Shows
Desire LinesSensing Simplicity: Interdisciplinary Spaces with Aaron LelitoIn this episode, Emily speaks with Aaron Lelito about interdisciplinary space, multisensory creative practice and cultivating simplicity. Aaron is an editor, writer, and visual artist from Buffalo, New York, US. He founded the art and literature publication Wild Roof Journal in 2020 and serves as Editor in Chief. His poetry chapbook, The Half Turn, was published in 2023, and he released a collaborative notebook/art collection titled If We: Connections Through Creative Process in 2024. His work has also appeared in Stonecoast Review, Barzakh, Eavesdrop Magazine, SPECTRA Poets, Peach Mag, and Santa Fe Review. He is a freelance editor, certified...2025-04-2140 min
Wild Roof Podcast#33 - Wild Roof Roundtable: Dawn Leas and John TessitoreIn the March episode, authors Dawn Leas and John Tessitore join host Aaron Lelito to read some poems and talk about how they were made. If you like getting a behind-the-scenes view of the creative process, listen up!
We also chat about the question, “What keeps you going as a writer?” and how we choose to include personal life in our writing. Lastly, we offer a few practical writing suggestions (because, after all, we’re here to help!).
See more about Dawn at her website. John’s poetry collections are available here.
2024-03-0640 min
FruitlessMorbid Symptoms (feat. Jesse D. Goodman)Josiah is joined by Jesse Goodman (@platofan402, Post-Cultural Amnesiac) to discuss 2023. Beginning with a focus on 2023 in personal media consumption, the conversation evolves into a broader discuss of the anecdotal "vibe shift," the sense of living in a hyperpolitical age, and the difficulty of talking about film or art while genocide and war unfolds in the background. Correction: I (Josiah) briefly discuss the strange Osama Bin Laden going viral on TikTok situation and suggest that we will eventually find out who is behind that. We already have. It was Yashar Ali who platformed it. Follow...2024-01-081h 52Wild Roof Podcast#32 - Wild Roof Discussion with Kelly GrayIn the January episode, writer and previous WRJ contributor Kelly Gray joins host Aaron Lelito to chat about her new poetry chapbook called The Mating Calls of a Specter, out now from Tusculum Review.
Kelly writes about what she knows or is trying to know: parenting, systemic violence, dead things, monsters, prophetic animals, relationships to self and others, and rural life. In our conversation, we cover some of Kelly's early writing experiences and how they impacted her, the writing process for her new chapbook, and the question of how to respond to creative blocks. Kelly finishes with...2024-01-0232 minWild Roof Podcast#31 - Wild Roof Discussion with Amber Herzog LymanIn the November episode, poet, film writer, and adventurer Amber Herzog Lyman joins hosts Aaron Lelito and Nicole Bethune Winters to chat about her creative process and her connection to nature, as well as her new poetry/music album called Listen Deep.
Amber also shares a poem from the album called “Our Mother.” If you like poetry, music, and cetaceans (a classic trio), I recommend that you listen in, listen up, and listen deep!
See more about Amber’s work at her website and on Instagram @wildwondernature.
2023-11-0245 minWild Roof Podcast#30 - Wild Roof Roundtable: Marybeth Holleman and Eric WilliamsonIn the September episode, authors Marybeth Holleman and Eric Williamson join host Aaron Lelito to read some poems and talk about how they were made. If you like getting a behind the scenes view of the creative process, listen up!
We also chat about the “nuts-and-bolts” of putting together a poetry collection, as well as a pretty hefty reading recommendations list.
See more about Marybeth’s book Tender Gravity at her website. Eric’s chapbook This Is Our Secret is available to order here.
2023-09-041h 06Wild Roof Podcast#29 - Wild Roof Roundtable: Morgan Stephens and Eben BeinIn the August episode, WRJ contributors Morgan Stephens and Eben Bein join hosts Aaron Lelito and Chris Vogt for a writer-centric conversation.
Here, both guests offer a poem from their collections. Eben reads "What I Meant to Ask" (published in WRJ's Issue 13), and Morgan reads "Better this way" (published in Issue 21).
We get some wonderful behind-the-scenes insights about these poems as well. It's always fascinating to peel back the layers and see some of the experiences that inspired the poems we love. Eben and Morgan certainly don't disappoint in that area!
See more...2023-08-0224 minWild Roof Podcast#28 - Wild Roof Roundtable DiscussionIn the July episode, WRJ contributors Morgan Stephens and Eben Bein join hosts Aaron Lelito and Chris Vogt for a writer-centric conversation.
We chat about the questions "How can you describe your creation process?" and "How do you gain useful insight into your writing?"
