LSU Press Blog

Betty Adcock reviewed and interviewed

Betty Adcock's most recent collection of poetry, Slantwise, was recently reviewed by the online journal Cerise Press.  Ms. Adcock also gave a wonderful interview in which she discusses her craft.  You may read both by following the links below.

Wandering in Earth: Slantwise by Betty Adcock (Cerise Press)

Poetry is a Way of Seeing: A Conversation with Betty Adcock (Cerise Press)

The New York Times Reviews Time and the Tilting Earth

Veteran poet Miller Williams's latest collection, Time and the Tilting Earth, is  reviewed in the February 22 issue of The New York Times Book Review.

"In poem after poem, he mingles the low and the high in both form and content, bringing a sense of cleareyed practicality to life’s big questions and a keenly honed poetic technique to the cadences of Arkansas porch talk."

LSU Press Remembers Pinkie Gordon Lane

Dr. Pinkie Gordon Lane, LSU Press author and former Louisiana Poet Laureate, died on December 3rd at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center after a short illness.  She is the author of eight volumes of poetry, including Elegy for Etheridge: Poems and Girl at the Window: Poems.  Dr. Lane had a distinguished career as an educator, as well.  She was the first African-American to recieve a doctorate from LSU (1967) and taught English at Southern University for 27 years, serving 12 years as the department chair.

Our thoughts are with her family.  Read the obituary in The Advocate.

Galvin interviewed in latest issue of "Shenandoah"

LSU Press poet Brenden Galvin was recently interviewed by Thomas Reiter for Shenandoah: The Washington and Lee University Review. You may read this fascinating interview by visiting the Poetry Daily website or by visiting the Shenandoah site and downloading the PDF.  Mr. Galvin's latest collection, Whirl Is King: Poems from a Life List, was published by LSU Press this month.

Kirby wins 2008 SIBA Award for Poetry

The Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) has announced the winners of their annual book award.  LSU Press author, David Kirby, has won the SIBA Award in Poetry for his latest collection, The House on Boulevard St. 

“Kirby's narrative poems are so amazing and thought-provoking, funny in places you would never expect, and wise and humble. Like the very best in poetry, they need to be read out loud. You have the feeling you have set out on a journey with a fascinating companion, lost track of the way, and when you are sure you are lost you suddenly find yourself, if not exactly where you intended to be then in a new place even better than you expected to find.” ~Inkwood Books

Claudia Emerson discusses "Late Wife"

Divorce360.com, an Internet community which deals with the issues surrounding divorce, recently interviewed LSU Press author Claudia Emerson about her Pulitzer Prize winning book, Late Wife.  Click here to read the entire article.

The News & Observer spotlights Yellow Shoe Fiction

The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) recently ran a great feature on LSU Press and its Yellow Shoe Fiction series.  Click here to read the full article.

Why Poetry Matters

Just in time for April’s observance of National Poetry Month, LSU Press author Danny Heitman has published an op-ed in The Christian Science Monitor arguing for the continued importance of poetry. “While I’m not a poet myself, I’ve really deepened my appreciation for poetry over the years by reading the exceptional, Pulitzer Prize-winning line of poetry published by LSU Press, and that, in no small part, is why I try to promote poetry through national commentaries such as this one,” Heitman said of the op-ed. Readers can check out the piece here.

Although Heitman isn’t a poet, his new LSU Press title, A Summer of Birds: John James Audubon at Oakley House, has been hailed for its poetic sensibility. Nationally renowned historian Neil Baldwin praised the book as “satisfying and artful: local history as poetic metaphor.”

San Diego Union-Tribune Praises David Kirby's New Book

The San Diego Union-Tribune has a great review of David Kirby's The House on Boulevard St., proclaiming, "Kirby is exuberant, irrepressible, manical and remarkably entertaining. . . . If you want to see how lively and personable American poetry can be, read The House on Boulevard St."  You can read the entire article here.

Poet Dave Smith Honored

LSU Press poet Dave Smith will be the first Lamont Poet in the Lamont Poetry Program for 2007–2008 at Phillips Exeter Academy. Smith will give a reading at Exeter on Wednesday, October 24, 2007, at 7:30 p.m. The reading is free and open to the public. Smith is the author of numerous books of poetry, including, Little Boats, Unsalvaged, as well as works of criticism, fiction, and collections of short stories and essays, including his most recent book Hunting Men: Reflections on a Life in American Poetry. Smith is also the editor of the LSU Press Southern Messenger Poets series.