Interviews with Robert Anthony Siegel and Raza Ali Hasan on Setting
Robert Anthony Siegel is a writer and writing coach. He is the author of a memoir, Criminals, and two novels, All Will Be Revealed, and All the Money in the World. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian Magazine, The Paris Review, The Drift, The Oxford American, and...
Featured Writer: Margaret Kimball
On Thursday, September 21, at 7:30pm, Margaret Kimball, a visual artist and writer, will present on “Word and Image” as part of the Prout Reading Series at Bowling Green State University. Kimball holds two MFAs, in visual communication and creative writing, both from the University of Arizona. Her first book, published in 2021, is a...
Why We Chose It: “Some Kinds of Drifter” by Justin Thurman
Mid-American Review fiction staff selected “Some Kinds of Drifter” by Justin Thurman for publication in Volume XLII. Thurman’s piece was selected for its overall strength but particularly for its nontraditional use of form and genre. The piece takes the form of an ethnography, detailing the different spiritual and cultural norms common amongst different groups of...
On Renia White’s Casual Conversation
Casual Conversation by Renia White. Rochester, NY: BOA Editions, Ltd. 2022. 80 pages. $17.00. Paperback. Although I usually don’t have much patience for poetic metaphysics, the abstraction common in Casual Conversation didn’t keep me from effortlessly gliding from poem to poem. I can recall very few collections I’ve enjoyed that passed through the same zip code as...
Featured Writer: Sherrie Flick
On Thursday, August 31st, at 7:30 PM, Sherrie Flick will be reading some of her work for the 2023 Prout Chapel Reading Series at Bowling Green State University. We are incredibly excited to be welcoming writer Sherrie Flick to campus. To say she’s covered a lot of ground in the writing world would be an understatement....
An Interview with Gabrielle Bates
Gabrielle Bates is the author of the poetry collection Judas Goat (Tin House, 2023), a New York Times ‘The Shortlist’ pick and a Chicago Review of Books ‘must-read’ book of 2023. Originally from Birmingham, Alabama, Bates currently lives in Seattle, where she works for Open Books: A Poem Emporium, co-hosts the podcast The Poet Salon, and teaches occasionally through the University of Washington...
On Dustin Pearson’s A Season in Hell with Rimbaud
A Season in Hell with Rimbaud by Dustin Pearson. Rochester, NY. BOA Editions, Ltd. 2022. 96 pages. $17.00. Paperback. Dustin Pearson’s collection A Season in Hell with Rimbaud finds itself in conversation with Rimbaud and influenced by Dante as the speaker goes on a Dantean journey through Hell in search of his brother. Despite the influence of tradition...
An Interview with Nebraska State Poet Matt Mason
Matt Mason has run poetry workshops in Botswana, Romania, Nepal, and Belarus for the U.S. State Department and his poetry has appeared in The New York Times. Matt is the Nebraska State Poet and has received a Pushcart Prize as well as fellowships from the Academy of American Poets and the Nebraska Arts Council. His work...
An Interview with Marisa (Mac) Crane
If you’re looking for a beautifully queer abolitionist novel that isn’t afraid of asking hard questions, Marisa (Mac) Crane’s debut I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself is for you. In the world of this novel people who commit acts considered punishable by the government are assigned an extra shadow by The Department of Balance and...
What We’re Reading, with Assistant Editor Mays Kuhail
I’ve been enjoying reading more poetry over the summer, and I’ve recently picked up If They Come for Us, a raw and poignant collection by Fatimah Asghar. I was instantly drawn to the rich themes of South-Asian culture, identity, and the undeniable link between past and present in the effects of political turmoil and violence. Asghar...
Pets with MAR: Chokko
Chokko (better known as “Sir Chonkus of the Chonkmeisters” or “Chonky”) Waterfield finds himself enjoying a recent issue of Mid-American Review. When he isn’t reading, he is a ruthless tug-of-war player and always down for a walk through the cemetery. (Photo courtesy of Lila Waterfield)