Poet To Poet/Writer To Writer: Nov 22, 2020

Sunday, November 22, 2020

Nov. 22, 2020 Doug Holder interviews poet Durane West

I am going to be interviewing poet Durane West this afternoon at 3PM.

He writes:

I write spoken word poetry that paints the perspective of an innercity black boy from Boston, MA. Raised in the city, he went to Boston Public Schools through high school. Winner of the Max Warburg Courage Essay Contest in 2001, Durane has been a frequent member of open mic scenes since 2017. He has performed at local spots like Haley House, Lizard Lounge, and Cantab Lounge among others. He is currently working toward creating his first chapbook. A former tour guide at Fenway Park, Durane works for an education non-profit that supports BPS students."

Previous Guests

Stephen O'Connor, Tom Laughlin, Lynne Viti, Dale T. Philips, Aine Griffin, Lindy Conroe, Ellen Meister, Carolynn Kingyens, Seth Michael Stewart,Sally Cragin,Rianon Prushinski, David Daniel, Christine Tierney, Gary Margolis, Alan Kaufman, Marcus Breen,Mary Birnbaum, Koby Hirschaut, Christina Liu ,Elena Dodd, Debbie Wiess,Eileen Cleary, Jake Tringali, Brad Rose,Lloyd Schwartz, Rob Dinsmoore,Olivia Huang,Karen, Klein, Victor Wallis,Judah Leblang,Grey Held, Shelby Allen, Phil Temples, Ravi Teja Yelamanchili, Brian Coleman, Dan Lynn Watt, Stephanie Schorow,Daniel Kimmel, Belle Brett, Richard Oxenberg, David P. Miller, George Ellenbogen, Josh Lewin, Alan Bingham, Susan Edwards Richmond, Jennifer C. Martelli, Robin Stratton, John Canady, Kirk Etherton,Beth Castrodale, John Cuetara, Gary Rainford, Michael Casey, Michael McInnis, Allen West, John Harrison, Kim Nagy,Kate Hanson Foster, Paul Marion,Anna M. Warrock ,Wendy Drexler, Ben Berman, Sara Siegel, SharonAmuguni, Richard Waring, David Blair, Michael Anthony, U-Meleni Mhlaba-Adebo,Josh Cook, Diane Smith, Khem Aryal, Francis Blessington, Joyce Peseroff, Joelle Renstrom, Lori Desrosier, Sharon Shaloo, Carla Schwartz, Sergio Inestrosa, Jennifer Barber, Paige Roberts, Alexis Ivy ,Richard Fox, Laurin Macios, Laurette Folk, Mary Buchinger, Christopher Reilley, Michael Gerhard Martin, George MacDonald, Kevin Carey,Buell Hollister,Sebastian Lockwood, Adam M. Graaf, Alyssa Mazzarella, Wendell Smith, Michael C. Keith, Margot Livesey ,Christopher Busa, Pui Ying Wong, Elizabeth Gordon McKim, David DiSarro, X. J. Kennedy, Dorothy Kennedy,Israel Horovitz, Joanne DeSimone Reynolds, Kathleen Aguero, Zachary Bos,Janice Rebibo, Bonnie ZoBell, Cynthia Brackett-Vincent, Anthony Sammarco, Michael Todd Steffen, Daniel Tobin, Alan Feldman, Alice Plouchard Stelzer, Emily Pineau, Andrew Sofer, Dan Gewertz, Randy Ross, Katrin Schumann, Kate Chadbourne,Ralph Pennel, Elizabeth Graver, Sheree Pollock, RN, Denise Provost, J.D. Scrimgeour,Tim Suermondt, Sassan Tabatabai, Meikle Paschal, Ira Wood, Donna Johnson, Perry Glasser, Jack Scully, Judith Katz Levine, Rene Schwiesow, Dennis Daly, Manson