Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/102968
Sarasota News Leader January 11, 2013 Page 79 to conduct interviews with poets he admires Leuzzi explained that though he had conductregardless of whether other book prospects ed many interviews before the idea of a book may be on the horizon. occurred to him, he has always striven for as Not surprisingly, this is the same independent, much plurality as possible in his work, prefreelance process that eventually led to the paring at length –– sometimes even a year in formation of Passwords Primeval, which the advance –– for each interview and tailoring prestigious publishing house Boa Editions re- it based on the poet's work, ideas, aesthetics and even specific passages or texts. leased in November. "I didn't realize I had a book on my hands until "The book is essentially a metaphor for the I was about maybe nine or 10 interviews in," kinds of poetry that are in America today," Leuzzi said, qualifying that –– despite his inLeuzzi explained. tentions –– space and resource limitations dicWhen asked by the News Leader if there is an tated that the book "does not even adequately overall message readers might be able to pull represent a fraction of what's available." from the book regarding a poet's relationship with his or her work, Leuzzi responded that, Leuzzi's personalized approach, coupled with thankfully, there is not. "I don't want that to the expressed individuality of each featured be the case," he said. "I think that, for as many poet's work and approach, could easily have different poets as there are out there, there produced a result that would have been exshould be that many different relationships." tremely difficult to tie together. In editing the Tony Leuzzi's Passwords Primeval is the second best-selling book published by Boa Editions, following The Collected Poems of Lucille Clifton: 1965-2010.