Category: Memoir

Sophfronia Scott

~ Matt Boutte ~ Leave a comment

A conversation with Sophfronia Scott. Sophfronia is a novelist, essayist, and leading contemplative thinker whose work has appeared in numerous publications and received a 2020 Artist Fellowship Grant from the Connecticut Office of the Arts. Her book The Seeker and the Monk: Everyday Conversations with Thomas Merton received the 2021 Thomas Merton "Louie" Award from the International Thomas Merton Society. She is the founding director of Alma College’s Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing, a low residency graduate program based in Alma, Michigan.

Esteban Rodriguez

~ Matt Boutte ~ 1 Comment

A conversation with Esteban Rodriguez. Esteban is the author of five poetry collections, most recently The Valley and the essay collection Before the Earth Devours Us both of which were released in 2021. He is the Interviews Editor for the EcoTheo Review, Senior Book Reviews Editor for Tupelo Quarterly, and Associate Poetry Editor for AGNI.

Boerne Book & Arts Festival 2021

~ Matt Boutte ~ Leave a comment

Today’s episode is a little different and features short conversations with several authors about their most recent book and involvement with the 2021 Boerne Book & Arts Festival. For those that don’t know, Boerne is a beautiful bedroom community just north of San Antonio, Texas, and the book festival takes place each year on Main Plaza on the first Saturday in October. This year’s event featured authors such as John Erickson and James Wade, as well as author panels with topics such as Heroines of WWII, Texas Ranches and Texas Rangers, and Early Roads and the Old Spanish Trail.

Ariel Sabar

~ Matt Boutte ~ 1 Comment

A conversation with Ariel Sabar. Ariel won the National Book Critics Circle Award for his debut book, My Father's Paradise: A Son's Search for his Jewish Past in Kurdish Iraq. His second book, Heart of the City, was called a "beguiling romp" by the New York Times and an "engaging, moving and lively read" by the Toronto Star. His Kindle Single, The Outsider: The Life and Times of Roger Barker, was a best-selling nonfiction short and adapted for the radio program This American Life. His latest book, Veritas: A Harvard Professor, a Con Man and the Gospel of Jesus's Wife, was a finalist for the Edgar Award for best true-crime book of the year and for the Investigative Reporters & Editors Book Award.

John Phillip Santos

~ Matt Boutte ~ 1 Comment

A conversation with John Phillip Santos; a writer, journalist, and documentary filmmaker from San Antonio, Texas.  His two memoirs, Places Left Unfinished at the Time of Creation (a National Book Award Finalist) and The Farthest Home is in an Empire of Fire, together tell the ancestral stories of his mother and father’s families, an American origin story of the centuries-long migrations that emerged out of Spain, Mexico, and the lands that became South Texas.  His book of poems is Songs Older Than Any Known Singer.  

Alexandra Fuller

~ Matt Boutte ~ 1 Comment

A conversation with Alexandra Fuller. Alexandra is a novelist, a journalist, and a memoirist whose most recent book, "Travel Light, Move Fast" was published in 2020. In this conversation we discuss her childhood in Rhodesia, racism, grief, loss, joy, and hope.