Line / Break is an interview series from Copper Canyon Press that goes off the page and into the homes and minds of our beloved poets. We love seeing poets on screen talking shop, answering questions, and taking us behind the scenes of how they do what they do. Our own version of a post game interview. So we’re giving them a call, and bringing those conversations to you. New episodes, hosted by Director of Publicity Laura Buccieri, go live each Friday in Spring 2021.
Episode 1: Pulitzer Prize winner Jericho Brown talks about saying “no,” and his intention to laugh every day—and sings some iconic Diana Ross.
Episode 2: Poet, playwright, and Pulitzer Prize-finalist Sarah Ruhl joins us to talk about the beauty of mentorship and how an idea finds its form as a poem or a play—and recites the very first poem she wrote (at age 6!).
Episode 3: Poet Alison C. Rollins Alison speaks about her dreams of being a marine biologist, how the body holds trauma, and the politics of libraries in 2021.
Episode 4: National Book Award-longlisted poet and fiction writer Victoria Chang joins host Laura Buccieri for a conversation about falling in love with language, the joys and dangers of being seen, and putting poetry front and center.
Episode 5: Tufts Poetry Award finalist Natalie Scenters-Zapico joins our host, Director of Publicity Laura Buccieri, for conversation about writing in Spanish and English, finding the playfulness in revision, and intergenerational wisdom.
Episode 6: Ellen Bass joins us to talk about poems housing themselves inside you for later, leaning into obsessions, and how living in Santa Cruz made space for her groundbreaking book The Courage to Heal.
Episode 7: Monica Sok joins us for a conversation about the politics of centering tenderness in poetry, discovering June Jordan, and bringing history into the present.
Episode 8: Kayleb joins us to talk about their journey from sports to poetry, an early love of the em dash, and the importance of trans representation.
Episode 9: Whiting Award-winner Tyree Daye joins us for a conversation about eavesdropping, coffee habits, and the enduring influence of Lauryn Hill.
Episode 10: Season one finale features poet, activist, and educator Rachel McKibbens, who joins us for conversation about her days in a punk rock band, poetry as truth-telling, and being supported by ancestors.