Our episode archive is available here, and episode clips can be viewed on the WRJ YouTube channel.
If you’re new to the WRJ podcast, here’s an overview of what we do!
Video of the podcast is available on our YouTube channel
In the November episode, editor and writing professor Wendy E. Wallace joins host Aaron Lelito to talk about Peatsmoke Journal.
We chat about the origin story of Peatsmoke, what sets it apart from other online lit mags, what they look for during the review process, along with some general submission advice. Wendy grew up in Buffalo, NY, so it was great to talk a bit about the WNY region — the friendly people, beautiful summers, and over-the-top Halloween decorations!
If you like good writing, visually appealing lit mags, and a wee dram of peaty Laphroaig, you’ll want to listen up.
See more about Wendy at her website.
Intro music for this recording is “y o y o” by Katie Dey, used with permission from the artist. See her albums at katiedey.bandcamp.com.
Episode #33
Wild Roof
Roundtable
with Dawn Leas
and John Tessitore
Video clips of our discussions are now available. Click here to see our YouTube channel!
In the March episode, authors Dawn Leas and John Tessitore join host Aaron Lelito to read some poems and talk about how they were made. If you like getting a behind-the-scenes view of the creative process, listen up!
We also chat about the question, “What keeps you going as a writer?” and how we choose to include personal life in our writing. Lastly, we offer a few practical writing suggestions (because, after all, we’re here to help!).
See more about Dawn at her website. John’s poetry collections are available here.
Intro music for this recording is “y o y o” by Katie Dey, used with permission from the artist. See her albums at katiedey.bandcamp.com.
Episode #32
Wild Roof
Roundtable
with Kelly Gray
Video clips of our discussions are now available. Click here to see our YouTube channel!
In the January episode, writer and previous WRJ contributor Kelly Gray joins host Aaron Lelito to chat about her new poetry chapbook called The Mating Calls of a Specter, out now from Tusculum Review.
Kelly writes about what she knows or is trying to know: parenting, systemic violence, dead things, monsters, prophetic animals, relationships to self and others, and rural life. In our conversation, we cover some of Kelly’s early writing experiences and how they impacted her, the writing process for her new chapbook, and the question of how to respond to creative blocks. Kelly finishes with a reading of her poem “Parade Day.”
See more about Kelly’s work at her website.
Intro music for this recording is “y o y o” by Katie Dey, used with permission from the artist. See her albums at katiedey.bandcamp.com.
Episode #31
Wild Roof
Roundtable
with Amber Herzog Lyman
Video clips of our discussions are now available. Click here to see our YouTube channel!
In the November episode, poet, film writer, and adventurer Amber Herzog Lyman joins hosts Aaron Lelito and Nicole Bethune Winters to chat about her creative process and her connection to nature, as well as her new poetry/music album called Listen Deep.
Amber also shares a poem from the album called “Our Mother.” If you like poetry, music, and cetaceans (a classic trio), I recommend that you listen in, listen up, and listen deep!
See more about Amber’s work at her website and on Instagram @wildwondernature.
Intro music for this recording is “y o y o” by Katie Dey, used with permission from the artist. See her albums at katiedey.bandcamp.com.
Episode #30
Wild Roof
Roundtable
with Marybeth Holleman
and Eric Williamson
Video clips of our discussions are now available. Click here to see our YouTube channel!
In the September episode, authors Marybeth Holleman and Eric Williamson join host Aaron Lelito to read some poems and talk about how they were made. If you like getting a behind the scenes view of the creative process, listen up!
We also chat about the “nuts-and-bolts” of putting together a poetry collection, as well as a pretty hefty reading recommendations list.
See more about Marybeth’s book Tender Gravity at her website. Eric’s chapbook This Is Our Secret is available to order here.
Intro music for this recording is “y o y o” by Katie Dey, used with permission from the artist. See her albums at katiedey.bandcamp.com.
Episode #29
Wild Roof
Roundtable
with Morgan Stephens
and Eben Bein
"Extra"
Video clips of our discussions are now available. Click here to see our YouTube channel!
In the August episode, WRJ contributors Morgan Stephens and Eben Bein join hosts Aaron Lelito and Chris Vogt for a writer-centric conversation.
Here, both guests offer a poem from their collections. Eben reads “What I Meant to Ask” (published in WRJ’s Issue 13), and Morgan reads “Better this way” (published in Issue 21).
We get some wonderful behind-the-scenes insights about these poems as well. It’s always fascinating to peel back the layers and see some of the experiences that inspired the poems we love. Eben and Morgan certainly don’t disappoint in that area!
See more about Morgan at her website. Eben’s chapbook is available to order here!
Intro music for this recording is “y o y o” by Katie Dey, used with permission from the artist. See her albums at katiedey.bandcamp.com.
Episode #28
Wild Roof
Roundtable
with Morgan Stephens
and Eben Bein
Video clips of our discussions are now available. Click here to see our YouTube channel!
