Author: Joe Pan

Joe Pan grew up along the Space Coast of Florida and attended the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. His debut poetry book, Autobiomythography & Gallery, was named “Best First Book of the Year” by Coldfront magazine. His work has appeared in such places as Artworld, Boston Review, Denver Quarterly, Greensboro Review, Glimmer Train, and The New York Times. He is the founder of Brooklyn Arts Press, an independent publishing house, and lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

The Final Sleeping Bag Run of Winter

“Spring has come to New York. We have 20 sleeping bags left, which means that we gave 30 away to people who are homeless & to homeless shelters. Instead of handing the remaining 30 off to shelters, we have decided to hold onto them until next season. Although I’m not feeling great at having not handed […]

BrooklynArtists.tumblr.com – Sleeping Bags for the Homeless

For the past 2 months Wendy & I, along with various friends, have been driving around delivering sleeping bags to homeless people. You can read more about it here: http://brooklynartists.tumblr.com. I’d suggest starting from the very beginning. It takes about 15 minutes in all. We have 29 bags left, & I would love to invite […]

A Quick Word on Writing & Self-Promotion

  There seems to be a great deal of young to mid-career writers online discouraging each other from engaging in self-promotion. This is a serious mistake–a deleterious form of group-think equatable to self-sabotage. Most successful writers will tell you, from experience, that you must FIGHT for the recognition of your artwork. Rare is a spotlight […]

The Vargas-Vargas Affair

  “The Vargas-Vargas Affair” is a poem I wrote that deals primarily with narrative’s possibly innate (hard-wired) ability to sway judgement. It can transfix us. It has the ability to build within us empathy for a character & ultimately for each other, but it can also be a great tool for propaganda. There is always […]

Dear Jack

  Dear Jack, I wanted to say I opened your letter to Lorca, but before you get upset, know that I hear you when you say the personal adventure will at best show in the lovely pattern of cracks where autobiography shatters but does not quite destroy the surface of a poem, & that this […]

Mike Tyson on Writing Poetry

  I believe I just discovered the meaning behind Mike Tyson’s answer to a question I posed to him last night at the New York Public Library, where he was interviewed  by Paul Holdengraber. The answer is a little overwhelming, truthfully. Through tears & self-effacing comments, he spoke about many things, but spent a good deal […]

The Old Neighborhood

Photo Ric Camacho. Williamsburg changes, that is the constant. One group moves on top of the next, expands. The L train is a sardine can. They built highrise condos near the waterside, a perfect view of Manhattan. Then they built another highrise to block that highrise, pressing right up on the water. Get yours. Get […]

The Vargas-Vargas Affair, the Brooklyn Rail

Check out the Brooklyn Rail for a long poem I wrote about an evil twin. Which is evil? Neither, surely. But at least one is a lying, conniving sociopath. Click to read The Vargas-Vargas Affair. I wrote this poem as I write all my poems: music first, then meaning. A few minutes in & I’m […]

Anselm Berrigan & Jonathan Allen at Lu Magnus

We had a great turnout for the Anselm Berrigan reading at Lu Magnus this Saturday, thanks to the carnivalesque Kaleidoscope people dropping in for a bit of poetry on their parade about the city. I am so proud of this book. Jonathan Allen spoke before Anselm read, touching upon the impetus for his work, which […]

In the Know, for Hyperallergic

YES! I finally found an opportunity to use that wild headshot Adam Courtney took of me last year! So last night I wrote a list of things you should be experiencing this week. It went out with the Hyperallergic newsletter, so if you’re not subscribed, you won’t see it. But I will say, it features Adam Larsen’s movie Neurotypical […]

Getting Away

June is BAP’s open submission season. Luckily, I have readers, so I can focus on the 9 or 10 books I have to put out before Christmas. Plus, I’d really like to make a stab at getting another book of mine out next year, so I’m sending poetry off like everyone else, which I haven’t […]

Interview with Sapling

  Kit Frick, the Chapbook Editor/Sapling Editor of Black Lawrence Press, interviewed me a few weeks back for the Sapling newsletter, which goes out to people who sign up for it. She’s allowed me to post the contents here: For this week’s feature, Sapling talked to Joe Pan, Managing Editor/Publisher of Brooklyn Arts Press Sapling: […]

Shane Book in Hyperallergic

This month I chose a poem by Shane Book for Hyperallergic. Shane & I attended the Iowa Writers’ Workshop together, & I’ve always been impressed by his work in both the poetry & the human rights spheres. He’s also a filmmaker, so be on the lookout for his work in that medium in the future.

Helen Diffenderfer

Helen Diffenderfer, my grandmother, died today. She was 85 years old. She was a badass. She worked at Cape Canaveral. She wasn’t much afraid to die, & had a pretty good last few days, from what I can tell. She ate like a trucker: two Christmases ago she berated me for not giving her a […]

Spring Cleaning & Blue Safari by Josh Bell

Blue Safari by Josh Bell continues to show why he should be considered one of our great poets. In other news, I threw open the windows to the whole apartment & cleaned for two days straight. I could live there, I thought, looking in the room I live in.