Alcatraz

A truly unique book of illustrated creative prose

Alcatraz is a one-of-a-kind illustrated anthology of short prose and prose poetry. It showcases works from many of the most exciting practitioners writing in English across the globe.

This includes work by luminaries such as Will Alexander, Indran Amirthanayagam, Nin Andrews, Maxine Chernoff, Denise Duhamel, Holly Iglesias, Peter Johnson, Luke Kennard, Naveen Kishore, Janice Lee, Jane Monson, Mariko Nagai, Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai, Alvin Pang, Lauren Russell, Fiona Sampson, Ian Seed, Sudeep Sen, John Skoyles, Donna Stonecipher, Samuel Wagan Watson, Cyril Wong, Nicholas Wong, Jenny Xie, and Gary Young.

The volume is edited by the award-winning Australian prose poets Cassandra Atherton and Paul Hetherington, who recently published the definitive book about the form, Prose Poetry: An Introduction (Princeton University Press, 2020), and the authoritative Anthology of Australian Prose Poetry (Melbourne University Press, 2020). The book is illustrated by renowned artist and publisher, Phil Day, whose work recently appeared in the New Yorker.

The anthology is titled Alcatraz largely because of the playfulness inherent in the word, which contains the first and last letters of the English alphabet in first and last positions. Contributing writers were asked to respond to the idea of 'Alcatraz' in any way they chose—whether directly or more tangentially. This resulted in a wonderful series of responses, taking on and expanding a wide array of the associations connected to this historically loaded word.

The book is highly inventive in its layout, with contributions appearing according to their length. This means that the book moves from the shortest to the longest pieces, and the illustrations complement the shape of the written pieces. They are line drawings, playing on the idea of taking a line from the work and representing it obliquely without ever overwhelming it.

Alcatraz is a creative, unusual and distinctive volume celebrating international collaboration and the special magic that happens in the meeting of short prose works and visual art.

Alcatraz includes works by:

Will Alexander
Indran Amirthanayagam
Nin Andrews
Sally Ashton
Cassandra Atherton
Stuart Barnes
Linda Black
Jessica Bundschuh
Anne Caldwell
Anthony Caleshu
Maxine Chernoff
Paul Christiansen
Denise Duhamel
Carrie Etter
Gerald Fleming
Jeff Friedman
Oz Hardwick
Bob Heman
Xavier Hennekinne
Paul Hetherington
Cindy Hochman
MC Hyland
Holly Iglesias
Brenda Iijima
Peter Johnson
S. K. Kelen
Luke Kennard
John Kinsella
Naveen Kishore
Janice Lee
Gian Lombardo
Kathleen McGookey
Alyson Miller
Jane Monson
Margaret Moores
Paul Munden
Mariko Nagai
Sawako Nakayasu
Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
Geoff Page
Alvin Pang
Jonathan Penton
Meg Pokrass
Lee Ann Roripaugh
Lauren Russell
Sarah M. Sala
Fiona Sampson
Kristin Sanders
Ian Seed
Sudeep Sen
John Skoyles
Donna Stonecipher
Ruth Stacey
Marc Vincenz
Samuel Wagan Watson
Amelia Walker
Jen Webb
Jessica L. Wilkinson
Cyril Wong
Nicholas Wong
Jenny Xie
Gary Young

Illustrator: Phil Day