Poets House is excited to relaunch one of their most beloved series, Passwords, which invites poets to reflect on the work and impact of other poets. Richard Hell and Janaka Stucky will read from a new edition of Bill Knott‘s landmark first book, The Naomi Poems: Corpse and Beans (Black Ocean, 2024), published by Stucky and for which Hell wrote the foreword. Back in publication for the first time in almost sixty years, the romantic, antiwar, and transgressive modes of The Naomi Poems illustrate Knott’s trailblazing punk poetics. Hell and Stucky will offer an audience Q&A, sign copies of the new edition, and discuss Knott’s lasting influence on their work.
Readings in Kray Hall with a reception to follow in the Viscusi Reading Room.
By attending or participating in this program, you agree to abide by Poets House Community Agreement. Events at Poets House are popular, and seating is first-come, first-seated. We have several seats reserved for people with access needs. If events reach capacity, seating will be available in an overflow viewing room.
About the Poets:
Bill Knott was born in Carson City, Michigan, in 1940 and died in Bay City, Michigan, in 2014. In the years between, Knott traveled the country—eventually settling in Boston—and proceeded to publish eleven full-length books of poems and was awarded both the Iowa Poetry Prize and a Guggenheim fellowship.
Richard Hell is the author of several books of fiction, poetry, essays, notebooks, autobiography, and collaborations. His new book of poems also includes an essay and 88 notebook entries and is called What Just Happened. His 2005 novel Godlike will be reprinted by New York Review Books in 2026. He has also been a musician and his most recent album/CD/stream is Destiny Street Complete (2021). He lives in New York. Photo by Nick Waplington.
Janaka Stucky is the founding publisher of Black Ocean, and the author of four poetry collections including Ascend Ascend (Third Man Books, 2019), which was released as a live performance with cellist Lori Goldston by Neurot Recordings in May 2023. His work has been profiled in The Believer, Vice, and BOMB Magazine. Find him at janakastucky.com. Photo by Adrianne Mathiowetz.