About Marshall Poe

Marshall Poe has done a lot of things, some of them good.

Marshall Poe is the founder and editor of the New Books Network. He can be reached at marshallpoe@newbooksnetwork.com.

NBN Episodes hosted by Marshall:

Jo Shaw and Ben Fletcher-Watson, "The Art of Being Dangerous: Exploring Women and Danger through Creative Expression" (Leuven UP, 2021)

September 13, 2023

The Art of Being Dangerous

Jo Shaw and Ben Fletcher-Watson
Hosted by Marshall Poe
Listen:

The idea that women are dangerous - individually or collectively - runs throughout history and across cultures. Behind this label lies a significant s…

Sandy Moffett, "The Ghost of Craven Snuggs: A Midwestern Murder Mystery" (Ice Cube Press, 2022)

December 20, 2022

The Ghost of Craven Snuggs

Sandy Moffett
Hosted by Marshall Poe

Today I talked to the wonderful Sandy Moffett. Sandy joined the Grinnell faculty in 1971 and teaches Acting, Directing and American Theatre. Although …

Virginia R. Dominguez and Brigittine M. French, "Anthropological Lives: An Introduction to the Profession of Anthropology" (Rutgers UP, 2020)

December 7, 2022

Anthropological Lives

Virginia R Dominguez and Brigittine M. French
Hosted by Marshall Poe

Anthropological Lives: An Introduction to the Profession of Anthropology (Rutgers UP, 2020) introduces readers to what it is like to be a professional…

Grant Faulkner, "All the Comfort Sin Can Provide" (Black Lawrence Press, 2021)

November 21, 2022

All the Comfort Sin Can Provide

Grant Faulkner
Hosted by Marshall Poe

Today I had the pleasure of talking to Grant Faulkner. We discuss National Novel Writing Month, of which Grant is the executive director, 100 Word Sto…

University Presses Today: A Conversation with Charles Watkinson

November 14, 2022

University Presses Today

Charles Watkinson
Hosted by Marshall Poe

The NBN would not exist but for the work of university presses. So every year we celebrate the efforts of our colleagues at UPs during "University Pre…

May-lee Chai, "Tomorrow in Shanghai and Other Stories" (Blair, 2022)

November 1, 2022

Tomorrow in Shanghai and Other Stories

May-lee Chai
Hosted by Marshall Poe

In a vibrant and illuminating follow-up to her award-winning story collection, Useful Phrases for Immigrants, May-lee Chai's latest collection Tomorro…

Gerald Lalonde, "Athena Itonia: Geography and Meaning of an Ancient Greek War Goddess" (Brill, 2019)

October 17, 2022

Athena Itonia

Gerald Lalonde
Hosted by Marshall Poe

In Athena Itonia: Geography and Meaning of an Ancient Greek War Goddess (Brill, 2019) Gerald V. Lalonde offers a comparative study of the social, poli…

Beronda L. Montgomery, "Lessons from Plants" (Harvard UP, 2021)

September 15, 2022

Lessons from Plants

Beronda L. Montgomery
Hosted by Marshall Poe

We know that plants are important. They maintain the atmosphere by absorbing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen. They nourish other living organisms …

Jillian Peterson and James Densley, "The Violence Project: How to Stop a Mass Shooting Epidemic" (Harry N. Abrams, 2021)

August 31, 2022

The Violence Project

Jillian Peterson and James Densley
Hosted by Marshall Poe

Using data from the writers' groundbreaking research on mass shooters, including first-person accounts from the perpetrators themselves, The Violence …

Joseph Mileti, "Modern Mathematical Logic" (Cambridge UP, 2022)

August 15, 2022

Modern Mathematical Logic

Joseph Mileti
Hosted by Marshall Poe

Today I had the pleasure of talking to Joe Mileti, associate professor of mathematics at Grinnell College. Even if you are not "into" math, you will e…

Jin Feng, "Tasting Paradise on Earth: Jiangnan Foodways" (U Washington Press, 2019)

August 1, 2022

Tasting Paradise on Earth

Jin Feng
Hosted by Marshall Poe

Today I talked to Jin Feng of Grinnell College about her fascinating book Tasting Paradise on Earth: Jiangnan Foodways (U Washington Press, 2019). Pr…

Tony Perman, "Signs of the Spirit: Music and the Experience of Meaning in Ndau Ceremonial Life" (U Illinois Press, 2020)

July 15, 2022

Signs of the Spirit

Tony Perman
Hosted by Marshall Poe

In 2005, Tony Perman attended a ceremony alongside the living and the dead. His visit to a Zimbabwe farm brought him into contact with the madhlozi, o…

