The Slowdown

By American Public Media

Listen to a podcast, please open Podcast Republic app. Available on Google Play Store.


Category: Performing Arts

Open in Apple Podcasts


Open RSS feed


Open Website


Rate for this podcast

Subscribers: 718
Reviews: 6
Episodes: 424

Ligma
 Jan 24, 2023


 Aug 4, 2022


 Dec 4, 2021

joel
 Mar 27, 2020
Love it. I find listening to it before my day begins to be a great way to start the day.


 Jan 30, 2020

Description

Poet Major Jackson is your guide on the pathways to feel and understand our common journey – through poetry. In sharing poems, we take a moment to pause and acknowledge the world’s magnitude, and how poets illuminate that mystery. Join The Slowdown for a poem and a moment of reflection in one short episode, every weekday. Produced by APM Studios in partnership with The Poetry Foundation and supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. Make us a part of your routine as you drink coffee in the morning, as you take a walk in nature, or as you wind down to go to sleep in the evening. With host Major Jackson, we collectively take a moment to calm, to inspire, to learn, and to engage with the best emerging poets and established writers of our time and generations past, from Emily Dickinson to Danez Smith, from Amanda Gorman to Mary Oliver. Listen to our back catalog for episodes by our previous hosts, Tracy K. Smith and Ada Limón, as well as guest hosts Jenny Xie, Brenda Shaughnessy, Tina Chang, Nate Marshall, Shira Erlichiman, and Jason Schneiderman. Our hosts and production team select poems that move them, and we hope they move you, too.

Episode Date
887: Where are the girls who were so beautiful? from “33”
00:05:45

Today’s poem is Where are the girls who were so beautiful? from “33” by Julia Alvarez.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, guest host Jason Schneiderman writes… “Lately, I’ve heard many bemoan the end of movie stardom, but it’s comforting to remember that it’s an old argument. Three decades ago, we were already wondering what had happened to the glamor and melodrama of 1950’s Hollywood and Hollywood stardom that we were sure had so much to teach us.”

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

May 29, 2023
886: Stereo
00:06:59

Today’s poem is Stereo by Anne Waldman.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “‘Tis the season of weddings! In years past, I’ve poured libations; I’ve even read a poem, but this summer, I have the privilege and am hugely excited to officiate the nuptials of our friend and digital producer of The Slowdown, James Napoli and fiancé Britta Greene. Regarding, I’ll just say this: Love is an unrestrained force of tenderness and light in our world.”

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

May 26, 2023
885: Dear Past and Future Metastasis,
00:06:14

Today’s poem is Dear Past and Future Metastasis, by Chiyuma Elliott.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Today’s fine poem makes delicate use of captured dialogue. The poem reveals our clumsy attempts to render legible who we are. Mostly we pass expected, typical speech between us but, occasionally, we make utterances so clear that they startle even ourselves.”

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

May 25, 2023
884: He Laughed With A Laugh
00:05:38

Today’s poem is He Laughed With A Laugh by JonArno Lawson.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Myka and I rescued today’s fun poem from the cutting floor of our children’s poetry episodes. We present it to you today. Enjoy!”

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

May 24, 2023
883: Extreme Close-up
00:05:31

Today’s poem is Extreme Close-up by Susan Rich.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Noticing and paying attention to my surroundings is more than for the purpose of writing poems. I’m trying to bring the world closer to me. To call up daily experience by zooming in, by locating language that is as lush as life yet elegantly sparse, well, then, that is an act of love and reciprocity.”

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

May 23, 2023
882: The Pathology of Currency
00:06:00

Today’s poem is The Pathology of Currency by Matthew Lippman.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Today’s poem humorously parodies the secret nature of money and the endless, if not stressful, cycle of working and spending.”

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

May 22, 2023
881: She Loves Me, She Love Me Not
00:06:10

Today’s poem is She Loves Me, She Love Me Not by Desirée Alvarez.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Why do we make bad decisions, whether reasoned or rash, when we know deep down that they are not sound? I don’t believe people when they announce they have no regrets. I find feelings of regret slightly useful. They help us muse over missed opportunities or hasty actions. Regrets remind us to do better. To be more careful.”

