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Today on VS, Brittany and Ajanaé commemorate their final VS episode by answering audience questions! Join them as they discuss their favorite VS moments, how their friendship has deepened over the course of the show, their role as curators and archivists, and looking toward the next adventure.  Writing Prompt: Write a poem setting intentions for the next season of your life. What will you pursue even with fear? How will you love yourself and your neighbor more deeply? What dreams will you court? Who will you study? What will you revere? What, from this season, will you carry with you?  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today on VS, Brittany and Ajanae record their penultimate episode with aja monet! Join them as they discuss the role of anger and passion as poets and people, identity as a type of performance, the significance of feeling the poem in the body, poetry as a spiritual practice, and navigating the language, ethics, and the care that we give to people vs. causes.  Until Next Time:Here is some media to accompany your experience of the episode and a writing prompt to tide you over until we meet again! Ntozake Shange - Ntozake Shange preserves Black history and culture through literature (1989 interview)Robin D. G. Kelley - “Freedom Dreams”: Historian Robin D. G. Kelley on 20th Anniversary of His Book & Movements MatteringBessie Smith - How Bessie Smith Influenced A Century Of Popular Music : NPRWriting PromptConsider a poem from a poet who came before you that made you feel less alone. Write an ode to the persistence of the shared emotion you both explore in your writing.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today on VS, Brittany and Ajanae are in conversation with Shaina Phenix. Listen in as they discuss the literary universes of Black femme characters, the process of unlearning for eldest daughters, waywardness, audacity, and the ways that we learn to name and rename ourselves.  Until Next Time:Here is some media to accompany your experience of the episode and a writing prompt to tide you over until we meet again! Lucille Clifton - Remembering Her Memories: Lucille Clifton’s Generations in Our Time - JSTOR DailyLil Kim - Lil' Kim's Iconic Interview on Her Illustrious Career, The Notorious B.I.G., Women in Hip-HopWanda Coleman - Wanda Coleman - Poetry.LA Interview SeriesWriting PromptChoose a character from your favorite literary universe and write a poem where you put yourself in conversation with that character.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today on VS, Brittany and Ajanae interview Khadijah Queen. Listen in as they discuss their love for their hometowns, approaching non-linear form across genres, navigating projects with long life spans, the importance of leaning into intuition and curiosity, and revisiting past projects and eras in our writing. Until Next Time:Here is some media to accompany your experience of the episode and a writing prompt to tide you over until we meet again! Fernando Pessoa - Fernando Pessoa & His HeteronymsLucille Clifton - Lucille Clifton talks of her books of poems, including “Good Times”Toni Morrison - Toni Morrison: The Life of a Literary Giant | The Dig at Howard UniversityWriting PromptRevisit some of your oldest poems. Write an ode to that era of your life—that version of yourself.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On today’s episode of VS, Brittany and Ajanae interview Rachel Eliza Griffiths; join them as they discuss forthcoming projects, their evolving concepts of home and privacy, approaching photography as a poet, writing for the ones that come after us, and the importance of curiosity. Until Next Time: John Coltrane - A Deep Dive into John Coltrane’s ‘A Love Supreme’ by His Biographer, Lewis Porter (Pt. 1) | WBGO JazzToni Morrison - Toni Morrison’s Recipe for Love, Life, and the Perfect Boiled EggJoan Mitchell - Four Decades of the Abstract Impressionist Joan Mitchell | Expert Voices | Sotheby’sJames Baldwin - James Baldwin at 100Writing PromptWrite a manifesto of commitments for the politics of loving and protecting yourself.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On today’s episode of VS, Brittany and Ajanae have the opportunity to talk with Cornelius Eady and Major Jackson live in Chicago! Join in as they discuss the capacity to feel, the legacy of themselves and others, the importance of community, the way that boundaries and ethics shift after writing for a long time, and what things still scare them about the page. Until Next Time: Here is some media to accompany your experience of the episode and a writing prompt to tide you over until we meet again! Cornelius EadyShreela Ray- A Manner of Attachment by Shreela Ray Nicanor Parra- Nicanor Parra | Nicanor Parra's 107th BirthdayFrank O’hara- Frank O'Hara reading and discussing his workMajor JacksonPhillip Levine- What Work IsSonia Sanchez- What does it mean to be human? | Sonia Sanchez | TEDxPhiladelphiaDerek Walcott- Derek Walcott discusses his painting and poetryWriting Prompt:No poems today. Create a map of the versions of yourselves that have existed during your tenure as a writer. How do their fears differ? Their joys? What excites or surprises them? What craft choices they lean toward?  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On today’s episode of VS, Brittany and Ajanae interviewed Jada Renée Allen. Listen in as they discuss their rabbit holes of research, “Drill” the manuscript and the music, the relationship between Black women and water, and the influences on our poetics.  Until Next Time: Here is some media to accompany your experience of the episode and a writing prompt to tide you over until we meet again! Alexus Rhone - Playwright Alexus Rhone on Taking God's Call and Taking Your MedsPatricia Smith - Dear Poet 2024: Patricia Smith Reads “When the Burning Begins”Rita Dove - Rita Dove for Fulbright World Poetry Day 2021Writing Prompt: Write an ode in gratitude for an artist or character who shifted the way you see yourself.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today Brittany and Ajanae have the pleasure of talking with Saúl Hernández. Listen in as they discuss writing about tense familial relationships with tenderness, the act of being made invisible, grief as transformation, childhood as a lens, and how to identify a monster (spoiler alert: it could be anyone!).  Until Next Time: Walter Mercado - Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado | Official Trailer | NetflixEthel Cain -  The Intricate Storytelling of Ethel Cain’s “Preacher’s Daughter” – The Junction Journal Toni Morrison - Toni Morrison | National Endowment for the Arts Writing Prompt: Write a poem that functions as a dream.

