the thinnest line between writing and humanity (feat Isaac Pickell)

The moment I sit down to write this description, my phone buzzes with some headline about more and more people going no-contact with their parents. Is the personal political? Is it possible to write a de-politicized family poem? Isaac Pickell—who seems to get along just fine with his parents—joins us to talk about writing audience-thinning family poems, diversity and beauty, and of course, LeBron James. Isaac Pickell is a Black and Jewish poet, PhD candidate, and adjunct instructor working in Detroit, Michigan. A Cave Canem Fellow, he is the author of The Smallest Mistake We Call Human (Black Lawrence Press, 2026), It’s not over once you figure it out (Black Ocean, 2023), and chapbooks from Black Lawrence Press and Dead Mall Press. Isaac's second collection, The Smallest Mistake We Call Human, comes out August 16, 2026, from Black Lawrence Press. Pre-order at https://blacklawrencepress.com/books/the-smallest-mistake-we-call-human/ Isaac's first collection, It's Not Over Once You Figure It Out, is available from Black Ocean Press https://www.blackocean.org/catalog1/its-not-over Find more Isaac at https://www.isaacpickell.com/