MQR Sound
By Michigan Quarterly Review
MQR SoundOct 15, 2023
Fall 2023 | Noah Arhm Choi Reads "The Korean Spa After Top Surgery"
Read the text for this piece on the MQR website.
Note about the poem from Noah Arhm Choi for MQR's Fall 2023 issue "Transversions": While gender affirming care has singularly been one of the best things that has happened in my life, it has also meant that going to the Korean spa has no longer become an option with their binary locker rooms and my fears around discomfort and safety. This poem speaks to the ways that I yearn for queerness and Koreanness to be able to exist in the same space, and how even the best things aren't necessarily black or white, all good or all evil. I think this poem, too, is a way to speak to the ways that binary notions of categorization often fail to encompass the fullness of our humanity and our experiences.
Fall 2023 | Rachel Nelson Reads "Diseases of American Slavery (the desire)"
Rachel Nelson reads "Diseases of American Slavery (the desire)" for MQR's Fall 2023 issue "Transversions".
Read the text for this piece on the MQR website.
Fall 2023 | Rachel Nelson Reads "Diseases of American Slavery (the earth)"
Rachel Nelson reads "Diseases of American Slavery (the earth)" for MQR's Fall 2023 issue "Transversions".
Read the text for this piece on the MQR website.
Fall 2023 | Cindy Juyoung Ok Reads "Your Request for Erasure Is Complete"
Read the text for this piece on the MQR website.
Note from Cindy Juyoung Ok for MQR's Fall 2023 issue "Transversions": Source text combined and choreographed here includes studies, labels, and idioms.
Fall 2023 | Amy Sailer Reads “Snakeshead & Honeysuckle”
A note from Amy Sailer for MQR's Fall 2023 issue "Transversions": I started writing about William and Jane Morris just before getting engaged. Their marriage has given me a rich vocabulary to imagine my own. They built a beautiful home together, Red House, which they intended as an artist’s utopia, where they, their family, and their community of friends could create the home’s medieval-inspired interior decoration, but the experiment fell apart within a few years, in part because Jane fell in love with their friend and fellow Pre-Raphaelite, Dante Gabriel Rossetti. When I visited Red House, the tour guide called it “a house of indecision.” They had so many unfulfilled projects—I could feel their high expectations and the stress it must have caused them.
I had the opportunity to work on the project at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library, where I learned that Morris & Company revolutionized nineteenth-century embroidery. The first half of the century was dominated by Berlin crewel work, a style that employs cross-stitch to fill out predetermined grid patterns. Morris & Company popularized “art embroidery,” a more creative technique, using a variety of stitches to create more organic designs. Both styles of embroidery lead to repetition and redundancy, but to my eyes, repetitive cross-stitches look monotonous and mechanical, while the repetitive patterns in a piece of art embroidery like Jane and Jenny Morris’s “Honeysuckle” look joyful. John Ruskin argues in his essay “The Nature of the Gothic” that redundancy is a sign of pleasure—when we enjoy our work, we keep making more of it. Although we don’t know the names of the women who created so much embroidery, I like to think that redundancy serves as a kind of signature.
Fall 2023 | Melissa Range Reads "JUNO, FAR FROM DORCHESTER, SOUTH CAROLINA, 1733"
Read the text for this piece on the MQR website.
Note about the poem from Melissa Range for MQR's Fall 2023 issue "Transversions": In the decade I've spent working on my poetry collection Printer's Fist, which is about the abolitionist movement in eighteenth and nineteenth century America, I have dug through archives both digital and physical. One of my areas of investigation has been print culture within the movement, and thus I've done a great deal of research on nineteenth century abolitionist newspapers. Enslavers also used newspapers for their own sinister purposes, of course. The sheer number of "Ran Away from the Subscriber" advertisements in eighteenth and nineteenth century newspapers is staggering and sobering. In my research, I looked at many of these advertisements, as well, finding in them important stories of resistance and self-emancipation. There's a great database called Freedom on the Move if you'd like to learn more. I first learned about the girl identified as Juno (most certainly not her real name) from an article by Karen Cook Bell, “Black Women’s Fugitivity in Colonial America,” published on the Black Perspectives section of the African American Intellectual History Society. Using the database Newspapers.com, I was able to find the original runaway ad for Juno, published in the South Carolina Gazette, July 28, 1733. All italicized language in the poem is from this advertisement. Again following Bell’s lead, I consulted the database Slave Voyages for information on the voyages of the slave ship Speaker, captained by Henry Flower. The “place of purchase” for the Speaker’s 1733 voyage is listed in this database as Cabinda, which in the current day is a state in Angola. I also learned from this same Gazette issue that the Speaker departed, en route to London, two weeks after it had docked in Charleston. The Speaker made additional slaving voyages after this one, according to the Slave Voyages database. While I was working on the poem, it fell somewhat naturally into the form of a mirror poem (I'd been reading a lot of Natasha Trethewey and Adrienne Su, two amazing practitioners of that form). I think the form fits the themes of journeying and reversals that are present in the poem.
