New England Review

New episode of NER Out Loud!

Poetry and conversation: Helene Achanzar

“There is more than enough wonder and curiosity and rage and humor and despair to make for good poems, the question is really how to translate those experiences so that the mundane becomes remarkable.” —Helene Achanzar

Created, edited, and hosted by Tejas Srinivasan ’23, NER Out Loud episode 19 presents Helene Achanzar reading her poem “Chicago” (NER 42.4), followed by a conversation about poetic structure, the realities of labor, modern paintings, her beloved home city, and more.

Helene Achanzar is the winner of NER‘s 2022 Emerging Writers’ Award. A Filipina-Canadian poet and educator, she is an associate editor for Poetry Northwest and is currently working as The Director of Programs at the Chicago Poetry Center. Her poems “Chicago” and “Etymology” were published in NER 42.4. 

You can stream the NER Out Loud podcast from our website or Soundcloud. Or download from iTunes and subscribe!

Tejas Srinivasan is NER‘s spring 2022 podcast producer. He is a sophomore English major at Middlebury College, focusing on postmodern fiction and literary theory. Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, he is also an opinions editor at the Middlebury Campus and a classical pianist, studying and performing repertoire from the 1600s to present day.

Cuban fiction in translation

New podcast features translator Jennifer Shyue

In the new episode of the NER Out Loud podcast, Jennifer Shyue talks about how she fell in love with translation and details some of the pleasures and perils of this exacting and creative work.

Created, edited, and hosted by Madison Middleton ‘22.5, NER Out Loud episode 18 presents Anna Lidia Vega Serova‘s “Portrait of My Mother-in-Law with Subsequent Touch-Ups” read by Middlebury College theater major Lu Mila, and Jorge Enrique Lage‘s “Selections from Vultureffect” read by Michelle Marquez, a literature and creative writing.

Both of these selections were originally published in the “Cuban Literature Today” feature in NER 42.1, and both were translated by Jennifer Shyue. Listen in as Jennifer discusses her process, from choosing what to translate to reading aloud for sound and rhythm. “A lot of the problem solving is similar between writing and translation,” she says, but to her, “Translation was always the most fun part of writing without the more stressful parts.”

You can stream the NER Out Loud podcast from our website or Soundcloud. Or download from iTunes and subscribe!

Madison Middleton ‘22.5 is a theater and music joint major with foci in acting, playwriting, vocal performance, and composition. Madison is a member of the Middlebury College Choir and an Oratory Now coach. For Episode 14 of NER Out Loud, posted in spring 2021, they read from McKenna Marsden’s short story “Suffering in Motion” and interviewed the author.

Two New Episodes of NER Out Loud

Michael McGriff and Jesse Lee Kercheval

Listen to two new episodes of NER Out Loud, hosted and produced by our summer interns Yardena Carmi ’23 and Rebecca Amen ’22.

Episode 16: Michael McGriff reads an excerpt from his poem “Questions for the Interrogation,” followed by an interview with Yardena Carmi. Their conversation explores the poem’s tribute to rural Oregon and Pablo Neruda, the limitations of memory and language, and Michael’s work as a translator of Tomas Tranströmer.

“From Questions for the Interrogation” was originally published in NER 42.1 (spring 2021).

Episode 17: Jesse Lee Kercheval reads her essay “Crash,” followed by a conversation with Rebecca Amen. The short essay interrogates the author’s memory of a shocking car accident that took place more than 50 years ago. In the interview, Kercheval further explores the nature of memory, essay writing in general, and her work as a translator of Uruguayan poetry.

“Crash” was originally published in NER 42.2 (summer 2021).

Visit NER’s podcast page here. You can also subscribe on Apple Podcasts or listen on Soundcloud.

New Episode of NER Out Loud

McKenna Marsden and Madison Middleton

  • Author McKenna Marsden
    McKenna Marsden

Since live audiences were limited this fall, when our annual NER Out Loud Live program was scheduled, this year we took the staged readings to the podcast format!

Listen here, as Middlebury student actor Madison Middleton reads from the short story “Suffering in Motion” by McKenna Marsden.

The reading is followed by a conversation between Madison and McKenna, who talk about the story from both the reader’s and the writer’s points of view, touching on the power of running and what it means to be nonbinary.

“Suffering in Motion” was originally published in NER 40.4. Episode hosted by Carolyn Kuebler, Editor of NER.

Click here to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or listen on Soundcloud.

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