Authors Unbound

In this episode, Patrick and Peter sit down with poet George Witte for a discussion on poetry, the creative process, and the value of practice. As the author of numerous collections including The Scarlet Ibis and Saint Valentine, Witte shares insights via his personal journey as a writer and explains the everyday moments that motivate his work.

He also provides a captivating and thought-provoking look into his process as we discuss his forthcoming collection, An Abundance of Caution to be published by Unbound Edition Press in the spring of 2023.

This is George Witte, Unbound.

Best-selling fiction author Aimee Parkison sits down with Patrick and Peter to talk about everything from process to the future of fiction writing. Her dark and gritty narratives, blending the most tragic moments of life with brash humor and wild imagination, leaves readers squirming for more in her best-selling fiction work, Suburban Death Project published with Unbound Edition Press in 2022.

Along with being an award-winning author whose accolades include numerous fellowships, the Catherine Doctorow Innovative Fiction Prize, the Kurt Vonnegut Fiction Prize, and more Aimee is also a full professor of Creative Writing for Oklahoma State University’s BA, MFA, and PhD programs.

If her long list of forthcoming work is any bit as impactful as her past work, we are in for a dark and humorous treat.

This is Aimee Parkison, unbound.

Great things get done when a series of small things come together. Leah Souffrant – with her ability to transcend genres and span art forms – has done something great. A teacher, poet, author, artist, philosopher, and critic, Leah looks within her varied experiences in an effort to guide readers toward realizing their own way of knowing and thinking. 

Her forthcoming book, Entanglements: threads woven from history, memory, and the body, is set to be released in the spring of 2023 by Unbound

Souffrant is a National Poetry Series finalist, a Nina Fortin Dissertation Proposal Award winner, a Catwalks Institute Artist-in-Residence, and a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellow in Poetry. 

This is Leah Souffrant, unbound.

Jesse Nathan has carved his name into the poetry landscape through a seemingly effortless sense of modern movement inspired by poetry from centuries past. 

His work is highly informed and poignant yet presents a sort of warmth that is human and accessible. Jesse’s poems have earned notable attention, appearing in publications like the Paris Review, Yale Review, American Poetry Review, Jubilant, the Nation, FENCE, and many more. 

He is also the recipient of fellowships from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Stanford University, UC Berkley, the Community of Writers, the Kansas State Arts Commission, and the Ashbery Home School. His debut collection of poetry, Eggtooth, is set for publication in the fall of 2023 from Unbound Edition Press. We talk with Jesse about his writerly process, and the ways in which he paints a scene with physicality and relatability. 

In this same context, we also dive into his conception of the “you” within his work with his reading of “Straw Refrain” serving as a perfect example. We take a deep dive into his personal background and identity, exploring how spirituality, farming, and queerness shape his writing. 

Listeners can also see Jesse’s work at McSweeney’s, where he masterfully conducts and writes a series of interviews called “Short Conversations with Poets.” This is Jesse Nathan, unbound.

A dedicated, engaged, and engaging student of the cultural experience surrounding gender and identity, Sophia Anfinn Tonnessen channels her personal journey through transition in poetic works that challenge traditional notions of self-discovery and syntax, alike. She is a truly original poet with the ability to translate misunderstood or unacknowledged areas of life and society that many find difficult to grasp. She makes complex subjects accessible in unexpected ways, using humor to balance the brutality that can come with defining oneself against expected norms. 

Ecologia, her debut poetry collection (Unbound Edition Press, 2021), put the poetry world on notice – earning a coveted Kirkus Reviews star and a spot on their list of 100 best independent books. Our very own Peter Campion writes of Ecologia: “With passion and precision, ardor and humor, Whitmanian exuberance and Dickinsonian canniness, Sophia Anfinn Tonnessen’s Ecologia springs up from the ‘wounded place’ that is also ‘holy ground’.” Her poem “Layaway” was the second-place finalist for the Sappho Prize in 2021. 

This is Sophia Anfinn Tonnessen, unbound.

Author and renowned poet, Atsuro Riley is known for a unique and compressed style that blends complex linguistic structure with striking, refined brevity. We sat down with Atsuro to discover how his upbringing in South Carolina’s lowcountry contributed to southern stylings and diverse cultural awareness. His upbringing and path seem anything but ordinary, and his work speaks to the way in which he challenged traditional training methods, building processes and techniques that provide an unmatched richness to his poetry.

From world-building to constructing his own lexical roadmap, Atsuro has manifested a lifetime of work into two incredible pieces. We dive head-first into his most recent work, Heard-Hoard (University of Chicago Press 2021), winner of the Alice Fay di Castagnola Award from the Poetry Society of America, to realize portions of his aforementioned process and the rationale behind this work. A reading of Creekthroat and Origin are the reward.

While Heard-Hoard continues to take the literary world by storm, his first book, released in 2010, Romey’s Order, garnered the recipit of countless accolades including the Whiting Writers’ Award, the Library of Congress’ Witter Bynner Award, the Kate Tufts Discovery Award, and The Believer Poetry Award. Atsuro Riley is no stranger to achievement.

One thing is clear. Decades of dedication to one’s work brings decades of longevity and truly exceptional form of poetry that will undoubtedly stand the test of time.

This is Atsuro Riley, unbound.

A podcast connecting passionate writers with passionate readers.