On The Edge

This is the first episode of our series highlighting authors published in the summer 2018 issue of Cleaver Magazine. This episode features Cait Weiss Orcutt, Hussain Ahmed, and Levi Andalou. Their work, along with the entire summer issue of Cleaver, can be read at cleavermagazine.com. More episodes of On the Edge are soon to come, stay tuned. On the Edge was produced by Ryan Evans. Original music for this episode of On the Edge created by Simon Aspinall, more of his music can be found @simon-aspinall01

This is the first episode of our series highlighting authors published in the Spring 2018 issue of Cleaver Magazine. This episode features Nikki Stavile, John Sibley Williams, and Nicole Burney. Their work, along with the entire Spring issue of Cleaver, can be read at cleavermagazine.com. More episodes of On the Edge are soon to come, stay tuned. On the Edge was produced by Ryan Evans. Original music for this episode of On the Edge created by Simon Aspinall, more of his music can be found @simon-aspinall01

Nathaniel is a writer, editor, historian, journalist, and the author of five books, including the novel Everything is Borrowed, forthcoming in May 2018 from New Door Books. He’s the co-editor of Who Will Speak for America?, a literary anthology in response to the American political crisis, also forthcoming, in June 2018 from Temple University Press. He’s the fiction review editor of Cleaver Magazine, as well as a prolific book critic focusing on literary fiction and works in translation. His work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Public Books, The Rumpus, Tablet Magazine, LitHub, The Millions, and the Kenyon Review, among other publications. Nathaniel and I sat down, he in his office in Philadelphia where he lives and works, and me in my office in Seattle, and talked about why literary criticism is important, and what makes for good criticism. Interview by Ryan Evans, producer of On the Edge. Music by @simon-aspinall01

In order to celebrate five years and 20 issues of Cleaver Magazine, we are interviewing senior editors to hear their thoughts on their time with the magazine. I had the privilege of interviewing the editor-in-chief of Cleaver, Karen Rile. Karen started Cleaver in 2012. She is the author of the novel "Winter Music" and numerous works of fiction and creative nonfiction, such as her recent poetry published in Superstition Review. Her writing has appeared in literary magazines such as The Southern Review, American Writing, Creative Nonfiction, and Apiary. Her work has been listed amongst The Best American Short Stories. Karen writes articles and essays for publications including The San Francisco Chronicle, The New York Times, and The Philadelphia Inquirer. I sat down to a skype call with Karen and, after saying hello to her dog, we talked about the editorial mission of Cleaver, the innovative spirit of the magazine, and the political nature inherent in all art. Interview by Ryan Evans, producer of On the E

This is the final episode of our three-part series highlighting authors published in the December 2017 issue of Cleaver Magazine. This episode features C. John Graham, Jennifer MacBain-Stephens, Kyra Simone, and Maura Way. Their work, along with the entire December issue of Cleaver, can be read at cleavermagazine.com. More episodes of On the Edge are soon to come, stay tuned. On the Edge was produced by Ryan Evans. Original music for this episode of On the Edge created by Simon Aspinall, more of his music can be found @simon-aspinall01

This is the second episode of our three-part series highlighting authors published in the December 2017 issue of Cleaver Magazine. This episode features Tina Barr, Michael T. Young, and Amy Miller. Their work, along with the entire December issue of Cleaver, can be read at cleavermagazine.com. More episodes of On the Edge are soon to come, stay tuned. On the Edge was produced by Ryan Evans. Original music for this episode of On the Edge created by Simon Aspinall, more of his music can be found @simon-aspinall01

This is the first episode of our three-part series highlighting authors published in the December 2017 issue of Cleaver Magazine. This episode features Paul Siegell, Mag Gabbert, Kelsey Ann Kerr, and Erin Slaughter. Their work, along with the entire December issue of Cleaver, can be read at cleavermagazine.com. More episodes of On the Edge are soon to come, stay tuned. On the Edge was produced by Ryan Evans. Original music for this episode of On the Edge created by Simon Aspinall, more of his music can be found @simon-aspinall01

This is the final episode of our four-part series highlighting authors published in the September 2017 issue of Cleaver Magazine. This episode features Ed Taylor, Michael Backus, Nance Van Winkle, and Leonard Kress. Their work, along with the entire September issue of Cleaver, can be read at cleavermagazine.com. More episodes of On the Edge are soon to come, stay tuned. On the Edge was produced by Ryan Evans. Original music for this episode of On the Edge created by Troy Bohman aka Nodalus, more of his music can be found @nodalus

