Poets & Writers Theater
Every day we share a new clip of interest to creative writers—author readings, book trailers, publishing panels, craft talks, and more. So grab some popcorn, filter the theater tags by keyword or genre, and explore our sizable archive of literary videos.
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In this 2021 Under the Volcano video, Cyrus Cassells reads a poem about Federico García Lorca that he began writing in Tepoztlán, Mexico. Cassells is the recipient of the 2025 Jackson Poetry Prize and will be reading on Tuesday, September 30, at the Greene Space in New York. RSVP for the event, all are welcome.
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In this Under the Cover segment hosted by Climax Books, musician Devonté Hynes talks about the books and images that inspire his music, including Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Roman Poems, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and the biography Who Are You Dorothy Dean? by Anaïs Ngbanzo.
Tags: Cross-Genre | Devonté Hynes | Blood Orange | Climax Books | Under the Cover | Pier Paolo Pasolini | Roman Poems | Mary Shelley | Frankenstein | Anaïs Ngbanzo | Dorothy Dean | musician -
In this Rattlecast episode, host and editor of Rattle Timothy Green introduces Jennifer Manthey, who reads her poem “Locker Room Annunciation,” and Richard Siken, who reads from his latest collection, I Do Know Some Things (Copper Canyon Press, 2025), and reflects upon his decision to write prose poems as a means of grounding himself in the aftermath of a stroke.
Tags: Poetry | Rattle | Rattlecast | Jennifer Manthey | Richard Siken | I Do Know Some Things | Copper Canyon Press | 2025 -
In this Writers on Writing event at the Newberry Library in Chicago, authors Carmen Maria Machado and Megan Stielstra engage in a conversation about their creative processes, the evolution of their works, and their insights into the art of storytelling.
Tags: Fiction | Carmen Maria Machado | Megan Stielstra | Newberry Library | writing process | craft talk | conversation | 2025 -
“When the time of your life is a time of earthquakes.” In this PBS NewsHour interview, Arthur Sze reads from his latest collection, Into the Hush (Copper Canyon Press, 2025), and talks about his life and work, including his discoveries while translating literature. Sze has been named the twenty-fifth poet laureate of the United States.
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In this Poets & Writers event, 2024 Jackson Poetry Prize winner Fady Joudah reads a selection of poems, including from his National Book Award–nominated collection, [...] (Milkweed Editions, 2024), and joins Pádraig Ó Tuama for a conversation about his work and life as a poet. RSVP for this year’s Jackson Poetry Prize reading celebrating Cyrus Cassells taking place on Tuesday, September 30.
Tags: Poetry | Fady Joudah | Jackson Poetry Prize | [...] | Milkweed Editions | Pádraig Ó Tuama | reading | conversation | 2024 -
In this video, Ricardo Hernandez, assistant director of Programs & Partnerships at Poets & Writers, hosts a celebratory reading by the 2025 poetry cohort of Get the Word Out, a publicity incubator for early career authors. Readers include Adedayo Agarau, Genevieve DeGuzman, Isabella DeSendi, Alison Lubar, Nick Martino, Yamini Pathak, mick powell, Maya Salameh, Kelsey L. Smoot, and Bernardo Wade. DeSendi’s debut collection, Someone Else’s Hunger (Four Way Books, 2025), is featured in Page One in the September/October issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.
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In this episode of The Interview, a podcast from the New York Times, Arundhati Roy speaks with host Lulu Garcia-Navarro about government censorship and political repression, the role of the artist amidst crisis, and the challenges of writing about her mother in her new memoir, Mother Mary Comes to Me (Scribner, 2025), which is featured in Page One in the September/October issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.
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In this Politics and Prose event, Kevin Young reads from his latest poetry collection, Night Watch (Knopf, 2025), and discusses the importance of place, both for his life and his writing, in a conversation with Steve Lickteig. Night Watch is featured in Page One in the September/October issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.
