High-Beams
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What About the Little Guys? “Banned” Books from the Authors’ Perspective
Many think that for an author, getting their book banned is a badge of honor. That their sales will skyrocket with the free publicity. But this is only true for “celebrity” authors, or authors who are already a household name. What about the little guys? Those indie authors or first-time authors who have yet to form a large readership. How does book banning affect them?
Between Tides: A Review of Strange Beach by Oluwaseun Olayiwola
On the whole, evocative and daring, an uneasy dance between the sand and the sea, Strange Beach is an ever-transforming shore, a space of encounter between bodies and meaning, between history and the new.
AI & AI: Author Interactions and Artificial Intelligence
The speed at which artificial intelligence is advancing is nothing short of impressive, but not everyone is eager to welcome its capabilities into their lives.
Flow of Words
A pocket is a useful tool for writing because you can carry a pocketknife in it, which is good for sharpening your pencil. The pencil as a tool for writing has never been topped, as far as I know. It is cheap, and it is readily available. It is portable. It doesn't require Wi-Fi, and it doesn't have a noisy fan. It doesn't ask you to take a moment to fill out a brief survey. It doesn't ask you to like it.
Getting to Know Our 2024-25 Poetry Chapbook Prize Judge: An Interview with Olatunde Osinaike
As the submission deadline for our 2024-25 Poetry Chapbook Prize draws near, we would like to formally introduce our judge for this year’s contest, Olatunde Osinaike.
This year’s Georgia Author of the Year in Poetry, Osinaike is a Nigerian-American poet whose most recent collection, Tender Headed, explores experiences of Blackness and masculinity. The following interview involves questions relating to his experience as an acclaimed poet, his writing process, and advice he has for writers on the rise.
The Line that Form Our Community: The Poetics of Black Joy
We fail to teach joy as a writing praxis because the concept of joy is something we seek, whereas grief is something we sit in. Around us, joy does not seem as abundant as does the weight of grief.
The Heart and Its Hunger
This piece is a part of our “Featured Collaborators” project, where we highlight the achievements of those who have helped make The Headlight Review possible. Today, we would like to extend our gratitude to Gregory Emilio for his support as our Guest Poetry Editor for Volume 2 of our magazine.
I Didn’t Write This
Drafting is the struggle to write like yourself and read like someone else.
The “write like yourself” part sounds easy until you become a writer. You’ll find it takes years of chipping away at a block of granite to find the authentic writer-self within.
Interrupted, An Essay in Fragments: Or, Write Like a Mother
I have emailed and texted myself when I have an idea and my phone, but not a piece of paper and pen. What I like best is the moment when the kids are at school, and I sit in my brown reclining chair with a cup of coffee and maybe a cat next to me, or somewhere nearby, and I have time to think deep thoughts. Those days are rare and precious.
Leveling the Scales
Lights up on the stage of the Chaddick Theatre in Atlanta, GA. It’s 7PM on August 9, 2024, the opening night of Aaron Levy’s new play, The Student Body. Where do you find yourself?
Jesse Graves in Conversation with Valerie A. Smith
Jesse Graves’s first collection of poetry Tennessee Landscape with Blighted Pine was awarded the 2011 Weatherford Award in Poetry from Berea College, the Book of the Year in Poetry Award from the Appalachian Writers’ Association, and the Thomas and Lillie D. Chaffin Award for Appalachian Writing. More recently, Tennessee Landscape was celebrated with a tenth Anniversary edition, one that included new poems and an introduction from acclaimed poet Matthew Wimberley.
Aesthetic Renaissance: The Rebirth of Culture
Now, the Walmart is burned down. Wooden boards block the windows of Wally World, and cardboard fences surround the perimeter.
Mona Susan Power in Conversation with Miriam Brown Spiers
In this conversation, Mona Susan Power talks about her writing career, the power of fiction, and her latest novel A Council of Dolls with Kennesaw State University Professor Miriam Brown Spiers.
Mountain Madness
Mountain Madness by Clinton Crockett Peters is a collection of essays detailing the author’s hiking treks in both Japan, during his tenure as a twenty-something English teacher, and in the United States during his time as an outdoor guide. His essays weave together both the physical details of his outdoor adventures and the emotional reflections and meanings of these experiences more than a decade later.
Good Mother Lizard: An Interview with Lisa Alletson (video)
Dr. Andrew Plattner sat with author and The Headlight Review 2021 chapbook prize winner, Lisa Alletson, to discuss her new collection, Good Mother Lizard.