From Biological Bench Science to Teaching at Grinnell College

July 1, 2022

From Biological Bench Science to Teaching at Grinnell College

Charvann Bailey
Hosted by Marshall Poe

Today I chatted with Charvann Bailey, assistant professor of biology at Grinnell College. We discussed her route to a Ph.D. in biology, the struggles …

All About Dwarf Galaxies: A Conversation with Astronomer Charlotte Christensen

June 15, 2022

All About Dwarf Galaxies

Charlotte Christensen
Hosted by Marshall Poe

Today I talked to astronomer Charlotte Christensen of Grinnell College. She studies (among other things) dwarf galaxies. Dwarf galaxies, galaxies wi…

Keith Gessen, "Raising Raffi: The First Five Years" (Viking, 2022)

June 7, 2022

Raising Raffi

Keith Gessen
Hosted by Marshall Poe

"I was not prepared to be a father--this much I knew." Keith Gessen was nearing forty and hadn't given much thought to the idea of being a father. He…

Mohammed Ayoob and Danielle N. Lussier, "The Many Faces of Political Islam: Religion and Politics in Muslim Societies," Second Edition (U Michigan Press, 2020)

June 2, 2022

The Many Faces of Political Islam, Second Edition

Mohammed Ayoob and Danielle N. Lussier
Hosted by Marshall Poe

Analysts and pundits from across the American political spectrum describe Islamic fundamentalism as one of the greatest threats to modern, Western-sty…

How to Start a Successful Academic Podcast: A Discussion with Sean Guillory

May 24, 2022

How to Start a Successful Academic Podcast

Sean Guillory
Hosted by Marshall Poe

Today I talked to Sean Guillory. Sean did something pretty remarkable (and hard): He started a successful academic podcast. It's called the SRB Podcas…

Elizabeth Rodrigues, "Collecting Lives: Critical Data Narrative as Modernist Aesthetic in Early Twentieth-Century Us Literatures" (U Michigan Press, 2022)

May 17, 2022

Collecting Lives

Elizabeth Rodrigues
Hosted by Marshall Poe

On a near-daily basis, data is being used to narrate our lives. Categorizing algorithms drawn from amassed personal data to assign narrative destinies…

Michael Mackenzie, "Otto Dix and the First World War: Grotesque Humor, Camaraderie and Remembrance" (Peter Lang, 2019)

May 3, 2022

Otto Dix and the First World War

Michael Mackenzie
Hosted by Marshall Poe

Otto Dix fought in the First World War for the better part of four years before becoming one of the most important artists of the Weimar era. Marked b…

A Conversation with Autumn Wilke about Disability in Higher Education

April 15, 2022

A Conversation with Autumn Wilke about Disability in Higher Education

Autumn Wilke
Hosted by Marshall Poe

Today I talked to Autumn Wilke of Grinnell College about her book (co-authored with Nancy J. Evans, Ellen M. Broido, and Kirsten R. Brown) Disability …

Kelly Herold et al., "Growing Out of Communism: Russian Literature for Children and Teens, 1991-2017" (Brill, 2021)

April 1, 2022

Growing Out of Communism

Andrea Lanoux, Kelly Herold, and Olga Bukhina
Hosted by Marshall Poe

Growing Out of Communism: Russian Literature for Children and Teens, 1991-2017 (Brill, 2021) explores the rise of a new body of literature for childre…

Howard Burton, "Pandemic Perspectives: A Filmmaker's Journey in 10 Essays" (Open Agenda, 2022)

March 22, 2022

Pandemic Perspectives

Howard Burton
Hosted by Marshall Poe

Howard Burton has been talking to very wise people for decades--scientists, historians, political thinkers, philosophers, etc. When Covid "hit" he was…

Tamara Beauboeuf-Lafontant, "To Live More Abundantly: Black Collegiate Women, Howard University, and the Audacity of Dean Lucy Diggs Slowe" (U Georgia Press, 2022)

March 15, 2022

To Live More Abundantly

Tamara Beauboeuf-Lafontant
Hosted by Marshall Poe

Today I talked to Tamara Beauboeuf-Lafontant about her book To Live More Abundantly: Black Collegiate Women, Howard University, and the Audacity of De…

Maryam Ziaee, "Big Data Analytics Adoption in Pharmaceutical Advanced Manufacturing"

March 9, 2022

Big Data Analytics Adoption in Pharmaceutical Advanced Manufacturing

Maryam Ziaee
Hosted by Marshall Poe

Dr. Maryam Ziaee is a University Lecturer at Victoria University in Australia teaching and researching Operations and Supply Chain Management. Dr. Zia…