Authors Unbound

W. S. Di Piero is an acclaimed American poet, essayist, translator, and educator whose work is shaped by his upbringing in a working-class Italian-American neighborhood in South Philadelphia. He has published over ten poetry collections, five books of essays, and numerous translations, often drawing from both everyday speech and classical art to craft vivid, emotionally resonant work. Di Piero’s poetry reflects a raw, observational style, praised for its rhythm, intensity, and connection to place. Over his career, he's become the recipient of major honors including a Guggenheim Fellowship, a NEA grant, and the 2012 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize for lifetime achievement.

This week, we explored two of his newest works Burning Money and Inside the Box from Unbound Edition Press. Blending poetry, memory, and visual art, Di Piero reflects on family, faith, politics, and American culture through a deeply personal and formal lens. In this intimate conversation, he reads vivid and moving poems like "To a Friend Sick Again", "Edward Hopper (Yellow and Red)", and "Aubade" sharing stories behind their creation and his process of writing with “his whole body.” We discuss the influence of painters like Morandi and Hopper, the tension between politics and poetry, and how a poet’s eye learns to truly see—on the canvas and in the world.

Join us as we dive into Di Piero’s poetry and reflect on how his encounters with art, history, and belief influence and enrich his creative voice.

This is W. S. Di Piero Unbound.

Purchase your copy of Burning Money and Inside the Box on amazon or directly from https://www.unboundedition.com/product/burning-money-w-s-di-piero-poetry/ 

https://www.unboundedition.com/product/inside-the-box-w-s-di-piero-essays/

For more from Unbound Edition Press, visit us at https://www.unboundedition.com/ 

Christian Gullette is a poet and editor whose work bridges the personal with the visual, blending themes of love, loss, and natural beauty through a lens shaped by both memory and place. His latest collection, Coachella Elegy, emerges from a period of deep introspection, shaped in part by the isolation and reflection of the pandemic years. What began as Beehive State eventually evolved into a more expansive meditation on grief, desire, and the stark beauty of California’s desert landscapes.

In this episode, Christian shares poems from the collection and speaks candidly about the evolution of the manuscript, the quiet rituals of his writing process, and the creative energy he draws from Palm Springs and the broader California landscape. Christian explores the crucial role of literary friendships in sustaining a writing practice, and the influence of visual artists like David Hockney on his approach to image and mood.

Join us for a thoughtful conversation on poetry, place, and the quiet forces that shape a body of work.

This is Christian Gullette Unbound.

Purchase your copy of Coachella Elegy directly from https://www.christiangullette.com/coachella-elegy

For more from Unbound Edition Press, visit us at https://www.unboundedition.com/

Taylor Portela is a queer, nonbinary poet and performer based in Portland, Oregon. A graduate of the University of Michigan (B.A.) and Virginia Tech (M.F.A. in Creative Writing), Taylor has performed under the name Lavender Scare and has had work featured in The Adroit Journal, Fence, WUSSY Mag, and more.

This week, we discuss their newest work, Tranny Muse, a hybrid poetry and prose collection forthcoming from Unbound Edition Press in June 2025. Blending drag, Mormonism, queer identity, and performance, Taylor explores themes of gender, sacredness, rebellion, and personal transformation. Through intimate conversation and live readings of poems like Prodigal and Mother, Taylor shares the inspiration behind the book’s bold title, the aesthetics of queer failure, and the deep emotional terrain of reclaiming identity.

Join us as we explore their collection of poetry and explore how their experiences with drag, queerness, and faith shape and deepen their creative work.

This is Taylor Portela Unbound.

Purchase your copy of Tranny Muse on amazon or directly from https://www.unboundedition.com/product/tranny-muse-taylor-portela-cross-genre/ 

For more from Unbound Edition Press, visit us at https://www.unboundedition.com/ 

Armen Davoudian is an Iranian-born poet who grew up in Isfahan and currently resides in California. He is the translator of Hopscotch by Fatemeh Shams, a collection of poems by the contemporary Persian dissident poet, published in English and German. Davoudian holds an MFA from Johns Hopkins University and is a PhD candidate in English at Stanford University, where his research focuses on metanoia in Renaissance poetry. His poems and translations appear in Poetry, The Yale Review, The Hopkins Review, and other literary journals. His chapbook, Swan Song, won the Frost Place Competition.

