Readings
About Patrick Phillips
Patrick Phillips won the 2005 Kate Tufts Discovery Prize for his first book, Chattahoochee, and his second, Boy, was published by the University of Georgia Press in 2008. His poems have appeared in many magazines, including Poetry, Ploughshares, and The American Poetry Review, and his honors include fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the US Fulbright Commission, and the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. Phillips lives in Brooklyn and teaches writing and literature at Drew University.
Interview with Natasha Trethewey
In this interview, conducted during the 2009 Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) Conference in Chicago, Illinois, Patrick Phillips talks with Natasha Trethewey about his poetry. Subjects of conversation include Phillips’ use of autobiography and family history, investigation of the natural world, and the legacy of white supremacy in Forsyth County.
Part 2: Phillips discusses “Brass Knuckles,” ambivalences of place and family, and the autobiographical impulse in poetry
Part 3: Phillips discusses the history of Forsyth County, outlining how racism has shaped the image of community
Part 4: Phillips discusses poetry, social change, and ambiguity; “Baptism and the role of the church; and disappearing places