On today’s episode of VS, Ajanae and Brittany interview Barbara Fant. Join them as they discuss the relationship between family and authenticity, the importance of intergenerational connections among poets, writing as a tool for wellness, and joy as a part of chaos.  Until Next Time: Here is some media to accompany your experience of the episode and a writing prompt to tide you over until we meet again! Sunni Patterson - Sunni Patterson - Letter from the PorchMahalia Jackson - Mahalia Jackson: Gospel Takes Flight | National Museum of African American History and Culture Bone Thugs-n-Harmony - What Happened To '90s Hip Hop Group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony?Writing Prompt:Consider the last moment of chaos you found yourself in. Write an ode to a person or object that brought you joy in that moment. Consider the chaos to be the negative space around the joy, giving it shape.

On today’s episode of VS, Ajanae and Brittany interview W.J. Lofton. Join them as they discuss how they handle failure within their process, grief as a form of generosity, queer intimacy, spiritual expansion, and the process of unlearning harmful beliefs. Until Next Time: Here is some media to accompany your experience of the episode and a writing prompt to tide you over until we meet again! Danez Smith- 5 things I wish I'd known before I started writing {with Danez Smith}Kiese Laymon- Rice’s Kiese Laymon awarded ‘genius grant’ MacArthur FellowshipToni Morrison- From 2004: Toni Morrison on a writer's lifeImani Perry- Imani Perry: Letter from Home — THE BITTER SOUTHERNERWriting Prompt:Considering the relationship between the elegy and ode, write a poem that explores what grief has gifted you. 

On today’s episode of VS, Ajanae and Brittany interview Hanif Abdurraqib. Listen in as they discuss burned cd’s, the cost of being a collector, living archives, new projects, and obsession as an origin story.  Until Next Time: Here is some media to accompany your experience of the episode and a writing prompt to tide you over until we meet again! June Jordan - June Jordan at the NYS Writers Institute in 2000Gloria Naylor - GREAT BLACK BOOKS! Presents THE WOMEN OF BREWSTER PLACE by Gloria NaylorAracelis Girmay - “You Are Who I Love” Reading by Aracelis GirmayWriting Prompt:Consider a piece of ephemera or archival material in your family. Write a poem using the object and the year of its making as the title. Consider what the object represents now. 