This is the third episode of a four-part series highlighting authors published in the September 2017 issue of Cleaver Magazine. This episode features Babo Kamel, Jenny Montgomery, Jack Israel, and Reggie Mills. Their work, along with the entire September issue of Cleaver, can be read at cleavermagazine.com. More episodes of On the Edge are soon to come, stay tuned. On the Edge was produced by Ryan Evans. Original music for this episode of On the Edge created by Troy Bohman aka Nodalus, more of his music can be found @nodalus

This is the second episode of a four-part series highlighting authors published in the September 2017 issue of Cleaver Magazine. This episode features Bruce McRae, Penney Knightly, Michael Dennison, and Bola Opaleke. Their work, along with the entire September issue of Cleaver, can be read at cleavermagazine.com. More episodes of On the Edge are soon to come, stay tuned. On the Edge was produced by Ryan Evans. Original music for this episode of On the Edge created by Troy Bohman aka Nodalus, more of his music can be found @nodalus

This is the first episode of a four-part series highlighting authors published in the September 2017 issue of Cleaver Magazine. This episode features Heather Borbeau, Christopher Rodriques, Nina Murray, and Alexandra Smyth. Their work, along with the entire September issue of Cleaver, can be read at cleavermagazine.com. More episodes of On the Edge are soon to come, stay tuned. On the Edge was produced by Ryan Evans. Original music for this episode of On the Edge created by Troy Bohman aka Nodalus, more of his music can be found @nodalus

Heather Bourbeau’s fiction and poetry have been published in 100 Word Story, Duende, and The Stockholm Review of Literature. She has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and has worked for the UN peacekeeping mission in Liberia and UNICEF Somalia. Her journalism has appeared in The Economist, the Financial Times, and Foreign Affairs. On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.

Christopher Rodrigues is a Brazilian-American writer living in Brooklyn, New York. He is a graduate of the University of Chicago Divinity School, and his fiction and poetry explore themes of religion and modern spiritual practice. On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.

Nina Murray is a native of the Western Ukrainian city of Lviv. She is a poet and literary translator from the Ukrainian and Russian languages. As a U.S. diplomat, she has served in Lithuania, Canada, and Russia. Her chapbook Minimize Considered is forthcoming from Finishing Line Press. On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.

Alexandra Smyth lives in Brooklyn, NY. She is a graduate of the City College of New York MFA Creative Writing Program. She was a recipient of the 2014 Poets and Writers Amy Award. Her work has most recently appeared in carte blanche, Found Poetry Review, and Glass: A Journal of Poetry, among others. On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.

Bruce McRae is a Canadian musician currently residing on Salt Spring Island, BC. He is a Pushcart nominee with over a thousand poems published internationally in magazines such as Poetry, Rattle, and the North American Review. His books are “The So-Called Sonnets” (Silenced Press), “An Unbecoming Fit Of Frenzy” (Cawing Crow Press) and “Like As If” (Pskis Porch. You can reach him by email at: bpmcrae@live.com On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.

Penney Knightly is a survivor of sexual abuse; themes about that are often found in her work. Her poetry has appeared in Broad Magazine, Big River Review, Dead King, Ink in Thirds, Burningword Journal, and elsewhere. She lives with her family on a sailboat in the San Francisco Bay, where she writes and makes art. She tweets @penneyknightly and shares on her blog, penneyknightly.com. On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.

Michael Dennison is a poet living currently in North Lebanon, near the city of Tripoli, teaching creative writing and British literature at the University of Balamand. He has published poems in several journals including Rusted Radishes, Drunken Boat, International Poetry Review, Frank, Van Gogh’s Ear, Slab, etc., and also a book titled Hamra Noir, a selection of Beirut poems, in 2010. On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.

Bola Opaleke is a Nigerian-Canadian poet residing in Winnipeg, MB. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in The Nottingham Review, The Puritan, The Literary Review of Canada, Sierra Nevada Review, Poetry Quarterly, Miracle E-zine, Poetry Pacific, Drunk Monkeys, Pastiche Magazine, UK Poetry Library, and others. On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.

Babo Kamel’s poems have appeared in literary reviews in the US, Australia, and Canada. Some of these include Painted Bride Quarterly, Abyss & Apex, The Greensboro Review, Alligator Juniper, The Grolier Poetry Prize, Contemporary Verse 2, Rust + Moth, Mobius: The Journal of Social Change, and 2River Review. She was a winner of the Charlotte Newberger Poetry Prize and is a Pushcart nominee. She has work forthcoming in Pantheon Magazine, Redactions Poetry & Poetics, Mizmor L’David Anthology, The Inflectionist Review, Lines+Stars, Origins, and dreams&nightmares. On the Edge is a production of Cleaver Magazine and is produced by Ryan Evans. Visit cleavermagazine.com for more high quality art and literary work.