BOA Blog

We are thrilled to announce that renowned poet Richard Blanco will judge the 19th A. Poulin, Jr. Poetry Prize, which opens to submissions today! Richard Blanco is the fifth presidential inaugural poet in U.S. history—the youngest, first Latino, immigrant, and gay person to serve in such a role. Born in Madrid to Cuban exile parents and raised in Miami, the negotiation of cultural identity and place characterize his body of work. He is the author of the poetry collections Looking for the Gulf Motel, Directions to the Beach of the Dead, and City of a Hundred Fires; the poetry chapbooks...

We are pleased to announce that Matt Morton of Dallas, TX is the winner of the 18th annual A. Poulin, Jr. Poetry Prize. His winning manuscript, Improvisation without Accompaniment, was selected by esteemed poet Patricia Smith from an original pool of more than 740 submissions. Improvisation without Accompaniment will be published by BOA Editions in April 2020 as part of the A. Poulin, Jr. New Poets of America Series with a foreword by Patricia Smith. Morton will also receive a $1,000 honorarium. In addition to the winning manuscript, judge Patricia Smith also selected a finalist and two semi-finalists for the prize:...

Library Journal recently published a refreshingly candid Q&A with BOA poet Devin Becker, author of the A. Poulin, Jr. Poetry Prize-winning collection Shame | Shame. The piece touches on a bit of everything, from inspiration to the MFA experience, to the nitty-gritty details of publishing a book. When asked what inspired his debut collection, which humorously focuses on the everyday sort of shame born of small, socially clumsy moments in life, Becker says, "A lot of the things are mundane. Me and my coworkers sitting outside of a building having coffee, or my wife and I at a smoothie joint in a nearby...