Both Morgan and Eben have chapbooks in various stages in the publication process, so they are able to offer some great experiential commentary. If you are thinking about putting together a chapbook or are already in progress with a collection of your writing, listen up! And if you're not, you're still...2023-07-0140 minWild Roof Podcast#27 - Wild Roof Discussion with Anne Marie Wells: ExtraIn the May episode, author, teacher, and ecologist Anne Marie Wells joins hosts Aaron Lelito and Chris Vogt for the second part of our conversation.
We chat about the question What is the role of letting go in the creative process? Also, Anne Marie shares a poem called "Grief is the Ghost," which is from her new poetry collection Survived By. It is available now!
2023-05-0127 minWild Roof Podcast#26 - Wild Roof Discussion with Anne Marie WellsIn the April (aka National Poetry Month) episode, author, teacher, and ecologist Anne Marie Wells joins hosts Aaron Lelito and Chris Vogt.
We chat about overcoming second-guessing yourself as a writer (as well as some other writer-centric pitfalls), and Anne Marie takes us behind the scenes of her poem "Prairie Fire," which was published in the November 2021 issue of WRJ. Anne Marie also has a new poetry collection that is coming out on April 30th. It's titled Survived By and is available for pre-order here.
We hope you enjoy our conversation as much as we...2023-04-0746 minWild Roof Podcast#25 - Wild Roof Contributor ReadingFor the March episode, we have another group of previous WRJ contributors to read some of their work.
12 contributors join us for this reading. Enjoy!
J.D Goodman (0:41)
Kris Whorton (3:38)
Shannon Vare Christine (7:14)
Liam Day (9:42)
Emma McNamara (11:44)
Melody Wilson (16:29)
Veronica Barker-Barzel (19:44)
Victoria Dym (23:34)
David A. Goodrum (27:38)
Justine Payton (30:40)
John Tessitore (38:22)
Bracha K. Sharp (40:53)
2023-03-0245 minWild Roof Podcast#24 - Wild Roof Contributor ReadingFor the February episode, we invited another group of previous contributors to read some of their work, and unsurprisingly, the writers included here present the kind of thoughtful, engaging, and heartfelt work that you've come to expect from Wild Roof Journal.
18 WRJ contributors join us for this reading. Enjoy!
Sara Dovre Wudali (0:55)
Sarah Croscutt (4:40)
Cleo Griffith (8:54)
Ellen June Wright (10:27)
Bruce Parker (14:03)
Trapper Markelz (18:38)
Linda Briskin (21:28)
Ian Schoultz (26:42)
Beth Dulin (28:48)
Nicole Farmer (31:30)
Walter Weinschenk (35:57)
Samira Shakib-Bregeth (39:05)
Naomi Bess Leimsider (47:14)
Eben Bein (50:26)
Heidi...2023-02-031h 10Wild Roof Podcast#23 - Wild Roof Roundtable: ExtraIn the January episode, WRJ collaborators Ann Keeling and Rachel Lauren Myers join hosts Aaron Lelito and Chris Vogt for an informal chat. Here, we continue the conversation from last month's episode and consider ways to approach deeply personal writing ... and the uncertainty of publishing it for everyone to see (yikes)! We also troubleshoot Chris' writing project about a night in a strip club attic as an example of arriving at the "moral of the story" while staying true to the details of a lived experience. Of course, we also give a shout out to a few excellent pieces...2023-01-0330 minWild Roof Podcast#22 - Wild Roof Roundtable DiscussionIn the December episode, WRJ collaborators Ann Keeling and Rachel Lauren Myers join hosts Aaron Lelito and Chris Vogt.
We chat about three of our favorite poems from Issue 17: Bracha K. Sharp's "Waiting for the Gift," Julia Wendell's "August Outro," and Ian Schoultz's "grandfather passes in the hall." Each of these selections pack quite an emotional punch and display a remarkable nuance of craft along the way. They are wonderful representations of the work we love to share in each issue of Wild Roof Journal!
We hope you enjoy our conversation as much as we...2022-12-0646 minWild Roof Podcast#21 - Wild Roof Contributor ReadingHere's something new for the November episode!
We invited a group of previous contributors to read some of their work, and unsurprisingly, the writers who took us up on the offer share the kind of thoughtful, engaging, and heartfelt work that you've come to expect from Wild Roof Journal.
12 previous WRJ contributors join us for this reading. Enjoy!
The selections presented are accessible at wildroofjournal.com/podcast.
2022-11-0245 minWild Roof Podcast#20 - Wild Roof Roundtable DiscussionIn the September episode, WRJ collaborator Rachel Lauren Myers joins hosts Aaron Lelito and Chris Vogt.
We talk about why Walt Whitman's "A Noiseless Patient Spider" is an old favorite. We also cover an excellent listener question: "What are you values and how do they show up in your work?"
And we take a few tangents to chat about John Steinbeck, Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia, Sylvia Plath's diary, and more.
Thanks for listening!
