The Host Dispatch: A Literary Podcast

In Conversation with Poet Taisia Kitaiskaia

In this very special episode, we were honored to interview the charming and inimitable poet, Taisia Kitaiskaia.

Taisia Kitaiskaia is a Russian-American poet and writer, and a dear friend of the podcast. In this interview, we discuss her forthcoming book of poems THE NIGHTGOWN AND OTHER POEMS (Deep Vellum, 2020), among other things, including: toads, luxury quarantine snacks, munchkin icon Danny DeVito, and ham sandwiches.

Taisia is also the author of LITERARY WITCHES, a collaboration with artist Katy Horan celebrating magical women writers; a divination deck, THE LITERARY WITCHES ORACLE; and two books of experimental advice from a witch of Slavic folklore, ASK BABA YAGA: OTHERWORLDLY ADVICE FOR EVERYDAY TROUBLES and its forthcoming sequent, POETIC REMEDIES FOR TROUBLED TIMES FROM ASK BABA YAGA. Please check out all of her books and other projects, like her incredible illustrations, on her website.

Women in Translation Month Roundtable

In this episode, we're excited to share our Women in Translation roundtable discussion with the founder of Host Publications, Joe Bratcher!

Women in Translation Month was launched in 2014, a creation of literary blogger Meytal Radzinski as a response to her observation that only around 30% of books published in translation were by women. At Host Publications, we celebrate women in translation all year round, but August is a special time of year to elevate those writers and share some of our favorites with you!

The Host 88 titles we discussed in this episode are:

• Voices from the Bitter Core by URSULA KRECHEL translated by Amy Kepple Strawser
• Women and Clothes by BRIGITTE KRONAUER trans. By Jutta Ittner
• Reason Enough by Ida Vitale trans. By Sarah Pollack
• Ambers Aglow: An Anthology of Contemporary Polish Women’s Poetry trans. By Regina Grol

These titles can be found on our website, hostpublications.com

We also discussed:

• I Remember Nightfall by Marosa di Giorgio trans. by Jeannine Pitas
• The Collected Poems of Chika Sagawa trans. by Sawako Nakayasu

We recommend shopping these titles on Bookshop.org, where a portion of all sales goes to supporting small, locally owned bookstores across the nation.

In Conversation with Poet mónica teresa ortiz

In this episode, Host editors Annar and Claire welcome their first guest to the podcast: mónica teresa ortiz. mónica is the author of Muted Blood and was the first recipient of the Host Publications Chapbook Prize for her book autobiography of a semiromantic anarchist. Her work is revolutionary and heartfelt, and mónica is a generous and wise soul. We recommend checking out some of the books she mentions in this episode: 

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

The Marvelous Arithmetics of Distance by Audre Lorde

Open Veins of Latin America and We Say No by Eduardo Galeano

The works of Alma Guillermoprieto

Postcolonial Love Poem by Natalie Diaz

More Poetry for Quarantimes

Host editors Claire Bowman and Annar Veröld continue their discussion of poets whose work they've turned to during the pandemic while in quarantine. They discuss the work of poets Benjamin Fondane, and Haryette Mullen. 

Introducing: The Host 88 Collection

In this minisode, Claire and Annar discuss the history of Host Publications, and its origins as a publisher of literature in translation from around the world. This summer, Host is reintroducing their rich back catalogue as the newly dubbed "Host 88 Collection" with works from respected international authors such as Nicanor Parra, Pablo Neruda, Hai Zi, Astrid Cabral, Conceição Evaristo, and many more.   

Science Fiction for Dystopian Times

Host Editors Claire and Annar discuss current events, including the Black Lives Matter marches that have taken place across the nation against the backdrop of a global pandemic. They take a look at our current moment through the lens of science fiction, focusing on two sci-fi writers who are women of color. The books discussed in this episode are The Memory Police by Yoko Ozawa, Bloodchild by Octavia Butler, and her Xenogenesis trilogy.

Poetry for Quarantimes

Host editors Claire Bowman and Annar Veröld discuss their experience of quarantine, and share some poetry they've turned to during the pandemic, including poems by Mary Ruefle and Dulce María Loynaz.