Blackbird publishes new issues twice a year. The notion of “issue” is both a nod to the print journal and a way for us to call attention to the new work of a limited number of writers. However, publishing online allows us keep all issues available for reading, listening, and viewing. On this page, we wish to point you toward some of the content you may have missed but which still lives in our Archives.
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Norman Dubie Blackbird began publishing Norman Dubie’s book-length futurist poem, The Spirit Tablets at Goa Lake, with “Book of the Jewel Worm” in v1n2. The other two sections, “Book of the Jaspers” and “The Book of Crying Kanglings,” appeared in v2n1 and v2n2 respectively. Additional work followed: five poems in v7n1, seven poems in v10n1, four poems in v11n2, three poems in v12n2, and one poem each in v13n2, v14n2, and v15n1. |
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Tomas Tranströmer Blackbird published Nobel Prize–winning author Tomas Tranströmer’s poetry, newly translated by Patty Crane, along with the original Swedish excerpts from Tranströmer’s 1996 book Sorgegondolen (Sorrow Gondola) in v10n1. In the same issue, Jean Valentine offered a letter to the Nobel laureate. In v12n2, David Wojahn provided a compelling meditation on literary friendship and correspondence in “Unlikely Magic, on Airmail: The Letters of Robert Bly and Tomas Tranströmer.” |
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Claudia Emerson Emerson was interviewed for v1n2. Four of her poems were published in v2n1, and an essay-review of her Pulitzer prize–winning book Late Wife appeared in v5n1. Five poems were published in v7n1, and a reading in v8n1. “Secure the Shadow,” from which her 2012 collection takes its name, was published in v9n1. Four poems were included in v12n1, and three in v13n2. Since her death in 2014, she is remembered annually in the Claudia Emerson Reading Loop. |
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Victoria Chang Three of Chang’s poems appear in this issue. First featured in v3n2 with her poems “Dragon Boat Festival” and “Jiang Qing,” her work and critical reviews have appeared in Blackbird many times. They include recorded readings in v4n1, three poems and a review of her Crabtree Award–winning book Circle in v4n2, two poems in v6n2, five poems in v8n1, a review of her book Salvinia Molesta in v8n2, three poems in v10n1, and four poems in v12n1. |
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Wesley Gibson Gibson is remembered in this issue with of a portion of his memoir, You Are Here: A Memoir of Arrival. A review of You Are Here and a reading by Gibson of an excerpt from the book was published in v3n1. His interview with Richard McCann was included in v3n2, and his notes on artist Richard Carlyon were included in v4n2. In v10n2, Blackbird featured Gibson’s short story, “The Raccoon.” He was also the author of the novels Personal Saviors and Shelter. |
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Cynthia Hogue Two of Hogue’s poems, “Crocus” and “Regarding Others’ Pain,” appear in this issue. Blackbird published three of her poems in v10n1. Hogue is the author of nine poetry collections and four books of criticism and translation. She served as the director of the creative writing program and as the Maxine and Jonathan Marshall Chair in Modern and Contemporary Poetry at Arizona State University. |
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Adam Latham Blackbird published Adam Latham’s short story “The Lizard Man” in v15n2 and subsequently selected the story as the 2017 recipient of the Rebecca Mitchell Tarumoto Short Fiction Prize for outstanding short fiction. Latham is the Associate Director of Marketing and Admission for the Sewanee Writers’ Conference. His story “Night Vision” was published as a fiction finalist in the 2016 summer issue of Mississippi Review. |
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Bernard Martin Martin’s series of paintings, Perhaps He Should Have Stayed in the City, shown in Richmond’s ADA Gallery Sept. 1–Oct. 1, 2017 are documented in this issue with commentary by Howard Risatti. Documentation of Martin’s series of twenty-four paintings, Stagecoach: The Paintings (rendering one full second of John Ford’s 1939 film Stagecoach), appeared in v13n1 along with a commentary by Howard Risatti and an artist’s statement. |
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Catherine MacDonald An essay about Claudia Emerson and five of MacDonald’s poems appear in this issue and are featured in the Claudia Emerson Reading Loop. Four of MacDonald’s poems were published in v8n1. A review of her chapbook How to Leave Home appeared in v9n1 and review of her book Rousing the Machinery in v12n1. A poetry reading by MacDonald is featured in v12n2. Her reviews of books of poetry have appeared in v6n2, v7n1, and v8n1. |
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Dan O’Brien Three of O’Brien’s poems and the play Kandahar to Canada are included in this issue. The play Key West was published in v2n2, followed by The Dear Boy in v6n1 and act 1 of The House in Hydesville in v12n2. Visitations, a chamber opera diptych written collaboratively by Dan O’Brien and composer Jonathan Berger appeared in v13n2 with commentary, performance stills, and performance videos. O’Brien received a John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship in 2015. |
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Dave Smith The audio and transcript of a 2017 AWP panel, “A Tribute to Dave Smith,” appears in this issue. Smith’s essay “Larry Levis: Johnny Dominguez, A Letter” was featured in the second Levis Remembered Reading Loop in v2n2. The text and audio of three of his poems appeared in v3n2 as part of Pivot Points, the documentation of an art exhibition featuring the work of poets, visual artists, and their students. Six of Smith’s poems appeared in v10n1. |
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LeRoy Henderson Blackbird featured a transcribed talk with photographer LeRoy Henderson, as well as a Virginia Museum of Fine Arts video highlighting his work, in v16n2. The talk includes eighty-nine photographs spanning from the civil rights movement to anti-Trump rallies. Henderson details his Richmond childhood and education, his work as an art educator, and his career as a photographer. His work has been acquired by the VMFA’s permanent collection. |
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