This week we discuss the debut of his newest poetry collection, The Palace of Forty Pillars, that was long-listed for the National Book Critics Circle Award and named a “Best Book of Spring” by the San Francisco Chronicle. Davoudian reads and reflects on several of his poems, including “27 Marjan Street,” “Travel Ban,” and the first sonnet from the book’s titular sequence. The conversation also explores how personal and cultural distances can enrich poetic insight, how form can be both a constraint and a generative force, and what Davoudian is currently working on. 

Join us as we have a heartfelt conversation that revolves around his collection of poetry and explore how his experiences of migration, queerness, and cultural duality shape and deepen his creative work.

This is Armen Davoudian Unbound.

Purchase your copy of The Palace of Forty Pillars on amazon or directly from https://tinhouse.com/book/palace-of-forty-pillars/ 

For more from Unbound Edition Press, visit us at https://www.unboundedition.com/ 

Charles is a poet, retired litigator, and visual artist. During a long mid-life illness, he started writing poems and painting — a creative turn that stuck. His poetry has since appeared in a wide range of magazines and journals, including Garrison Keillor’s Writer’s Almanac, and his artwork has been exhibited in many shows. His first poetry collection, Blue for Oceans, won the 2011 PEN New England Award for best book of poetry by a New England author.

This week however, we are going to be discussing his newest collection of poetry, Again. In his work he charts a profound journey through love, loss and the complicated grace of survival. These stories traverse his life, from his childhood’s glorious moments, to the raw territories of grief, that spread into how family shapes and also haunt us.These poems range from California beach towns to the New England woodlands, but despite the distance, remind us that even our deepest wounds can reveal moments of startling beauty. 

Join us as we have a heartfelt conversation that revolves around his collection of poetry Again and explore what his experiences and the connections between his past and present play in his creative work.

This is Charles Douthat Unbound.

Purchase your copy of Again on amazon or directly from Unbound Edition Press at https://www.unboundedition.com/product/again-charles-douthat-poetry/ 

For more from Unbound Edition Press, visit us at https://www.unboundedition.com/

Angie Estes is an American based poet, and professor at Ashland University. Her previous work consists of six poetry collections, most of which were nominated and or won prestigious awards; Awards such as a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Pushcart Prize, and the Cecil Hemley Memorial Award from the Poetry Society of America just to name a few.

Angie captivates us with her unique perspective on poetry and the inspiration behind her latest collection, Last Day on Earth in the Eternal City. In this collection, she explores themes such as memory, intimacy, and the timelessness of her work. This week our hosts probe into her creative journey as she challenges us to question the boundaries between past, present, and future, and how they shape our experiences.

Join us as our hosts examine her new collection of poetry, Last Day on Earth in the Eternal City, and explore the role that memory plays in not only her perspective on poetry, but also how it impacts our understanding of the world around us. 

This is Angie Estes Unbound.

Purchase your copy of Last Day on Earth in the Eternal City on amazon or directly from Unbound Edition Press at https://www.unboundedition.com/product/last-day-on-earth-in-the-eternal-city-angie-estes-poetry/ 

For more from Unbound Edition Press, visit us at https://www.unboundedition.com/ 

Austin Segrest is a Wisconsin based author and teaches at Lawrence University. His poetry has appeared in VQR, The Common, The Yale Review, and countless other journals. He has received fellowships from the Ucross Foundation, the Fine Arts Work Center, the NEH and the Sewanee Writers’ Conference. Along with this, his first book, Door to Remain, won the Vassar Miller Poetry Prize. However this week he is going to be talking about his newest collection Groom.

His work reveals the complex layers of relationships and personal history that is formative to the author's creative process. In this week's episode we’re going to be exploring these raw emotions and moral complexities that forge his work, so don’t miss this opportunity to get this first hand account of the essence of his contemporary work.

