Mary Karr & Kaveh Akbar

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Known for her bestselling memoirs, Mary Karr is also a celebrated poet, essayist, and songwriter from East Texas. Her latest book of poetry, Tropic of Squalor, is in turns hilarious, horrific, tragic, and soothing, and infused with her characteristically deft brandishment of language. Karr’s other books include The Liar’s Club, Cherry, Lit, and The Art of Memoir. She is also a regular contributor to The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and Poetry magazine. Karr is the Peck Professor of Literature at Syracuse University.

Kaveh Akbar is a poet, and the author of Calling a Wolf a Wolf and Portrait of the Alcoholic. He is the founder of Divedapper, a home for dialogues with the most vital voices in American poetry. Akbar also writes a weekly column for the Paris Review called “Poetry RX.” Previously, he ran The Quirk, a for-charity print literary journal. He has also served as Poetry Editor for BOOTH and Book Reviews Editor for the Southeast Review.

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Photograph credit: Marlon James (right)