BOA Blog

The poems in Sky Country have resonated with readers of all backgrounds. Drawing on both the real and imagined experiences of her own family, Christine Kitano fills a gap in America's history by giving a voice to immigrant women whose stories have been forgotten by time.

Poets & Writers recently featured Marsha de la O in its "Writers Recommend" section, an online exclusive on all things inspiring to writers in their creative process. Here's what de la O, author of the new Isabella Gardner Poetry Award-winning Antidote for Night, had to say: “Begin with bleakness. Bring yourself to the bare room. Voices will assail you, reminding you how many times you’ve been hit on the head, hard, reminding you of the bad genes, the narrow valley in Bohemia where your ancestors left their lives as factory hands, as milk maids, with their natural and legitimate children in...

The Santa Barbara Independent recently published a compelling interview with David Starkey and Antidote for Night author Marsha de la O, exploring the new collection's noir tendencies, de la O's hypnotizing reading style, and her process of going from elementary school teacher to full-time poetry writer. "Antidote for Night is so rich with imagery and characters and incident. It’s a beautiful book, but it’s also very dark," says Starkey. De la O contrasts topics on themes of darkness and her seer-like reading voice with light, congenial, and insightful humor--even imagining her book being read by Philip Marlowe in a Raymond...