On today’s episode of VS, Ajanae and Brittany interview m. mick powell about their forthcoming collection, Dead Girl Cameo (Penguin Random House). Join them as they discuss celebrity culture and conspiracy theories, obsession with the 90’s and 2000’s, Black queer feminist thought, and gathering artifacts across time periods.  Until Next Time: Here is some media to accompany your experience of the episode and a writing prompt to tide you over until we meet again! Saidiya Hartman - Saidiya Hartman, Literary Scholar and Cultural Historian | 2019 MacArthur FellowNtozake Shange - Ntozake Shange preserves Black history and culture through literature (1989 interview)Cheryl Dunye - The Watermelon Woman at 25: the Black lesbian classic that wears its brilliance lightly | BFIDr. Andrea Y. Adomako - Andrea Y. AdomakoWriting Prompt:Write an ode to a cultural icon or piece of memorabilia from your childhood. Make the title a line from a song that was important to you during this era.

On today’s episode of VS, Brittany and Ajanae have the opportunity to talk with Tiana Clark. Listen in as they discuss navigating burnout and perfectionism, advocacy within the medical system, neurodivergence, and permission as a part of the creative process.  Until Next Time: Here is some media to accompany your experience of the episode and a writing prompt to tide you over until we meet again! Terrance Hayes- What it Look Like | The Poetry FoundationSharon Olds- Sharon Olds talks about her workIssa Rae- AWKWARD Black Girl | “The Stop Sign” [S. 1, Ep. 1]Writing Prompt:Write an ekphrastic poem for a music video that you love. 

On today’s episode, Brittany and Ajanae talk with Deesha Philyaw and Kiese Laymon—phenomenal writers and co-hosts of the podcast, Reckon True Stories. During this conversation, they discuss the impact of great editors, the overlap between poetry and prose, rejection in the writers room, and the beauty of friendship.  Until Next Time: Catherine Coleman (Kiese’s Grandmother) - On Resilience, Tender Rituals, and Responsible Love: Talking with Kiese Laymon - The RumpusKendrick Lamar - The Literary Genius of Kendrick LamarNene leakes - 10 Quotes NeNe Leakes Gave To Pop Culture That Prove She's A Cultural IconTami Roman - Tami Roman's Funniest Moments | Basketball Wives LegendsDeesha’s Grandmother - Local Dispatch: My grandmother's life lesson on the dignity of work | Pittsburgh Post-GazetteKiese Laymon - Award Winning Author Kiese Laymon Discusses Heavy: An American Memoir and moreWriting Prompt:Write a prose poem and borrow your favorite craft element from another genre to focus on.

Today’s episode was recorded live at the Sims Library in Los Angeles, California during this year's AWP conference. Join Brittany and Ajanae as they sit down with E. Hughes and Luther Hughes (no relation) to discuss the role that intimacy plays in their writing, memory being true for the moment, the role of grief in the writing process, and moments of messiness in their collections.  Until Next Time: Here is some media to accompany your experience of the episode and a writing prompt to tide you over until we meet again! Toni Morrison: Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am - Exclusive Clip - Farah Griffin On SulaNatasha Trethewey- The Typology of Taint, in Thrall to a Word: A Conversation with Natasha Trethewey | World Literature TodayFrantz Fanon: Frantz Fanon, Black Skin, White Masks | What Language Reveals | Philosophy Core ConceptsLuther:Carl Phillips: Intimacy, Afloat in Space: A Conversation with Carl Phillips - The Adroit JournalCM Burroughs: Meat to Reckon With: A Conversation with CM BurroughsSza- Ctrl: sza - ctrl (full album)Taylor Johnson: An Interview and Poems from Taylor JohnsonWriting Prompt: Write an ode to your grief.