LitFest 2025 Excerpts: Video Poems by Paisley Rekdal

Amherst College’s tenth annual literary festival runs from Thursday, February 27 to Sunday, March 2. Among the guests is PAISLEY REKDAL, whose book West: A Translation was longlisted for the National Book Award. The Common is pleased to reprint a short selection of video poems from West here.

Join Paisley Rekdal and Brandom Som in conversation with host Ruth Dickey, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation, on Sunday, March 2 at 2pm. 

Register and see the full list of LitFest events here.


Not

What Day

 

Heroic

 

Paisley Rekdal is the author of four books of nonfiction and seven books of poetry, most recently West: A Translation, which won the 2024 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award and was longlisted for the National Book Award. The former Utah poet laureate, she teaches at the University of Utah, where she directs the American West Center.

From the beginning, The Common has brought you transportive writing and exciting new voices. We are committed to supporting writers and maintaining free, unrestricted access to our website, but we can’t do it without you. Become an integral part of our global community of readers and writers by donating today. No amount is too small. Thank you!

LitFest 2025 Excerpts: Video Poems by Paisley Rekdal

Related Posts

Red Lake, Croatia

Dispatch from Red Lake, Croatia

MARIA B. OLUJIC
Standing at the rim once more—years after the war, decades after childhood, weeks after the expedition to the bottom, I realized: the lake hasn’t changed. But we have. We’ve sent in soldiers, scientists, submarines. We’ve brought offerings of sonar and story. But the water remains calm. Refusing our precision. Welcoming only awe.

Some Kind of Corporate Retreat

TERAO TETSUYA
I remembered reading in a magazine about “cabin fever,” a phenomenon common in high-altitude areas during harsh winters. When forced to stay in the same small indoor space for an extended period, people will develop abnormally intense feelings toward each other such as disdain