In the July episode, WRJ contributors Morgan Stephens and Eben Bein join hosts Aaron Lelito and Chris Vogt for a writer-centric conversation.
We chat about the questions “How can you describe your creation process?” and “How do you gain useful insight into your writing?”
Both Morgan and Eben have chapbooks in various stages in the publication process, so they are able to offer some great experiential commentary. If you are thinking about putting together a chapbook or are already in progress with a collection of your writing, listen up! And if you’re not, you’re still welcome to come along for the ride.
See more about Morgan at her website. Eben’s chapbook is available to pre-order here!
Intro music for this recording is “y o y o” by Katie Dey, used with permission from the artist. See her albums at katiedey.bandcamp.com.
Episode #27
Wild Roof
Roundtable
with Anne Marie Wells
"Extra"
Video clips of our discussions are now available. Click here to see our YouTube channel!
In the May episode, author, teacher, and ecologist Anne Marie Wells joins hosts Aaron Lelito and Chris Vogt for the second part of our conversation.
We chat about the question “What is the role of ‘letting go’ in the creative process?” Also, Anne Marie shares a poem called “Grief is the Ghost,” which is from her new poetry collection Survived By. It is available now!
Intro music for this recording is “y o y o” by Katie Dey, used with permission from the artist. See her albums at katiedey.bandcamp.com.
Episode #26
Wild Roof
Roundtable
with Anne Marie Wells
Video clips of our discussions are now available. Click here to see our YouTube channel!
In the April (aka National Poetry Month) episode, author, teacher, and ecologist Anne Marie Wells joins hosts Aaron Lelito and Chris Vogt.
We chat about overcoming second-guessing yourself as a writer (as well as some other writer-centric pitfalls), and Anne Marie takes us behind the scenes of her poem “Prairie Fire,” which was published in the November 2021 issue of WRJ. Anne Marie also has a new poetry collection that is coming out on April 30th. It’s titled Survived By and is available for pre-order here.
We hope you enjoy our conversation as much as we did having it. Part two of our conversation will be coming out next month!
Intro music for this recording is “y o y o” by Katie Dey, used with permission from the artist. See her albums at katiedey.bandcamp.com.
Episode #25
Wild Roof
Contributor Reading
Video clips of the episodes are available on our YouTube channel!
For the March episode, we have another group of previous WRJ contributors to read some of their work.
Video of the reading is available here.
Enjoy!
J.D Goodman (0:41)
Kris Whorton (3:38)
Shannon Vare Christine (7:14)
Liam Day (9:42)
Emma McNamara (11:44)
Melody Wilson (16:29)
Veronica Barker-Barzel (19:44)
Victoria Dym (23:34)
David A. Goodrum (27:38)
Justine Payton (30:40)
John Tessitore (38:22)
Bracha K. Sharp (40:53)
This event was recorded on 2/1/23.
Intro music for this recording is “y o y o” by Katie Dey, used with permission from the artist. See her albums at katiedey.bandcamp.com.
Episode #24
Wild Roof
Contributor Reading
Video clips of the episodes are available on our YouTube channel!
For the February episode, we invited another group of previous contributors to read some of their work, and unsurprisingly, the writers included here present the kind of thoughtful, engaging, and heartfelt work that you’ve come to expect from Wild Roof Journal.
Video of the reading is available here.
Enjoy!
Sara Dovre Wudali (0:55)
Sarah Croscutt (4:40)
Cleo Griffith (8:54)
Ellen June Wright (10:27)
Bruce Parker (14:03)
Trapper Markelz (18:38)
Linda Briskin (21:28)
Ian Schoultz (26:42)
Beth Dulin (28:48)
Nicole Farmer (31:30)
Walter Weinschenk (35:57)
Samira Shakib-Bregeth (39:05)
Naomi Bess Leimsider (47:14)
Eben Bein (50:26)
Heidi Zeigler (52:54)
Lisa Delan (55:42)
Amy Marques (59:50)
Alex Stanley (1:05:54)
This event was recorded on 1/25/23.
Intro music for this recording is “y o y o” by Katie Dey, used with permission from the artist. See her albums at katiedey.bandcamp.com.
Episode #23
Wild Roof
Roundtable
"Extra"
Video clips of our discussions are now available. Click here to see our YouTube channel!
In the January episode, WRJ collaborators Ann Keeling and Rachel Lauren Myers join hosts Aaron Lelito and Chris Vogt for an informal chat. Here, we continue the conversation from last month’s episode and consider ways to approach deeply personal writing … and the uncertainty of publishing it for everyone to see (yikes)! We also troubleshoot Chris’ writing project about a night in a strip club attic as an example of arriving at the “moral of the story” while staying true to the details of a lived experience. Of course, we also give a shout out to a few excellent pieces from WRJ’s previous issue.
Our podcast is like the college lit class you wish you had. 🙂
Thanks for listening!
Intro music for this recording is “y o y o” by Katie Dey, used with permission from the artist. See her albums at katiedey.bandcamp.com.