Solomon, Jim Vrabel, Elizabeth Searle, Rachel Popek, Becca Chambers, Jean Monahan, Ruth O'Callaghan, Sue Guiney, Debra Spark, Jessica Treadway, Joe Torra, Rosie Rosenzweig,Bernard Horn,Jody Azzouni,James Caroline, Dewitt Henry, Alan Ball, Margaret Young, Patrick Sylvain, Steven Luria Albon, Jennifer Jean, Michelle Hoover, Tanya Larkin, Sadaf Qureshi, Brittani Sonnenberg, Mitch Evich, Adam Patcher, Shin Yu Pai, Afaa Michael Weaver, Neil McCabe, Deborah Priestly, Lynne Sticklor, Sally GiaCosanzio, Marc Goldfinger, Jim Behrl, Linda Lerner, Hallie Ephron, Donald Davidoff, Jennifer Matthews, Robert K. Johnson, Harris Gardner, Lainie Senechal, Louise Reynolds, Marc Widershien, Anika Nailah, Chad Parenteau, CD Collins, Gary Duehr, Maria McCarthy, Dick Lourie, Mark Pawlak, Sherri C. Vanden Akker, Steven Cramer, Lo Galluccio, Rose Gardina, Louise Solano, Richard Freeman, Shirley Gerald Ware, Joanna Nealon, Nancy Mehegan, Sophia Lintz, James Van Looy, Ellen Steinbaum, Lee Kidd, Jessa Pia, Sarah Hannah, Rebecca Kaiser Gibson, Nick Mamatas, Jane Katims, Abbott Ikeler, Rusty Barnes, Sidewalk Sam, Jacques Fluery, Luke Salisbury, Michael Mack, Bob Clawson, Carl Von Essen, Dan Sklar, Tino Villanueva, Molly Lynn Watt, Diana Saenz, Alfred Nicol, John Hodgen, Manisha Roy, Martha Collins, Marguerite Bouvard, Barbara Helfgott Hyett, Sam Cornish, Jason Tandon, Lawrenece Kessenich, Gary Metras, John Amen, Mario Barros, Gerald Richman, Elizabeth Quinlan, Tom Daley, Dale Patterson, Hugh Fox, Marian K. Shapiro, Miriam Levine, Richard Hoffman, Ed Meek, Anne Tom, Lisa Beatman, Richard Wilhelm, Errol Uys, Philip Burnham, Jr., Steve Glines, Tim Devin, Timothy Gager, Nate Graziano, Bert Stern, Tam Lin Neville, Richard Wollman, Richard Moore, Patrick Smith, Susan Eisenberg, Cheryl Perrault, Gloria Mindock, Danielle Legros Georges, Irene Koronas, Chiemi, Patricia Brodie, Jean Trounstein, Tomas O'Leary, Peddlar Bridges, Dave McNamara, Ed Carvalho, David Surette, Jose Gouveia, Elizabeth Kirschner, Rebecca Schumejda, Richard Cambrige, Michael Brown, Ifeanyi Menkiti, Naomi F. Chase, Susie Davidson, Jim Kates, Aldo Tambellini, Lois Ames, Manson Kennedy, Samuel J. Scott, Doug Worth, Charles Coe, June Gross, Viesa Novosielski , Mothra, Ryk McIntyre, Jeffrey Thomson, An Solovaska,Wendy Mnookin, Tim Horvath, Paul DeFazio, Elizabeth Swados, Zvi Sesling, DA Boucher, Fred Marchant, Djelloul Marbrook, Susan Tepper, Barbara Trachetenburg, Valerie Lawson, Lise Haines, Len Solo, Kim Triedman, Kevin Gallagher, Sonia Meyer, Celia Gilbert, Li Min Mo, Ruth Lepson , Phil Hasouris, Melissa Guilliet, Kathleen Spivack, Jade Sylvan, Jared Smith, Marilyn Jurich, Jean Dany Joachim, Steve Luttrell, Charlotte Gordon, Joan Leegant, Cam Terwillger, Chava Hudson, Nancy Rubin Stuart, Mignon Ariel King, Walter E. Butts, Mike Ansara, January O'Neil, Ruth Kramer Baden, Linda Larson, Rose Gardina

What guests and viewers have said....

