Tuesdays with BOA Editions: The Complete Writings of Art Smith, the Bird Boy of Fort Wayne, Edited by Michael Martone by Michael Martone

Join Writers & Books this fall for Tuesdays with BOA Editions, the iconic Rochester-based publisher of poetry and literary works by such authors as Lucille Clifton, Naomi Shihab Nye, and Bruce Weigl. Tune in on Tuesdays, September-October 2020, for our virtual readings and conversations with some of today’s most exciting authors.

Inspired by the real-life pioneer of early aviation who invented the art of skywriting, the brief stories in this collection by “editor” Michael Martone follow the adventures of Art Smith and his authorship in the sky. In the spirit of Kurt Vonnegut and Hayao Miyazaki, this Midwestern mythology celebrates facts, fiction, and the impermanence of art. The Complete Writings of Art Smith, the Bird Boy of Fort Wayne, Edited by Michael Martone recreates the wonder of the early flying machines as it reimagines the unwritten stories we tell about the daredevils who flew them.

Michael Martone was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he learned at a very early age about flight. He has written or edited over 20 books of fiction, nonfiction, essays, and short stories, including The Moon over Wapakoneta (FC2, 2018), Brooding (University of Georgia Press, 2018), Winesburg, Indiana (Indiana University Press, 2015), and Four for a Quarter (FC2, 2011). His stories and essays have appeared in Harper’s, Esquire, Denver Quarterly, Iowa Review, Third Coast, Shenandoah, Bomb, Story Quarterly, American Short Fiction, and elsewhere. A recipient of the Indiana Authors Award and the Mark Twain Award, he lives in Tuscaloosa, AL, and teaches at the University of Alabama.