Rowan Ricardo Phillips, whose debut book of poetry, The Ground, published this week, recently sat down with fellow FSG poet Lawrence Joseph. We're happy to share with you their remarkable discussion on the craft, translation, mythmaking, and--of course--Phillips' stunning new work. Lawrence Joseph: First of all, I want to say how much I like this book. In fact, I think it’s a masterpiece. Why the title The Ground?

With his "charming, hilarious account of la vie Parisienne,” Paris, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down, about to hit bookstores, Rosecrans Baldwin set off on a two-week tour of U.S. towns (and one Vegas casino) named Paris. His assignment was to find out what Americans really think of the French; his full write-up, "Our French Connection," has just been published in the Morning News. But we were curious what this chronicler of "the real Paris" made of its American counterparts - if, perhaps, any of them had eclipsed the City of Light, and if it's truly possible to get tired of Paris.