Welcome to the 14th issue of Podium

The Poetry Center congratulates our students, whose work we proudly feature here, on their achievement during the term, and thank our faculty and students for their generosity and dedication to one another’s work.

In addition to student work in poetry, fiction and memoir, Issue 14 reprints an interview with Jessica Cohen, translator of David Grossman’s work. It also features a story by Peter Chong, winner of the Poetry Center’s Schools Project Ernst Pawel Student Writing Award. Cover art is by Amaya García Velasco, a freelance journalist and researcher specializing in underground music scenes in Latin America. Her work has been published by MTV Iggy, Sounds and Colours and Puerto Rico Indie.

We also thank Betsy Bonner, former Poetry Center director and author Round Lake, forthcoming from Four Way Books, for serving as the judge of our annual Rachel Wetzsteon Prize.

Fiction

Janie — Janice Billingsley
From Jennifer Gilmore’s fiction workshop

Barbara Jane’s Coffee Klatch, September 21, 2014 — Robin Goldwasser
Adam Langer’s fiction workshop

The Throwing of Bones — Christina Martin
Lore Segal’s fiction workshop

Excerpt from Penumbra — Merlin Ural Rivera
Stephen Wright’s novel-writing workshop

Niagra Falls, 1958 — Cailin Barrett-Bressack
Stephen Wright’s novel-writing workshop 

Stained Glass — Suzanne Kazenoff Rosenzweig
Justin Torres’ workshop

Friendship — Will Nixon 
Sandra Newman’s fiction workshop

Miss Cast and the Headhamster — Lindsey Mountford
Rebecca Stead’s workshop

A Little Wooden Shack — Peter Chong
Winner of the 2015 Schools Project Ernst Pawel Student Writing Award.

Poetry

In the Mural — Amy Klein
Jean Valentine’s workshop
Runner up for the 2015 Rachel Wetzsteon Prize

Poem upon staying the night — Tom Capelonga
Lynn Melnick’s poetry workshop

The Natives Trees of Canada — Liora Mondlak
Emily Fragos’ poetry workshop 

Butterflies — Liora Mondlak
Kathleen Ossip’s poetry workshop

Your Other Self On Earth — Albert Pulido
Sophie Cabot Black’s poetry thesis

Rappahannock — Mary Branch Spalding
Mark Bibbin’s poetry workshop
Winner of the 2015 Rachel Wetzsteon Poetry Prize

Wetlands: Barataria Bay, Louisiana — Wendy Barnes
Sophie Cabot Black’s poetry thesis 

Descant, From The Latin: Song Apart — Barbara Jane Carey
Jeanne Marie Beaumont’s poetry workshop

Te lucis ante terminum — Daniel Ebalo
Grace Schulman’s poetry tutorial

Baby Girls All Over the Place — Gigi Edwards
Sally Van Doren’s poetry workshop

The Entitled — Victoria Kohn Michels
Molly Peacock’s poetry seminar

Mr Wilson Said — Albert Thomas
Sharon Dolin’s poetry workshop

Waterhugs — Gray Smith
David Yezzi’s poetry seminar

Memoir

Religious Instruction — Stuart Waldman
Joyce Johnson’s memoir workshop

Playwriting

Labors Pains — Jennifer Fox
Anne Washburn’s playwriting workshop

Interview

Jessica Cohen in conversation with Ricardo Maldonado