Keeping - the Window Open ― Interviews, Statements, Alarms, Excursions

A rich array of materials—including never-before-published conversations between Keith Waldrop and Peter Gizzi and between Rosmarie Waldrop and the book’s editor, Ben Lerner—coalesce here into a vibrant portrait, in text and image, of two extraordinary artists and collaborators. For nearly sixty years, the Waldrops have influenced multiple generations of writers through their own poetry and fiction, translations, teaching, and their press, Burning Deck, which published some of the most influential authors of late-twentieth-century avant-garde literature. This collection seeks to illustrate the many ways in which the Waldrops have expanded the possibilities of bookcraft, art, community, and literature.

Rosmarie Waldrop is the author of numerous books of poetry, fiction, and essays, including Gap Gardening: Selected Poems and the trilogy Curves to the Apple. She has translated many works by writers such as Edmond Jabès, Jacques Roubaud, Friederike Mayröcker, Elke Erb, and others. She has taught at universities such as Wesleyan, Tufts, and Brown, and she is the recipient of many awards and fellowships from institutions such as the National Endowment for the Arts and the Fund for Poetry. In 2006 she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Keith Waldrop is the author of many books, including Transcendental Studies: A Trilogy, which won a 2009 National Book Award in Poetry. He has also translated many works by writers such as Claude Royet-Journoud, Anne-Marie Albiach, and Charles Baudelaire. He taught at Brown University from 1968 until his retirement and is the recipient of many awards and fellowships from institutions such as the National Endowment for the Arts and the Fund for Poetry. Together, Rosmarie and Keith Waldrop are the founders and editors of Burning Deck Press, which operated for fifty-six years, from 1961 to 2017. Ben Lerner is the author of three books of poetry (The Lichtenberg Figures, Angle of Yaw, and Mean Free Path), two novels (Leaving the Atocha Station and 10:04) and a work of criticism (The Hatred of Poetry). The recipient of fellowships from the Fulbright, Guggenheim, and MacArthur Foundations, Lerner is a Distinguished Professor of English at Brooklyn College.