2022-09-0433 minWild Roof Podcast#19 - Wild Roof Roundtable DiscussionIn the August episode, WRJ collaborator Rachel Lauren Myers joins hosts Aaron Lelito and Chris Vogt.
We talk about the dynamic poem "I Read a Lot" by Evalyn Lee (from Issue 15) as well as one of Rachel's favorites, "Monument" by Keith Kopka. In between these poems, we take a detour to consider the question "What keeps you going on a difficult writing day?" (...And yes, listening to podcasts is one of our strategies, so press play and settle in for our chat!)
We hope you enjoy our conversation as much as we did having it.2022-08-0845 minWild Roof Podcast#18 - Wild Roof Roundtable: ExtraIn the July episode, Kathleen Caprario-Ulrich and Emma McNamara join Aaron and Chris to consider the question of "How do you revise?"
If you’ve ever struggled with cutting, chopping, trimming, and changing your writing in order to take that next step toward completion, then listen up! We cover a few techniques that we have found helpful to our ongoing writing practices.
2022-07-0131 minWild Roof Podcast#17 - Wild Roof Roundtable DiscussionIn the June episode, Issue 14 contributors Kathleen Caprario-Ulrich and Emma McNamara join hosts Aaron Lelito and Chris Vogt.
Kathleen and Emma share a bit about their creations before we move on to chat about two favorites from Wild Roof Journal’s May issue: Melissa Mulvihill's prose poem "A Mouthful of Storm" and Dawn Erickson's short story "Fortson."
We found so much to connect with between these two selections, so settle in and enjoy the conversation!
Each of the selections we cover are accessible at wildroofjournal.com/podcast.
2022-06-0148 minWild Roof Podcast#16 - Wild Roof Roundtable: ExtraIn the May episode, Ash Good and Eben Bein join Aaron Lelito to consider the question of "How does your writing process begin?"
If you’ve ever felt stuck, stalled, or sluggish as you try getting a new piece of writing off the ground, listen up! We cover a few techniques that we have found helpful to our ongoing writing practices.
2022-05-0117 minWild Roof Podcast#15 - Wild Roof Roundtable DiscussionFor the April episode, Ash Good and Eben Bein, who both contributed poems to WRJ's Issue 13, join editor Aaron Lelito. (Roundtable cohost Chris Vogt has a limited presence in this one due to internet connection problems!)
We cover three evocative poems from Wild Roof Journal’s March issue. We even have some "behind the scenes" insights from each of the featured writers!
Each of the selections we cover are accessible at wildroofjournal.com/podcast.
2022-04-0153 minWild Roof Podcast#14 - Wild Roof Roundtable: ExtraIn the March episode, Rachel Arturi Pruzan and Marybeth Holleman join Aaron Lelito and Chris Vogt to consider the question of "What is a book/artwork you have grown with over time?"
Several previous WRJ contributors offer their responses as well. Guess what? We come up with quite the eclectic mix--get your reading lists out for this one!
Each of the selections we cover are accessible at wildroofjournal.com/podcast.
2022-03-0220 minWild Roof Podcast#13 - Wild Roof Roundtable DiscussionIn the February episode, editor Aaron Lelito and roundtable co-host Chris Vogt are joined in conversation by Rachel Arturi Pruzan and Marybeth Holleman, who both have been published in Wild Roof Journal (be sure to check out their work here and here).
We cover four excellent selections from Wild Roof Journal’s January issue (Issue 12). How did these pieces speak to us? Listen and find out! Each of them is available to view at wildroofjournal.com/podcast.
2022-02-0236 minWild Roof Podcast#12 - Wild Roof Roundtable Discussion: After PartyJoin us for the "after party" segment of our most recent roundtable discussion. We kept the fun going for a bit of extra art & lit talk. We hope you enjoy the looser side of of podcast recording process...
In this "AP" discussion, Anna Genevieve Winham and Vian Borchert join co-hosts Aaron Lelito and Chris Vogt to address the question of "What is your favorite break-up poem?"
Each of the pieces we cover are available to view at wildroofjournal.com/podcast.
2022-01-0135 minWild Roof Podcast#11 - Wild Roof Roundtable DiscussionIn the December episode, editor Aaron Lelito and roundtable sidekick Chris Vogt are joined in conversation by Anna Genevieve Winham and Vian Borchert, who both have been published in Wild Roof Journal (be sure to check out their work here and here).
We cover three stand-out selections from Wild Roof Journal’s November issue (Issue 11). Each of these pieces is available to view at wildroofjournal.com/podcast.
What made these pieces such a good fit for WRJ? Listen to hear our thoughts (as well as some "behind-the-scenes" insights from the creators!).
