Q: If one comes across a vulgar word in a poem, it makes a powerful statement. In hip-hop, vulgarity is used so frequently that it essentially loses its “punch” and can do little but fill space. Would you say that vulgarity helps or hinders the message of hip-hop songs? Certainly hip-hop has become much more… More Interview with Jeffrey O.G. Ogbar (2011)

The University of Connecticut has hosted many writers-in-residence and visiting professors over the years, and the rewards are always great for students within and outside of the English major. These writers enrich the experience of students and give a good example of what a career in writing might look like. Tom Hubbard is one such… More Interview with Tom Hubbard (2011)

Ellen Litman, author of The Last Chicken in America, shares how she began writing and the creative process behind her first fiction. You’re reading a chapter from 1984 and suddenly a brilliant idea pops into your head. Should you write it down? So you make your way over to the computer and open up a… More Beginning the Epic: A Profile of Ellen Litman (2011)

LRR:  At what age did you start writing? Why? Three or four years old, preschool age. There was a marathon on TV with alternating episodes of Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie, and the theme was a contest or debate deciding which was best. Apparently this was so inspirational I had to write about it,… More Interview with Joe Welch, Editor-in-Chief of LRR (2011)

Shoulder to shoulder with my comrades, I stare down the entity that could very well be the cause of my death. A flood of enemies rushes towards us and I grip my weapon in anticipation for the inevitable slaughter, whether it be us or them. The only question left now is: who am I? This… More Playing the World, with Mythology as a Guide: A Profile of Roger Travis (2011)

1.  Universities and presses back several magazines, but this does not appear to be the case with Grey Sparrow.  Where do you receive your funding? Diane Smith: I personally fund Grey Sparrow from a modest savings I established during my tenure as a social worker in child welfare.  Grey Sparrow Press incorporated May 11, 2009… More Interview with Diane Smith, Joseph Michael Owens, and Annam Manthiram, editors of “Grey Sparrow” (2011)

Palazzo is a creative non-fiction panelist for the Long River Review. Q: You write poetry, creative non-fiction, and fiction. What appeals to you about writing in the poetic form? In the prose form? A lot of what I enjoy about form and content overlaps between prose and poetry.  When writing a poem, I like to… More Interview with Alyssa Palazzo (2011)