Spring 2023 | Teresa Carmody Reads from "Moving the Inconsequential Loop: Somatics, Feminisms"
Teresa Carmody reads an excerpt from their essay, "Moving the Inconsequential Loop: Somatics, Feminisms", for MQR's Spring 2023 special issue, "SomaFlights".
Spring 2023 | Hari Alluri Reads "Slow Time Simmer”
Hari Alluri reads his poem, "Slow Time Simmer", from MQR's Spring 2023 special issue, "SomaFlights".
Spring 2023 | Ashwini Bhasi Reads "All Night I Traveled”
Ashwini Bhasi reads her poem, "All Night I Traveled", from the Online Folio of MQR's Spring 2023 special issue, "SomaFlights".
Spring 2023 | Ashwini Bhasi Reads "What did I do today”
Ashwini Bhasi reads her poem, "What did I do today", from the Online Folio of MQR's Spring 2023 special issue, "SomaFlights".
Spring 2023 | Cynthia Ling Lee Reads "fatigue”
Cynthia Ling Lee reads her poem "fatigue" for MQR's Spring 2023 special issue, "SomaFlights". Sound composition by Anna Friz.
Spring 2023 | Derek McPhatter Reads "Prayer for a Preistexx Dark”
Derek McPhatter reads his song, "Prayer for a Preistexx Dark", from the Online Folio of MQR's Spring 2023 special issue, "SomaFlights".
Winter 2023 | Lis Sanchez Reads "Miracle of Trout”
Lis Sanchez reads her poem, "Miracle of Trout", for MQR's Winter 2023 issue.
Winter 2023 | Kelsey Zimmerman Reads "Not Michigan”
Kelsey Zimmerman reads her poem "Not Michigan" from MQR's Winter 2023 issue.
Winter 2023 | Carl Phillips reads three poems
Carl Phillips reads three of his poems, "What Are We for What Are We," "Like So," "On Why I Cannot Promise", for MQR's Winter 2023 issue.
Winter 2023 | Cassandra Whitaker Reads "states”
Cassandra Whitaker reads her poem "states" for MQR's Winter 2023 issue.
Winter 2023 | Susan Azar Porterfield Reads "Alternative Facts”
Susan Azar Porterfield reads her poem, "Alternative Facts" for MQR's Winter 2023 issue.
Fall 2022 | Les James Reads "American Dreams / Wake Up Call”
Les James reads her poem "American Dreams / Wake Up Call", an online exclusive for MQR's Fall 2022 issue 'Fractured Union: American Democracy on the Brink'.
Fall 2022 | Christine Rhein Reads "Pandemic Playground”
Christine Rhein reads her poem "Pandemic Playground", from MQR's Fall 2022 special issue, 'Fractured Union: American Democracy on the Brink'.
Fall 2022 | Arnisha Royston Reads "Headlines”
Arnisha Royston reads her poem "Headlines", from MQR'S Fall 2022 special issue 'Fractured Union: American Democracy on the Brink'.
Fall 2022 | Victoria Stitt Reads "coolbaugh township, PA”
Victoria Stitt reads her poem "coolbaugh township, PA", from MQR's Fall 2022 special issue, 'Fractured Union: American Democracy on the Brink'.
Fall 2022 | Victoria Stitt Reads "again this week, they killed another child who looked like my brother”
Victoria Stitt reads her poem, "again this week, they killed another child who looked like my brother", for MQR's Fall 2022 special issue, 'Fractured Union: American Democracy on the Brink'.
Fall 2022 | Jonathan Greenhause Reads "At my niece’s birthday party, 1,431 miles north of Guantánamo”
Jonathan Greenhause reads his poem "At my niece’s birthday party, 1,431 miles north of Guantánamo”, for MQR's Fall 2022 special issue 'Fractured Union: American Democracy on the Brink'.
Summer 2022 | Gabriella Fee Reads "Dear Boy"
Gabriella Fee reads their poem, "Dear Boy," for MQR's Summer 2022 issue.
Summer 2022 | Lauren Eggert-Crowe Reads "Queen of Any World That Took Me"
Lauren Eggert-Crowe reads her poem, "Queen of any world that took me," for MQR's Summer 2022 issue.
Summer 2022 | Rebecca Levi Reads "Mateo"
Rebecca Levi reads her poem, "Mateo," for MQR's Summer 2022 issue.
Summer 2022 | Debora Kuan Reads "Reputations, Or After Trying to Imagine My Daughter at 18"
Debora Kuan reads her poem, "Reputations, Or After Trying to Imagine My Daughter at 18," for MQR's Summer 2022 issue.