2021-12-0748 minWild Roof Podcast#10 - Wild Roof Roundtable DiscussionIn the October episode, editor Aaron Lelito and roundtable sidekick Chris Vogt are joined in conversation by Kelly Gray and Hayley Stoddard, who both have had poems published in Wild Roof Journal (be sure to check out their work here and here).
We talk though four evocative pieces from Wild Roof Journal’s September issue (Issue 10). Each of these poems are available to view at wildroofjournal.com/podcast.
Does your interpretation line up with ours? Listen and find out!
2021-10-021h 01Wild Roof Podcast#9 - Wild Roof Roundtable DiscussionIn the August episode, editor Aaron Lelito leads a discussion that covers some of the excellent pieces from Wild Roof Journal’s July issue (Issue 9). These works are available to view at wildroofjournal.com/podcast.
Joining the discussion to share their insights are roundtable regular Chris Vogt, along with Nicole Bethune Winters and Eva Swiecki. Both Nicole and Eva have previously been published in WRJ, so be sure to check out their work here and here.
What impressed us about these three poems? Listen to find out! We talk about how "Bees" manages to avoiding th...2021-08-031h 05Wild Roof Podcast#8 - Wild Roof Roundtable Discussion (Re-visiting Issue #8)For the June episode, editor Aaron Lelito leads another roundtable discussion, covering some stand-out pieces from Wild Roof Journal’s May issue (Issue 8). These works are available to view at wildroofjournal.com/podcast.
Joining the discussion to share their insights are roundtable sidekick Chris Vogt, a professor of English at SUNY Erie Community College, along with Anna Schechter and Shannon Lise. Anna is a returning roundtable guest and is a member of the WRJ team; Shannon is a forthcoming WRJ contributor with a background in both English and clinical psychology.
In this conversation, we take a...2021-06-031h 17Wild Roof Podcast#7 - Wild Roof Roundtable DiscussionFor the May episode, editor Aaron Lelito leads another roundtable discussion, covering a few favorite pieces from Wild Roof Journal’s March issue (Issue 7). These works available to view at wildroofjournal.com/podcast.
Joining the discussion to share their insights are Chris Vogt, a professor of English at SUNY Erie Community College, along with Paul Smit and Adrienne Rozells. Paul is a fiction writer, who has had two short stories appear in WRJ, "Burnt Avocado Toast" in Issue 1 and "The Water Fall" in Issue 7. Adrienne is a returning roundtable guest and is a member of the WRJ te...2021-05-021h 09Wild Roof Podcast#6 - Interview with Paul NelsonFor the April episode, Aaron Lelito and Chris Vogt have a conversation with poet Paul Nelson, founder of the Seattle Poetics Lab.
We talk about the origins of Poetry Postcard Fest, the benefits of spontaneous composition practices, and the importance of music to creativity.
For more, see paulenelson.com and popo.cards.
2021-04-0155 minWild Roof Podcast#5 - Wild Roof Roundtable DiscussionFor the March episode, editor Aaron Lelito leads another roundtable discussion, covering a few favorite pieces from Wild Roof Journal’s January issue (they are available to view at wildroofjournal.com/podcast).
Joining the discussion to share their insights are Chris Vogt, a professor of English at SUNY Erie Community College, along with Anna Schechter and Phoebe Phelps, two members of the WRJ team.
2021-03-0155 minWild Roof Podcast#4 - Interview with Ashley Pryor GeigerFor the February episode, editor Aaron Lelito has a conversation with artist Ashley Pryor Geiger.
We talk about the methods she uses to create digital collages such as "Threshold" (which appears in Issue 6), her interest in using archival photographs, as well as some recommendations on helpful art/photo programs to use. And of course, there are plenty of reading recommendations (...we don't want our reading lists to dry up, now do we?).
2021-02-0149 minWild Roof Podcast#3 - Wild Roof Roundtable DiscussionFor the January episode, editor Aaron Lelito discusses a few favorite pieces from Wild Roof Journal’s previous issues with Chris Vogt, a professor of English at SUNY Erie Community College, and Adrienne Rozells, a member of the WRJ team.
In addition to diving into the selected works, we cover a few other tangential topics as well.
The pieces discussed are available to view at wildroofjournal.com/podcast.
2021-01-0356 minWild Roof Podcast#2 - Interview with Erica AveyFor the Dec. episode, editor Aaron Lelito has a conversation with writer Erica Avey. She has published articles on the topic of psychedelics in Medium, Psymposia, and DoubleBlind. Here, we talk about some of her creative influences and her new project SPECTRA Poets.
2020-12-0432 minWild Roof Podcast#1 - Issue 5 Artist Feature Interview with Caroline RussellFor the Issue 5 artist feature, editor Aaron Lelito has a conversation with photographer Caroline Russell. Topics include the appeal of darkrooms, chlorophyll prints, and the intersection of textual and visual arts.
2020-11-0227 min