Tags: Poetry | Kevin Young | Night Watch | Knopf | Steve Lickteig | Page One | September/October 2025 | Politics and Prose Bookstore -
In this interview from The Tamron Hall Show, the best-selling author of the romance novels Beach Read (Berkley, 2020), Book Lovers (Berkley, 2022), and Great Big Beautiful Life (Berkley, 2025) talks about her writing process, approaches to character development, and exploration of themes, such as love, loss, and self-discovery.
Tags: Fiction | Emily Henry | The Tamron Hall Show | romance | interview | Great Big Beautiful Life | Berkley | writing process -
Watch the trailer for Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest, a reimagination of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 film High and Low, which was loosely adapted from the 1959 novel King’s Ransom: An 87th Precinct Mystery by Ed McBain. The crime thriller film stars Denzel Washington, Jeffrey Wright, and A$AP Rocky.
Tags: Fiction | Highest 2 Lowest | Spike Lee | Akira Kurosawa | Ed McBain | crime thriller | King's Ransom | movie trailer | film adaptation | 2025 -
In this video, Margaret Atwood, recipient of the 2025 Griffin Poetry Prize Lifetime Recognition Award speaks with Pádraig Ó Tuama about her literary career, the power and the craft of poetry, and how verse captures both personal and universal experiences.
Tags: Poetry | Margaret Atwood | Griffin Poetry Prize | lifetime achievement award | Pádraig Ó Tuama | interview | 2025 -
In this video for the Universe in Reverse event series created and hosted by Maria Popova, Emily Dickinson’s poem “Bloom” is transformed into a musical cinepoem featuring centuries-old pressed flowers from Dickinson’s surviving herbarium with music by Joan As Police Woman, art and animation by Ohara Hale, and lettering by Debbie Millman.
Tags: Poetry | Bloom | Emily Dickinson | The Universe in Reverse | Maria Popova | poetry film | animation | music -
In this 7 Stories Up event at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library, Jeremy Tiang talks about the impact of his award-winning debut novel, State of Emergency (Epigram Books, 2017), and how his diverse modes of playwriting, translation, and fiction writing offer him fluidity and freedom in a conversation with Reuben Gelley Newman.
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Based on the murder mystery book series by best-selling author Richard Osman, The Thursday Murder Club is directed by Chris Columbus and stars Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, and Celia Imrie. In the film, four retirees spend time solving cold case murders for fun and then are plunged into a real-life murder mystery.
Tags: Fiction | The Thursday Murder Club | Richard Osman | movie trailer | film adaptation | mystery | murder mystery | 2025 -
“Translate literature and it will teach you how to write.” In this American Library in Paris event, Jhumpa Lahiri reads from her essay collection Translating Myself and Others (Princeton University Press, 2022) and talks about her latest book, Bone Into Stone (Sylph Editions, 2024), which details her experiences translating Ovid’s Metamorphoses from the Latin in partnership with the classicist Yelena Baraz.
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In this Writers Speak event hosted by the Mahindra Humanities Center at Harvard University, Patricia Lockwood speaks about her second novel, Will There Ever Be Another You (Riverhead Books, 2025), and shares her experiences writing about health and illness in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic in a conversation with Tara K. Menon.
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In this PBS NewsHour interview, Nicholas Boggs speaks about his new book, Baldwin: A Love Story (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2025), a biography which looks at the ways James Baldwin’s personal relationships shaped his life and work.
Tags: Creative Nonfiction | Baldwin: A Love Story | Nicholas Boggs | James Baldwin | PBS NewsHour | biography | interview | 2025 -
In this Books Are Magic video, Amanda Hess reads from her debut memoir, Second Life: Having a Child in the Digital Age (Doubleday, 2025), and speaks with Wesley Morris about her experiences using the internet for information and support during her pregnancy. Hess is featured in “The New Nonfiction 2025” in the September/October issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.
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Written and directed by Bill Condon, this movie musical is based on the Tony Award–winning musical by Terrence McNally, John Kander, and Fred Ebb, and is the second film adaptation of the 1976 novel by Argentine author Manuel Puig. The film stars Jennifer Lopez in the titular role, alongside Diego Luna and Tonatiuh.
Tags: Fiction | Kiss of the Spider Woman | movie trailer | musical | novel | film adaptation | Manuel Puig | 2025