85: How to Put Together a Poetry Collection – A Conversation with Derrick Austin

Derrick Austin is a poet and ekphrastic writer with two poetry collections published and a third in progress, all with BOA Editions. He holds an MFA from the University of Michigan and has been a Cave Canem fellow, an Amy Lowell Poetry Traveling Scholar, a winner of the Isabella Gardner Poetry Award, and a winner of the A. Poulin Jr. Poetry Prize, among others. In this episode, we discuss his journey from writing poetry to trying his hand at ekphrastic nonfiction, the challenges involved in putting together a poetry collection, the importance of having a good relationship with your publisher, and how to publish a debut.