Join us as our hosts explore his new book Groom, and examine how formative relationships can shape and alter who we are, and utilize those experiences to create art that reveals that “someone has heard.”

This is Austin Segrest Unbound.

Purchase your copy of Groom on amazon or directly from Unbound Edition Press at https://www.unboundedition.com/product/groom-austin-segrest-poetry/ 

For more from Unbound Edition Press, visit us at https://www.unboundedition.com/ 

David Lauterstein is a key player in queer culture, who just released his first book Sodomy Gods (Unbound Edition Press, 2024). He also is known for his cutting-edge entrepreneurship by being the co-founder of the Nasty Pig brand. Through his brand he has been revered for his decades of advocacy for public health and his support for the homeless queer society. 

In this episode, David Lauterstein is going to be talking about his new book Sodomy Gods, a coming of age story of a young gay man in 1990s New York City. He dives into his complicated personal journey that led him to write his first book. From the impact of revisiting formative memories, to the importance of authenticity in his artwork, he shares his creative journey that led to this impactful story where the underground club scene, the HIV/AIDS crisis, and radical self-expression collided.

Join us as we explore David’s poetic influences and rebellious creativity that led to this one of a kind literary work.

This is David Lauterstein Unbound.

Purchase your copy of Sodomy Gods on Amazon or directly from Unbound Edition Press at https://www.unboundedition.com/product/sodomy-gods-david-lauterstein-literary-nonfiction/

For more from Unbound Edition Press, visit us at unboundedition.com.

Race Bannon has been an organizer, writer, educator, speaker and activist in the LGBT, leather/kink, polyamory and HIV/STI prevention realms since 1973. He has authored two books, been published extensively, spoken to hundreds of audiences, created the world’s largest kink-friendly psychotherapist and medical referral service, but specifically were going to be following his work on his work KINK IS, which was a collaboration with (amongst other authors) our other guest Beatrice Stonebanks, who has been a member of the San Francisco BDSM scene for 25 years and lives in a 24/7 alternative-power-exchange relationship as the Loving Dominant. Beatrice is a Feminine Dominant, a published author, an award-winning speaker, and a community outreach leader.

Together, Race and Beatrice unpack the stories in Kink Is, from teachers to astrophysicists, revealing the humanity and empowerment found in exploring identity through kink. They discuss the anthology’s mission to dismantle shame, build understanding, and celebrate the universality of non-traditional expressions of connection.

Join us as our hosts share their lives on the sexual frontier, and how it can surprisingly impact not only relationships, but also the individual and society as a whole.

This is Race Bannon and Beatrice Stonebanks Unbound.

Purchase your copy of KINK IS on amazon or directly from Unbound Edition Press at https://www.unboundedition.com/product/kink-is-divine-deviance-collective-anthology/ 

For more from Unbound Edition Press, visit us at https://www.unboundedition.com/ 

Rebecca Orchant is a food writer, restaurateur, and playwright whose memoir Simmering: A Kitchen Memoir (Unbound Edition Press, 2024) has already become a bestseller in Provincetown, MA. Her writing has appeared in Huffington Post, Saveur, and The Provincetown Independent. She is also the co-founder of Pop+Dutch, a beloved Provincetown sandwich shop, and co-creator of the pandemic-era newsletter Soup & Despair.

In this episode, Rebecca Orchant shares the stories behind Simmering: A Kitchen Memoir. This kitchen memoir blends humor, heartache, and the heat of the culinary world as it explores themes of love, loss, identity, and belonging. Rebecca discusses how her experiences—from growing up in New Mexico to becoming a central figure in Provincetown’s vibrant community—have shaped her writing, relationships, and her passion for food.

Join us as we explore her multifaceted journey, from essays on the intimacy of shared meals to reflections on grief and resilience, all simmered together in a book that defies genre and redefines what a memoir can be.

This is Rebecca Orchant Unbound.

Purchase your copy of Simmering: A Kitchen Memoir on Amazon or directly from Unbound Edition Press at https://www.unboundedition.com/product/simmering-rebecca-orchant-literary-nonfiction

For more from Unbound Edition Press, visit us at unboundedition.com.