" For Doug, Poet, memoirist, editor, teacher, mentor, inspiration--hub of our literary hub...with thanks..." ( John Canaday--Walt Whitman Award winner/ --author of "Critical Assembly: Poems of the Manhattan Project)

" I have viewed several Doug Holder interviews over the years. His work does a lot to underscore the importance of what his interviewees have written as well as the significance of poetry as a genre. Holder inspires."--Gary Heath (retired professor of Sociology from Ashford University-- Iowa)

" A writer and a champion of writers" (Paul Marion-- Loom Press)

"Thanks for all you do for poetry." (Ben Berman-- Poetry Edior-Solstice magazine)

"Good-morning Doug! Hope you are well! I am inspired by your commitment & dedication to amplifying poetry : Thank you. Being on your show Poet To Poet was one of the highlights of my artist Journey and I so grateful for the opportunity! " -- U-Meleni Mhlaba-Adebo

"Thanks, Doug, for the great interview--it was a pleasure." (Joyce Peseroff--former director of the U/Mass/Boston MFA program, and author of "Know Thy Self")

"You are a poetry hero! Thanks for all you do." ( Lori Desrosiers/ "Sometimes I Hear the Clock Speak"/Publisher Naugatuck River Review

"Thank you so much for the 30 minutes of fame! I'm so happy on how the interview went. I hope you are too. I just watched it last night-- good stuff. And truly thank you so much for all you've done for me. You are great to know and make me feel known. Thank you." (Alexis Ivy-"Romance with Small Time Crooks")

"Doug Holder's mastery of the art of the interview, is in keeping with the history of NYQs great craft interviews." (Daniel Y. Harris, Former President, NYQ Board)

Ellaraine Lockie ( Assoc. Editor Mobius Magazine)--"Hi Doug—I just watched your interview of Afaa Michael Weaver and found it very insightful—learned quite a lot of history I hadn't known. What we learned in school books were just dates with brief, impersonal facts. It’s media like your interviews that really bring it home. Thanks. "

Christopher Busa ( Publisher-Provincetown Arts Magazine)

" I've had a number of nice notices about the deft way you made an article out of our interview."

Sebastian Lockwood ( Storyteller and Translator)

" Doug Holder is an excellent host, and the staff friendly and inviting."

Margot Livesey ( Writer in Residence --Emerson College)

"Thank you for your terrific questions and generous reading of The Flight of Gemma Hardy. I am in your debt. "

Richard Hoffman ( Senior Writer in Residence--Emerson College)

" Been following your interviews, and I especially liked the one you did with X. J. Kennedy."

Kathleen Spivack (Permanent Visiting Professor of Creative Writing/American Literature at the University of Paris, Sorbonne):

" Congratulations to Doug for your perfect questions, intelligence and tact and the way of getting the best from all of us."

Janice Rebibo (President of Israel award winner-2007) --

"Many thanks to Doug Holder for the honor, pleasure and fun of Poet to Poet/Writer to Writer today. I appreciate this opportunity to revisit my poetry and benefit from Doug's cordiality and discernment."

Sharon Byran( NEF Fellowship in Poetry/Professor Lesley University)

"You do a very good show, and your devotion to poetry is really impressive."

Kate Chadbourne- Lecturer -(Celtic Literature and Language-Harvard University)

"I am truly honored to be a guest of Doug Holder on his program, Poet to Poet/Writer to Writer. I have long admired Doug for his honest, insightful poetry and his way of seeing the raw beauty in the city life around him. He is the founder of the Ibbetson Street Press and Journal, a prolific writer of poetry and prose, and a truly wonderful activist on behalf of poetry!

"Elizabeth Graver ( Author of The End of the Point--Professor of English--Boston College)

"Thanks for the thoughtful interview questions, Doug Holder at Poet to Poet. I so enjoyed our chat!

Jared Smith ( Advisory Board--New York Quarterly)

" You are a remarkable interviewer"

Miriam Levine ( Autumn House Prize for Poetry-2007)

"Thanks for all you do for the literary cause."

John Skoyles ( Editor-Ploughshares Magazine)

"I visited your site and enjoyed your interviews--watched the one with Swados and Pawlak...All the best to you and your work."

Steve Cramer ( Director of Creative Writing Low Residency Program--Lesley University)

"... a master interviewer."

Richard Cambridge (Curator of the Poet's Theatre-Club Passim-Cambridge, Mass.)

"Ginsberg considered the interview an art form in the truest sense, bringing out the best of the artist, spontaneously responding to the questions being asked by the interviewer. Since that's what you do, I thought you might be interested!"

Marguerite Bouvard ( Resident Scholar-Brandeis Univ.):

"You do great work in the service of poets."

Louisa Solano: ( Former owner of the Grolier Poetry Book Shop)

"...congratulations for all you do for the poetry community."

