
A new episode of the New Books in Poetry podcast is up. I had an amazing conversation with Mary Soon Lee about her fantasy epic, The Sign of the Dragon (Jaberwocky, 2020).
First place winner of the 2021 Elgin Award, The Sign of the Dragon is an epic fantasy about a young king who must defend his kingdom against a number of outside forces, both human and terrifyingly otherworldly. Lee draws from Chinese culture to create a legendary figure in King Xau, one of honor, nobility, and subtle magic. With light, clean, and lyrical language, these poems shape an epic story of heroism and humanity.
You can listen to the interview here or on the podcast app of your choice.

I’m proud that the book represents a couple weird, fringe spaces. It’s speculative poetry, some poems extremely so, like the one about eels going into space, or giant crayfish kaiju battles, but a lot are less narrative and more subtle. And I think most speculative poets can think of one time or another that their work was pushed out one place or other simply for not being “literary” enough.