Hayden's Ferry Review Authors

* This is a special look back at some of the more successful authors who have graced HFR with their wit and attention. Some of them are authors and some are poets who have gone onto national and even international acclaim. So we are inviting you to take a look back at some of are more famous contributors*

It was the year of the Dragon/Snake or the best year ever whichever you prefer.(Hint: it is the best year because yours truly was born in that year) It is also the year of the fifth issue of Hayden’s Ferry Review. This is the issue with our next author; born Florence Anthony she is now simply known as the poet Ai. This was her first time in HFR and she was part of the group of writers writing for The Disturbing Image. She wrote a poem called "General George Armstrong Custer: My life in Theater" for HFR and sat down for an interview as well. She spoke about the historical characters, violence, and sex and how they are used in her poetry.
Her imagery in poetry is very vivid so HFR asked her if she began her poetry with imagery. She said “Yes, I think I used to. Well, I start with a character, but I also used to like to begin on an especially strong image…” In the interview she is very sure of her work and the things that she has done in the past. It is important to read some of her works before hand, because she mentions them a great deal in the interview. She also mentions what she thinks about the "supposed" ever-disappearing audience for poetry. I mention "supposed" because people have been saying the audience for poetry has been disappearing for years. She says “my feeling is that poets aren’t dealing with it enough.” She is a poet who believes in her craft and has a forceful nature that can be felt through the pages, in a good way. She brings her personality and nature into her poetry, the first two line of her poem in HFR is "After the blood wedding at Little Big Horn..." She is not online but if you would like a copy of issue five you can email us at hfr@asu.edu.