Summer 2017 | Gregory Pardlo | Vol. 1, Iss. 1

Welcome to The Fight & The Fiddle, the online journal of the Furious Flower Poetry Center at James Madison University. This summer, we launch our new quarterly format: each issue gives you a 360-degree view of a Black poet, including an interview, new poems, a critical essay, and a writing prompt inspired by our featured poet. 

In this first issue of the new series, The Fight & The Fiddle presents Pulitzer Prize winner Gregory Pardlo, whose wit, lyric intensity, fierce intelligence and sense of play all come to bear in his two poetry collections, Digest (Four Way Books, 2014) and Totem (American Poetry Review, 2007). In addition to being an award-winning poet, he is an editor, essayist, translator, and educator. The Fight & The Fiddle offers an in-depth look at this multifaceted writer.

• The Interview: Gregory Pardlo talks with The Fight & The Fiddle editor Lauren K. Alleyne about what defines a poem, his search for the unexpected, circumventing denial, and more.
• Critical Essay: Dr. Lauri Ramey highlights polysemy (multiple meanings) as a particularly fascinating element of creative blends in this poet’s work.
• Poems: “Metaphor,” “Convertible,” and “Supernatural Bread” by Gregory Pardlo
• Writing Prompts: Practice Pardlo’s method of using non-poetic forms.

Cover collage and photos of Gregory Pardlo copyright 2017 by Jason Anderson. All rights reserved.