From the freedom of her parents’ house and her grandmother’s flourishing garden, to the streets of Zhifu, China, and the saving grace of a modest calligraphy school, small Daiyu is taken to America, first to a California brothel and then to a small market in Idaho.

‘Black Cake’ is the story of a mother, a woman, whose traumas and histories she hid from her children—children who, after her death, are forced to confront their mother’s past, as well as their own identities in light of such shocking revelations.

This week on ‘The Write Question,’ Lauren speaks with Bill Vaughn, author of ‘The Last Heir: The Triumphs and Tragedies of Two Montana Families’ (Bison Books), the story of the Burke and Herrin families, brought together by marriage.

In this encore broadcast, Lauren chats with Colorado-based poet and scholar Khadijah Queen, author of ‘Anodyne’ (Tin House Books). Their conversation covers a lot: imagining change, our dying planet, “confessional” poetry, the ethics of care—plus much, much more!

This week on ‘The Write Question,’ Lauren speaks with poet and novelist John Elizabeth Stintzi, JES, about ‘My Volcano’ (Two Dollar Radio; Arsenal Pulp Press), a meticulously-crafted tapestry of a novel—one in which a volcano emerges from the Central Park Reservoir in New York.

This week on ‘The Write Question,’ Lauren chats with Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe, author of ‘Red Paint: The Ancestral Autobiography of a Coast Salish Punk’ (Counterpoint Press). ‘Red Paint’ is part memoir and part family history—full of personal stories from the author’s childhood and her not-so-distant past, as well as the story of the Coast Salish people, a beautifully woven story of the women who came before her, of their strength and spirituality.

In this encore broadcast of a March 2021 conversation, host Lauren Korn and poet-essayist Paisley Rekdal, author of ‘Appropriate: A Provocation,’ dive into the nuances of cultural appropriation in literature. What is the difference between depicting a character unlike one’s self and appropriating their culture and identity? What is the difference between one’s politics and one’s ethics?

This week during ‘The Write Question,’ Lauren chats with Greg M. Peters, author of ‘Our National Forests: Stories from America’s Most Important Public Lands’ (Timber Press).

This week during ‘The Write Question,’ Lauren chats with devotional poet Jos Charles, author of ‘a Year & other poems,’ her third full-length collection. These poems endure, as the poet has endured, loss and devastation—California wildfires, housing insecurity, the death of loved ones.

This week, Lauren speaks with Taiwanese poet Jennifer Huang about their debut collection, ‘Return Flight.’