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

May 19, 2023
880: The Figure of a Man Being Swallowed by a Fish
00:05:21

Today’s poem is The Figure of a Man Being Swallowed by a Fish by Joshua Weiner.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Today’s poem dramatizes the hidden transaction of our obsessions. We are claimed by the world as much as we take in — sometimes, even more.”

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

May 18, 2023
879: For the Poet Who Is Your High School English Teacher
00:05:45

Today’s poem is For the Poet Who Is Your High School English Teacher by Gary Margolis.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Today’s poem honors the teachers among us who are also poets, whose passion for poetry helps students to reimagine and change their world.”

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

May 17, 2023
878: This Is My Vow
00:05:42

Today’s poem is This Is My Vow by Lucia Mae Pitts.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Today’s poem, though written nearly one hundred years ago, knows that to live today is to heroically make a pledge of hope, to seek the positives, to practice the gospel of joy, and in doing so to defeat pessimism and stave off an all-consuming gloom.”

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

May 16, 2023
877: The Lifeline
00:05:18

Today’s poem is The Lifeline by Pádraig Ó Tuama.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “When natural disaster occurs, when catastrophe falls upon us, we humans lean into life. We need the counterbalancing force of creation and renewal to tilt the world back toward meaning and light. We pursue activities that resist a chaos of the mind and spirit, some endeavor that gives us a foothold on the unthinkable, an anchor, a reminder of the eternal nature of existence.”

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

May 15, 2023
876: Nowhere Else to Go
00:11:04

Today’s poem is Nowhere Else to Go by Linda Sue Park. This week’s episodes are for, and feature, young poets.

Climate change is an urgent issue for everyone — and our best reminder of this is the young people who are pushing for action. Today’s co-host, Durete, is one of those young people who has marched on the front lines. Her story, and today’s poem, point out a critical factor of this fight: that it is one we must take up hand in hand with our best friends.

We would love to hear your thoughts on these special episodes for young people. Please go to slowdownshow.org/survey to tell us what you think!

May 12, 2023
875: Olympians vs. Modernity
00:09:54

Today’s poem is Olympians vs. Modernity by Adelaide Sendlenski. This week’s episodes are for, and feature, young poets.

Adelaide, today’s co-host, is a dedicated tennis player. She’s so busy with school and sports that she writes poetry in the minutes between, thinking up lines while in motion. Today’s poem is one of her own, a poem which deftly connects the power of the Greek gods to the power we aim to claim through consumer culture.

We would love to hear your thoughts on these special episodes for young people. Please go to slowdownshow.org/survey to tell us what you think!

May 11, 2023
874: Ozymandias
00:10:07

Today’s poem is Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley. This week’s episodes are for, and feature, young poets.

Ever since taking on the role as host of The Slowdown, I’ve been thinking a lot more about the importance of performance in poetry. An organization that teaches this art to young people is Poetry Out Loud, for which I’ve served as a national judge; today’s co-host, Cat, participated as a performer, winning her region in New York. Her reading of Ozymandias reminded me of something so important: by taking on characters from classic works, we can find new power in being ourselves.

We would love to hear your thoughts on these special episodes for young people. Please go to slowdownshow.org/survey to tell us what you think!

May 10, 2023
873: Occasional Poem
00:09:21

Today’s poem is Occasional Poem by Jaqueline Woodson. This week’s episodes are for, and feature, young poets.

Today’s co-host, Jasper, and I share an entry point to poetry – music. In the songs he’s written, he seeks an honesty and perspective in relationships, which reflects so many great poems. Sometimes, the best way to make sense of something is to bring sound to it – whether the spoken word, a guitar strum, or an onomatopoeia.

We would love to hear your thoughts on these special episodes for young people. Please go to slowdownshow.org/survey to tell us what you think!

