Lauren and Makenzie sat down with Dr. Leonardo Flores, chair of the English department at Appalachian State University and president of the Latin American Electronic Literature Network. Leo has published a plethora of research in the areas of electronic literature, focusing on e-poetry, digital writing, and the history and strategic growth of the field. He is a past contributor to The New River Journal, and has a piece forthcoming in our fiftieth issue, collaborating with Nigerian poet Abu Bakr Sadiq, author of Leaked Footages (University of Nebraska Press, 2024).

In this episode, host Kas Anderson is joined by Professor Andrew Demirjian, an interdisciplinary artist and educator at Hunter College in New York City who focuses on creating relationships between image, sound, and text that challenge contemporary media conventions. From interactive installations to audiovisual performances, Demirjian’s work has been exhibited at the Museum of the Moving Image, Eyebeam, Rush Arts, The White Box Gallery, the Newark Museum and many institutions internationally. The MacDowell Colony, Puffin Foundation, Artslink, Harvestworks and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts are among some of the organizations that have supported his work.

Also joining the conversation are Nina Bowers and Andrey Patino, contributors of the audio AR app archival project Radical Atmospheres, which was published this spring in the 50th issue of The New River Journal. Nina is currently a 2nd year graduate student in the Integrated Media Arts MFA at Hunter College. Andrey, a recent graduate of Hunter College, works as the Arts & Culture Coordinator at Centro, the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College.

Today's Episode was recorded in the Fall of 2025, when Lexi, Lauren, and Season One host, Piper Fitzgerald took a deep dive into the archives of The New River Journal in order to explore the shifting zeitgeist of e-literature and the challenge of digital decay.

Also, Lauren interviews Nurain Ọlàdéjí, first-year poet in the MFA program at Virginia Tech, and your hosts offer new installments of recurring segments Across Genres and Prompts from the Archives.

A new season of the New River Podcast means a new crop of Virginia Tech Creative Writing MFA students will take the helm, both as editors of The New River Journal and as hosts of the podcast. Season two also ushers in new evolutions for both journal and the podcast, as the former begins accepting traditionally formatted poetry and prose submissions, and the latter broadens its focus to include observations on navigating life in a graduate MFA program in Creative Writing. Join hosts Lauren Emo, Kas Armstrong, Mackenzie Anderson, and Lexi Kessens as they seek to demystify the writing life, MFA happenings, and the behind the scenes of editing a literary journal. The first episode includes a discussion about complicating the notions of genre and form, an interview with fellow MFA student William Shaw, a writing prompt drawn from the archives of The New River Journal, and more.

For the the latest issue of the New River Journal (Number 50), please visit: thenewriverjournal.org

Brit, Piper, and Amanda discuss their visit to the New River (the body of water, itself), which they undertook in an attempt to connect with the inspiration for the naming of the New River journal.

In this episode, our hosts get to know the editorial staff of the New River. Amanda speaks with student editors William Shaw and Grace Turner, while Piper sits down with Soham Patel, the faculty Editor-in-Chief of the New River.

The New Media Workshop is a course designed to teach graduate creative writers to work across genres and formats, particularly those that engage with technology. For one of our classes, Isabel Li, a past contributor to The New River visited the class via Zoom to talk about her process in creating electronic literature. In this episode, hosts Piper, Brit, and Amanda present and discuss a recording of the event.

Amanda and Piper, editors of the New River Journal and hosts of the New River Podcast, invite listers behind the scenes as the student editors finalize selections for inclusion in Issue 49, published during the spring of 2025.

Production Note: At the time of recording and for the publication of the issue discussed, The New River was operating under a policy requiring editors to reject traditional submissions of poetry or fiction that did not incorporate digital forms or interactivity. You will hear Piper refer to that policy, which has since been relaxed. These changes will be discussed during the episodes being recorded now for season 2, due out later in 2025 and in early 2026.

The podcast team introduces the journal, describes the editorial process, and engages with the question, "What is electronic literature?" Brit digs into the history of the journal in conversation with its founder, Ed Falco.

Welcome to the New River Podcast, a companion to The New River, a journal of electronic literature and digital art.