preferred retailer on this page: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/731254/i-done-clicked-my-heels-three-times-by-taylor-byas/
And in the meantime, you can view our full conversation below!
I love poetry! I hate poetry sometimes too. I always hate cooking.
My first quarter on YouTube was wild! I’m so grateful for all your support and willingness to humor me, truly.
And I’m ecstatic to start my second quarter with another challenge, one that’s somehow become more challenging than last quarter’s challenge, when I wrote an entire 50,000 word collection in 10 days–
In honor of National Poetry Month, I’ve promised to share a poetry collection every weekday, as well as a writing prompt and recipe inspired by that collection.
Each week’s featured titles form a spine poem! The first week was incredibly fun. We looked at American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin by Terrance Hayes, Incendiary Art by Patricia Smith, A Fortune For Your Disaster by Hanif Abdurraqib, If They Come For Us by Fatimah Asghar, and Girls That Never Die by Safia Elhillo.
And we made imitation McDonald’s apple pies, elevated grilled cheese paninis (for my Ramadan birthday!), digital cheeseboards, aloo keema, and apple Nutella rolls. Some recipes were more successful than others.
Here’s the original announcement video for the challenge:
And here’s a link to the playlist, where you can find all the week one videos!
I’m so grateful to be writing among these words and poets, and I’m so excited to reveal my remaining features.
The fun continues next week! And the week after that, and the week after that.
Join me?
Hiba Tahir 