Lois Ames ( Bio note for the "Bell Jar" and biographer for Slyvia Plath and Anne Sexton):

"You are very good. You must know that and your work should be applauded."

Elizabeth Kirschner ( "My Life As A Doll"--Autumn House Press. )

"Doug you are so very skilled, artfully, and compassionately. Deep, deep thanks for last week's interview."

Paul Stone ( Author of " Or So It Seems" Creative Director W.B. Mason)

"... thank you for giving me the opportunity to be interviewed...and for doing such a good job of it."

Lawrence Kessenich ( Former editor at Houghton Mifflin/Boston and author of "Strange News") :

" I love...your dedication to keeping poetry alive ... thanks for your support!"

Tim Horvath ( Author of "Circulation" Yaddo Fellowship):

" I just wanted to thank you for your thoughtful, intelligent questions and the opportunity to talk about " Circulation " on air.

"Elizabeth Swados ( Tony-Nominated Playwright and Poet)

"Thanks for a great TV experience."

Fred Marchant ( Director of Poetry Center--Suffolk University, Boston, Mass., author of "The Looking House")

"To Doug--who provides a looking house for us all."

Rebecca Kaiser Gibson ( Lecturer in Poetry-Tufts University)

"You are doing an amazing job for all of New England. "

Djellou Marbrook ("Far From Algiers" Kent State University Press)

" For Doug Holder, a salute to his memorable generosity to poets."

Susan Tepper: ("Deer and Other Stories" Wilderness House Press):

"Doug, just wanted to thank you again for doing the interview, which I really enjoyed. You have a very nice interview style, so relaxed it felt like a chat."

Li Min Mo: (" Spirit Bridges"):

"You are doing a great job in creating a community for us, writers! It's a blessing!"

Charlotte Gordon ( "The Woman Who Named God," Professor of English/ Endicott College)

"Thanks for taking the time to interview me. You are an excellent interviewer."

Nancy Stuart Rubin ( Author of "The Muse of the Revolution." and Director of the Cape Cod Writers Center")

"To Doug: Whose genius includes bringing together today's muses of all literary genres."

Walter Butts--(Poet Laureate of New Hampshire)

"I appreciate your support and advocacy for poets and poetry."

DeWitt Henry--(Founding Editor of Ploughshares)--" You are a great interviewer."

Elizabeth Searle-- ( Former PEN/ New England: Executive Officer)--

" I love the way you describe Jessica ( Treadway) as getting into the 'marrow' of her characters-- so true! Glad to be in good writerly company."

Rhina Espilliat ( Winner of the T.S. Eliot Award) -- commenting on Holder's interview with X. J Kennedy and Dorothy Kennedy:
"Great interview, Doug! There’s nobody else quite like this particular couple!"

DeWitt Henry-- ( Founder of Ploughshares Magazine) commenting on Holder's interview with X. J. Kennedy :"Great interview, Doug. Wish you'd asked XJ about King Kong!"

Daniel Y. Harris-- ( President of the board of the New York Quarterly) "....wonderful interview program."

Gary Metras--( Founder of the Adastra Press) " You do so well with this,Doug, and this offers so much to the writers and especially the community. It was an honor to be part of it. Thank you."

Karen Klein ( text move collaborative) "Thanks Doug, for doing so much for the poetry community and more thanks for inviting me to be with you on Poet to Poet. I enjoyed the interview so much."

"From the Paris of New England: Interviews with Poets and Writers" by Doug Holder

( Click on to order book) Many of the interviews in this new collection took place on: "Poet to Poet Writer to Writer" "At a time when many newspapers--if not going out of business altogether,have cut arts coverage, it's reassuring to see that poet Doug Holder works as the arts editor for The Somerville News....Readers will likely find something of interest among the varied genres and experiences represented here, especially because Holder knows how to ask the important questions"-- Jeanne Lesinski ( NEW PAGES.COM) "Loved the interviews in your new book--very interesting to read all these different artists pov's about the craft, life, etc... I thought it was lovely to include Sarah Hannah, she had a rich, beautiful unique poet's voice. It's truly heartbreaking it ended that way." Susan Tepper--author of "Deer and other Stories" "Engrossing Read."--Chiron Review

(Click on label)

Interviewer vs. Interviewer

Sunday, November 22, 2020

Nov. 22, 2020 Doug Holder interviews poet Durane West

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