May 09, 2023
872: Jabberwocky
00:09:28

Today’s poem is Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll. This week’s episodes are for, and feature, young poets. Our producers met up with Nova at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens while the cherry blossoms were in full bloom. And as much as she loved the pink blossoms, the poetry she’s created there comes from more unexpected places. She is a pro at embracing the strangeness of the world, at finding the quiet places so she can really listen to that weirdness. I think this is a lesson that everyone can carry with them, regardless of age. Poets like Lewis Carroll, one of her favorites, have been doing it for generations.

We would love to hear your thoughts on these special episodes for young people. Please go to slowdownshow.org/survey to tell us what you think!

May 08, 2023
871: Flesh (“You in your ecstasy of coffee”)
00:06:45

Today’s poem is Flesh (“You in your ecstasy of coffee”) by Deborah Landau.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “When summer arrives, I run as fast as I can into its lushness. I am making new memories with family and friends that involve nights of alfresco dining, remote beaches, mountain ranges, and sun-drenched cocktail parties. Summer is the season that beckons most my senses; all that fruit bursting its wild colors: strawberries, apricots, and peaches. Whereas winter feels interminable, I am most aware summer’s bounty is numbered, finite.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

May 05, 2023
870: Hymn to Church Basements
00:06:34

Today’s poem is Hymn to Church Basements by Joan Kwon Glass.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Today’s poem exalts the unadorned spaces where those on the journey to recovery find acceptance and community.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

May 04, 2023
869: Ethnic Arithmetic
00:05:52

Today’s poem is Ethnic Arithmetic by Sara R. Burnett.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “One of the deeply harmful and insidious ways white supremacy wounds people is having them believe they are superior to (or less than), based merely on skin color. There’s a deep sadness in not seeing each other as whole human beings, in not recognizing the gift and potential beyond bureaucratic designations that confine us. Even here, I almost wrote “define us.” Identity is fraught and never more so than when we are reduced to a box to check on a census document, employment record, or audience survey.”

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

May 03, 2023
868: The Half-Finished Heaven
00:06:31

Today’s poem is The Half-Finished Heaven by Tomas Tranströmer.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… "Contemporary art and poetry encourage uncertainty and a spirit of inquiry. If we are willing to let go of our frustration, abandoning the quest for meaning can be its own spiritual reward. Today’s extraordinary poem constructs a fascinating and dreamy space where images sharpen into an immense and profound notion of the land and human interdependence." Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

May 02, 2023
867: Four-in-Hand
00:05:21

Today’s poem is Four-in-Hand by Kweku Abimbola.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… "When I was young, I played basketball for hours. As much as I enjoyed playing back then with my friends, I loved shooting hoops even more with my dad. In my youth, we never lived together. I wince when I think of myself back then, always trying to dazzle him during visits or whenever I spent time at his home. I continually tried to prove myself worthy of his affection, which was everything to me. Before he arrived to pick me up for the weekend, I carefully placed my new championship trophies within sight in the living room, so that when he saw them, he would heap praise. Do we ever stop seeking our parents’ affirmations and affection?" Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

May 01, 2023
866: Tea with Ann
00:06:22

Today’s poem is Tea with Ann by Mary Brancaccio.

In this episode, Major writes… “I had always thought my friendships would last forever, but life subverts the noblest of intentions. So, kudos to all those who have stayed friends without the aide of an algorithm or social media platform.”

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Apr 28, 2023
865: Worry (the Dybbuk)
00:05:43

Today’s poem is Worry (the Dybbuk) by Anthony Immergluck.

In this episode, Major writes… “After living through all manner of personal and communal tribulations, I’ve come to believe things will work themselves out. Yet, it’s not that the worries have gone away. Just like in my early days, I’ve learned to find ways to ease the burdens and uneasiness of living. Of course, I’m not trying to find a fully anxiety-free existence; it’s good to have a barking dog occasionally at one’s heels. I just try to walk past it when I need to.”

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Apr 27, 2023
864: To the Buyer of Our Old Home
00:05:50

Today’s poem is To the Buyer of Our Old Home by Helen Pruitt Wallace.

