Beth Golay

And so I'm curious about the poem River of Lamentation.

Can you talk about it?

In some of the poems, there were mentions of Samuel Beckett, William Blake, Thomas Hardy, John Berryman.

Do these writers serve as inspiration or influence for you?

I listened to the finished audiobook while I read an advanced reader copy of the text.

And for the most part, the two versions were identical.

But I did notice at one point that some changes were made from the print version in the audio version.

Many of these poems have been published in journals elsewhere before this collection.

So is a poem ever complete?

One reason I like to read and listen simultaneously, especially with poetry and especially when the author is reading his or her own poetry,

It's so I can hear how the poet intends for the poem to be read.

I can hear cadence.

I can pick up on meter.

I can understand if I should read an enjambed sentence to the end of the line or to the punctuation mark.

When it comes to audio versus print in poetry, is there a benefit to the reader over the audio listener or vice versa?

I did notice, because I was reading while listening, an enjambment in the middle of a word.

It was unfulfilled.

And if I remember right, it might have even been like unfull was on one line and filled was on the other.

And it might have even gone from one stanza to the next.

And I don't read enough poetry to know.