The Electro-Library Editors of the Electro-Library

On the day of the total eclipse, Ada Limón, 24th Poet Laureate of the United States, talks with Amra Brooks about her new work, the experiences that shape poetic practice, whether or not time exists, and the necessity of reimagining our relation to the Earth and one another.


Theme music by Tubifex, featuring Hitek Meshat. Additional music: Jupiter the Blue by Gillicuddy, licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.

Ring in the new year with Amra Brooks and Eileen Myles' intimate conversation about Myles' new edited volume, Pathetic Literature, art, music, dogs, finding the motivation to create in challenging times, and more! Recorded over Zoom, November 4, 2022.
Music: More Brain by Lobo Loco, Creative Commons Non-Commercial License.

A real Thanksgiving feast: Ross Gay talks with Amra Brooks about poetry, the meaning of gratitude in dark times, radical presence, mushrooms, and so much more! Recorded over Zoom, November 7, 2021.

We are joined by Ross Gay, poet, essayist, professor of poetry at Indiana University, and founding board member of the Bloomington Community Orchard. Gay is the author of the poetry collections Against Which; Bringing the Shovel Down; and Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude, winner of the 2015 National Book Critics Circle Award and the 2016 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award; and the essay collection, The Book of Delights. Gay is also the co-author, with Aimee Nezhukumatathil, of the chapbook Lace and Pyrite: Letters from Two Gardens, as well as co-author, with Rosechard Wehrenberg, of the chapbook, River. His most recent book, Be Holding (2021), is the recipient of the PEN America Jean Stein Book Award. Gay reads from his poems and essays. A question-and-answer and discussion session follows. Recorded live via Zoom on November 4, 2021.

Poet, author, and activist Layli Long Soldier joins Amra Brooks over Zoom to talk about writing during the pandemic, activism in the wake of the death of George Floyd, finding and nurturing creative inspiration, activist art, Lakota culture, and the complex, overlapping meanings of embodiment as women, mothers, and citizens. Originally recorded on October 30, 2020.

Poet, Essayist, and activist Layli Long Soldier reads from her latest poetry collection, Whereas, winner of the National Book Critics Circle award for poetry and the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award. A question-and-answer and discussion session follows. Recorded live via Zoom on October 29, 2020.