ep. 65 - Jan Beatty

This episode of the Rattlecast is a pre-recorded broadcast of our conversation with Jan Beatty this June, which appeared in issue #69 of Rattle magazine. Jan Beatty’s sixth book, The Body Wars, will be published in fall 2020 by the University of Pittsburgh Press. She is the winner of the Red Hen Nonfiction Award for her memoir, American Bastard, forthcoming in 2021. Jackknife: New and Collected Poems (2018 Paterson Prize) was named by Sandra Cisneros on LitHub as her favorite book of 2019, and The Switching/Yard was listed by Library Journal as one of “30 New Books That Will Help You Rediscover Poetry.” The Huffington Post called her one of ten “advanced women poets for required reading.” Her poem “Shooter” was featured in a paper delivered in Paris by scholar Mary Kate Azcuy: “Jan Beatty’s ‘Shooter,’ A Controversy For Feminist & Gender Politics.” Beatty’s other books include Red Sugar, Boneshaker, and Mad River, winner of the Agnes Lynch Starrett Prize, all published by the University of Pittsburgh Press. She is winner of the Pablo Neruda Prize for Poetry, a Discovery/The Nation Prize finalist, recipient of a $10,000 Artist Grant from The Pittsburgh Foundation, and a $15,000 Creative Achievement Award in Literature from the Heinz Foundation. For many years, Beatty worked as a waitress, as an abortion counselor, and in maximum security prisons. She directs creative writing and the Madwomen in the Attic Workshops at Carlow University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and is Distinguished Writer in Residence in the MFA program. For more information, visit: www.janbeatty.com Because this is a pre-recorded broadcast, there is no open mic this week. Next Week's Prompt: Write a concrete poem (a poem that takes a particular shape on the page). The content of the poem should have a connection to the shape. The Rattlecast livestreams on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Periscope, then becomes an audio podcast.