In Episode 8 of Multi-Verse, poet India Lena González reads and discusses her poem “ACT ! pose with fingers as though cigarette (puff puff).” In a conversation with host Evangeline Riddiford Graham, González explores writing as choreography, the politics of casting, and the exhilaration and exhaustion of performance.

“ACT ! pose with fingers as though cigarette (puff puff)” is part of India Lena González’s debut manuscript, fox woman get out!, which publishes in September 2023 with BOA Editions.

An early version of the poem can also be found in the Brooklyn Review.


Multi-Verse is a poetry podcast hosted and produced by Evangeline Riddiford Graham, senior managing editor at Public Seminar. To join Riddiford Graham once a month and hear poets discuss the poems they don’t usually read aloud, subscribe to Multi-Verse at SpotifyApple PodcastsPocket CastsSoundCloud, or visit multiversepoetry.org. To get poetry updates direct to your inbox, click here to receive the monthly Multi-Verse newsletter. New to this newsletter? Click here to receive monthly Multi-Verse updates.