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Janaka Stucky will read from a new edition of Bill Knott‘s landmark first book, The Naomi Poems: Corpse and Beans (Black Ocean, 2024), published by Stucky. Back in publication for the first time in almost sixty years, the romantic, antiwar, and transgressive modes of The Naomi Poems illustrate Knott’s trailblazing punk poetics. Stucky will offer an interactive audience Q&A, sign copies of the new edition, and discuss Knott’s lasting influence on his work.

Bill Knott was born in Carson City, Michigan, in 1940 and died in Bay City, Michigan, in 2014. In the years between, Knott traveled the country—eventually settling in Boston—and proceeded to publish eleven full-length books of poems and was awarded both the Iowa Poetry Prize and a Guggenheim fellowship.

Janaka Stucky is the founding publisher of Black Ocean, and the author of four poetry collections including Ascend Ascend (Third Man Books, 2019), which was released as a live performance with cellist Lori Goldston by Neurot Recordings in May 2023. His work has been profiled in The Believer, Vice, and BOMB Magazine. Find him at janakastucky.com.