The Future of E-Lit with Leo Flores

The Future of E-Lit with Leo Flores

Lauren and Makenzie sat down with Dr. Leonardo Flores, chair of the English department at Appalachian State University and president of the Latin American Electronic Literature Network. Leo has published a plethora of research in the areas of electronic literature, focusing on e-poetry, digital writing, and the history and strategic growth of the field. He is a past contributor to The New River Journal, and has a piece forthcoming in our fiftieth issue, collaborating with Nigerian poet Abu Bakr Sadiq, author of Leaked Footages (University of Nebraska Press, 2024).

Radical Atmospheres

In this episode, host Kas Anderson is joined by Professor Andrew Demirjian, an interdisciplinary artist and educator at Hunter College in New York City who focuses on creating relationships between image, sound, and text that challenge contemporary media conventions. From interactive installations to audiovisual performances, Demirjian’s work has been exhibited at the Museum of the Moving Image, Eyebeam, Rush Arts, The White Box Gallery, the Newark Museum and many institutions internationally. The MacDowell Colony, Puffin Foundation, Artslink, Harvestworks and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts are among some of the organizations that have supported his work. Also joining the conversation are Nina Bowers and Andrey Patino, contributors of the audio AR app archival project Radical Atmospheres, which was published this spring in the 50th issue of The New River Journal. Nina is currently a 2nd year graduate student in the Integrated Media Arts MFA at Hunter College. Andrey, a recent graduate of Hunter College, works as the Arts & Culture Coordinator at Centro, the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College.

Into the Archives

Today's Episode was recorded in the Fall of 2025, when Lexi, Lauren, and Season One host, Piper Fitzgerald took a deep dive into the archives of The New River Journal in order to explore the shifting zeitgeist of e-literature and the challenge of digital decay. Also, Lauren interviews Nurain Ọlàdéjí, first-year poet in the MFA program at Virginia Tech, and your hosts offer new installments of recurring segments Across Genres and Prompts from the Archives.

Newer Rivers

A new season of the New River Podcast means a new crop of Virginia Tech Creative Writing MFA students will take the helm, both as editors of The New River Journal and as hosts of the podcast. Season two also ushers in new evolutions for both journal and the podcast, as the former begins accepting traditionally formatted poetry and prose submissions, and the latter broadens its focus to include observations on navigating life in a graduate MFA program in Creative Writing. Join hosts Lauren Emo, Kas Armstrong, Mackenzie Anderson, and Lexi Kessens as they seek to demystify the writing life, MFA happenings, and the behind the scenes of editing a literary journal. The first episode includes a discussion about complicating the notions of genre and form, an interview with fellow MFA student William Shaw, a writing prompt drawn from the archives of The New River Journal, and more. For the the latest issue of the New River Journal (Number 50), please visit: thenewriverjournal.org

Pilgrimage to the New River

Brit, Piper, and Amanda discuss their visit to the New River (the body of water, itself), which they undertook in an attempt to connect with the inspiration for the naming of the New River journal.