Summer 2022 | Tyler Moore Reads "Bauhaus"
Tyler Moore reads his poem his poem, "Bauhaus," for MQR's Summer 2022 issue.
Summer 2022 | Ashley Crout Reads "Every Fresh Loss Resurrects All Losses"
Ashley Crout reads her poem, "Every Fresh Loss Resurrects All Losses," for MQR's Summer 2022 issue.
Summer 2022 | Haro Lee Reads "Carriage"
Haro Lee reads her poem, "Carriage," for MQR's Summer 2022 issue.
Summer 2022 | Asnia Asim Reads "Trees"
Asnia Asim reads her poem, "Trees," for MQR's Summer 2022 issue.
Spring 2022 | Ahmad Almallah Reads "Border Wisdom"
Ahmad Almallah reads his poem, "Border Wisdom," from MQR's Spring 2022 issue.
Spring 2022 | Fowziyah Abu Khalid and Moneera Al-Ghadeer Read "Oud"
The Spring 2022 issue of MQR features the poem, "Oud," by Fowziyah Abu Khalid, translated into English by Moneera Al-Ghadeer. In this recording, Moneera Al-Ghadeer reads the poem in English, followed by Fowziyah Abu Khalid reading the poem in the original Arabic.
Spring 2022 | Ashur Etwebi and James Byrne Read "Death, Peppermint Flavoured"
The Spring 2022 issue of MQR features the poem, "Death, Peppermint Flavoured," by Ashur Ewebi, translated into English by James Byrne and Ashur Etwebi. In this recording, James Byrne reads the poem in English, followed by Ashur Etwebi reading the poem in the original Arabic.
Spring 2022 | Tarik Dobbs Reads "That July, My Sito Calls from Damascus at Midnight"
Tarik Dobbs reads their poem, "That July, My Sito Calls from Damascus at Midnight," from MQR's Spring 2022 issue.
Spring 2022 | K. Eltinaé Reads "Breathing Exercise"
K. Eltinaé reads "Breathing Exercise" from MQR's Spring 2022 issue.
Spring 2022 | Paul Hanna Reads "Sweet Dumpling (fried in oil)"
Paul Hanna reads their poem, "Sweet Dumpling (fried in oil)," from MQR's Spring 2022 issue.
Spring 2022 | Yahya Frederickson Reads "from Releases"
Yahya Frederickson reads an excerpt from their poem, "Releases," published in MQR's Spring 2022 issue.
Spring 2022 | Arthur Kayzakian Reads "Synonyms for Maps"
Arthur Kayzakian reads their poem, "Synonyms for Maps" from MQR's Spring 2022 issue.
Spring 2022 | Sarah Sassoon Reads "Mother – Tongue"
Sarah Sassoon reads their poem, "Mother – Tongue," from MQR's Spring 2022 issue.
Spring 2022 | Kareem James Abu-Zeid Reads Their Translation of "Night Song" by Najwan Darwish
Kareem James Abu-Zeid reads their translation of "Night Song" by Najwan Darwish from MQR's Spring 2022 issue.
Winter 2022 | Stephanie Burt Reads "Cinderella"
Stephanie Burt reads her poem "Cinderella" from MQR's Winter 2022 issue.
Winter 2022 | Sarah Crossland Reads "Axis Mundi"
Sarah Crossland reads her poem "Axis Mundi" from MQR's Winter 2022 issue.
Winter 2022 | Pamela Painter Reads "Dog in the Night"
Pamela Painter reads her story "Dog in the Night" from MQR's Winter 2022 issue.
Winter 2022 | Naomi Mulvihill Reads "Poly-, Ambi-"
Naomi Mulvihill reads her poem "Poly-, Ambi-" from MQR's Winter 2022 issue.
Winter 2022 | Maria Esquinca Reads "The Hispanic Invasion of Texas"
Maria Esquinca reads her poem "The Hispanic Invasion of Texas" from MQR's Winter 2022 issue.
Winter 2022 | John Kinsella Reads "Eclogue of the Caterpillars in Prime Time"
John Kinsella reads his poem "Eclogue of the Caterpillars in Prime Time" from MQR's Winter 2022 issue.
Winter 2022 | Diana Abu-Jaber Reads "Exit Plan"
Diana Abu-Jaber reads her poem "Exit Plan" from MQR's Winter 2022 issue.
Winter 2022 | Anna Maria Hong Reads "Vladivostok & Conscience"
Anna Maria Hong reads her poem "Vladivostok & Conscience" from MQR's Winter 2022 issue.
Winter 2022 | Bret Shepard Reads "Here But Elsewhere"
Bret Shepard reads his sequence, "Here But Elsewhere " from MQR's Winter 2022 issue, winner of the Goldstein Prize.