Slice and Dice

Literal Magic: An Interview with Poet Kaveh Akbar

by Christopher Locke

Poet Kaveh Akbar understands what’s at stake: as a recovering alcoholic/addict, he knows his current reality as one of today’s most exciting voices in contemporary American poetry could just as easily not have been. Life is about choices. Simple as that. And Kaveh decided, no, he knew, in order to start living he had to choose to abandon those things which subtracted from life. And he knew moving forward he could only live one way: honestly. This truth is evident in the astounding poems which make up his first chapbook, Portrait of the Alcoholic. Searing and painful, hypnotic and surreal, his poems also find room for the sensual and the abundant; Kaveh praises living both as a spiritual being and a physical one. But the wolf is always present, and he knows that too. I spoke to Kaveh by phone on a dreary day in February from my office in upstate New York. But Kaveh’s genuine kindness, his thoughtful intelligence, and his love of language and of living—really, of magic—made everything a bit brighter that day.

An Interview with Sung J. Woo & Dina Brodsky

An Interview With Manjula Martin

by Celia Johnson

When we talk to writers about their work, we tend to focus on craft. What inspired you to write your novel? Do you have any creative quirks? But rarely do we ask: How do you balance art and commerce? Did you struggle to pay the bills in those early days? Are you struggling now, after selling your first (second, third…) book? In her new anthology, Scratch, Manjula Martin invites emerging and established writers (Cheryl Strayed, Roxane Gay, Alexander Chee, Daniel José Older, among others) to strike up a conversation about making a living as a writer.

Authors in Conversation: Melissa Febos and Garth Greenwell

A Discussion with Melissa Febos and Garth Greenwell, by Brian Gresko

In addition to their writing and teaching, Melissa Febos and Garth Greenwell are each politically active. Here, we briefly discuss not just how their work reflects their politics, but given the timeframe—November 2016—how Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election affected them as artists and human beings. (This conversation will continue in Slice: Issue 20, available March 2017.)

An Interview with Deborah Shapiro, by Stephanie Feldman

Deborah Shapiro’s debut novel, The Sun in Your Eyes, tells the story of Lee and Viv, two best friends who reunite after years of silence. Lee is looking for a partner in her search for the final recordings of her father, dead rock icon Jesse Parrish. Viv is looking for an escape from her soap opera writing job and her domestic life. Together they travel through Jesse’s past, and their own, in search of a resolution to the bond they once shared.

Critics have lauded the book’s portrait of female friendship, and through that friendship, Shapiro explores art and celebrity, parents and romantic partners, and what happens when you’ve already come of age but find you still have more road to travel.

A Sneak Peek at the Slice Literary Writers’ Conference: An Interview with literary agent Monica Odom, by Jackie DiCaro

Every agent has their unique way of discovering great new voices. For Monica Odom of the Bradford Literary Agency, connecting with writers includes a blend of seeking out innovators, pushing them to create their best work, and helping them grow each step of the way. But the nuances of how she does this are what set her—and every agent—apart. We chatted with Monica about her favorite parts of agenting, from that first email to the day a book hits the shelves.

You can see Monica on our panel, Innovators In Speculative YA Fiction, at the Slice Literary Writers’ Conference, Sunday, September 11.