Poetry. Winner of the Transcontinental Poetry Prize (editor's choice), Kaya Oakes' TELEGRAPH "charts a coming back to life with uncompromising lucidity and sorrow. In poetry rife with a bodily knowledge of the inherent 'second ness' of women's history, Oakes writes for the one and the many. 'I wonder if this earth meant anything when I leant my form to it,' the personae wonders in the final poem, and wonderfully, readers will find that it does, thanks to the earnest care of Kaya Oakes' making."—Claudia Keelan
Author City: OAKLAND, CA USA
Kaya Oakes' nonfiction book, Slanted and Enchanted: The Evolution of Indie Culture, was published by Henry Holt in June of 2009. She's also the author of a collection of poetry, TELEGRAPH, which received the Transcontinental Poetry Prize from Pavement Saw Press. In 2002, Kaya cofounded Kitchen Sink Magazine, which received the Utne Independent Press Award for Best New Magazine in 2003. She edited and wrote for Kitchen Sink until it ended its print run in 2007. Since 1999, she's taught writing at the University of California, Berkeley. She earned an MFA in creative writing at Saint Mary's College. Kaya has been the recipient of teaching fellowships from the Mellon Faculty Institute and the Bay Area Writing Project, as well as writing awards from the Academy of American Poets. She's also twice been nominated for the Pushcart Prize in nonfiction. Kaya is a native of Oakland, California. She played cello and bass in several punk and noise bands in the 90s, started her first zine in the 80s, and traveled across the country in a VW Van with her family every summer in the 70s. When she's not teaching, Kaya is a freelance writer, a Grove Talk Speaker at Cal Shakes, a dedicated baker, an advocate for independent media, and a very voracious reader.
Reviews and Other Links
http://www.kqed.org/arts/programs/writersblock/profile.jsp?essid=5944
http://telegraph-books.net/mondayarchive/audio/080218-kaya_oakes.mp3
http://www.raintaxi.com/online/2007winter/oakes.shtml
http://andrewkenower.typepad.com/a_voice_box/2007/05/kaya_oakes_pega.html
http://kickingwind.com/061607.html
http://www.oakestown.org/