In this episode, Major writes… “If you are a writer, old houses are more than quaint. They send the imagination down the corridors of time. What did the children dream of? Which songs were sung? What stories did the elders share? What sadness fell upon their souls and how did they tend to their wounds?”

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Apr 26, 2023
863: La Peste
00:06:13

Today’s poem is La Peste by Marilyn Nelson.

In this episode, Major writes… “Today’s poem states a truth about turbulent times. After sadness, fear, and uncertainty, we will inevitably feel that distinct sense of having surmounted some great hardship. This suffering makes life precious, and above all, makes our friends treasured. And may I suggest, that to follow this episode, you might queue up Destiny’s Child’s iconic song “Survivor.””

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Apr 25, 2023
862: Last Night I Had Such Good Dreams
00:05:44

Today’s poem is Last Night I Had Such Good Dreams by Jennifer Perrine.

In this episode, Major writes… “Today’s poem points out that sometimes that voice streaming in our heads isn’t even our own. Sometimes words directed back to ourselves as lack of worth, the self-critiques that we vocalize, though of our own making, are sentiments put there by someone else.”

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Apr 24, 2023
861: Apologia
00:06:40

Today’s poem is Apologia by Cherene Sherrard.

In this episode, Major writes… “Today’s poem, drawn from the language of biology, contains a strong and simple message about diversity in society.”

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Apr 21, 2023
860: Learning Money in Reverse
00:06:21

Today’s poem is Learning Money in Reverse by Stephanie Niu.

In this episode, Major writes… “Today’s ingenious poem calls attention to the lived realities of financial literacy, how it’s touch and go, and how it’s thrust upon us if we are not fortunate to receive those lessons in our home.”

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Apr 20, 2023
859: Diving at Blue Hole
00:05:36

Today’s poem is Diving at Blue Hole by Ally Young.

In this episode, Major writes… “In the spirit of Walt Whitman who heard the chorus of voices that made America and its geography, today’s poem continues the rich tradition of celebrating a poetry of place, utterly unique and rich for its ability to cultivate its poets to sing our land into our literary record.”

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Apr 19, 2023
858: from BOOK OF THE OTHER
00:06:09

Today’s poem is from BOOK OF THE OTHER by Truong Tran.

In this episode, Major writes… “Names carry family histories, maybe even indicate what region of the country we reside in, or from where our ancestors traveled. This is why it comes as an affront when someone fails to learn how to say our name or worse, makes up a name for us, like my fourth-grade teacher who, instead of learning to pronounce the “ethnic” names of her students, renamed all of us after French painters.”

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Apr 18, 2023
857: And Everywhere Offering Human Sound
00:06:26

Today’s poem is And Everywhere Offering Human Sound by Joan Houlihan.

In this episode, Major writes… “Through my many years of reading poetry, I feel as though I’ve absorbed other people’s stories and feelings. I strongly believe this has fortified me with a spirit of kindness, poetry as a daily pill of compassion. This is a grounding tenet in my belief in poetry as a communal and righteous good. We get to see through each other’s eyes and feel through each other’s hearts.”

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Apr 17, 2023
856: The "I Want" Song
00:06:13

Today’s poem is The "I Want" Song by Rachel Richardson. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “On occasion, I question whether or not my desires are my desires. Or has my subconscious merely given into the massive amounts of stimuli of our modern age? For example, take this almond milk grande cappuccino with one-pump sugar-free vanilla syrup. Now that it sits on my desk, half-full and cold as a wet day on the beach, I am not convinced I really wanted an espresso drink. Plus, over several days, I guess I had been seeing them everywhere… and that made it feel like a natural need.”

Apr 14, 2023
855: Placebo
00:05:55

Today’s poem is Placebo by Preeti Vangani. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “When medical science runs its course, we desperately pursue other pathways to healing. Such was the case with my grandmother. Today’s poignant narrative poem highlights the extent of our vulnerability when we wish to save those we love.”

Apr 13, 2023
854: To be brave, I look to the daffodil
00:05:51

Today’s poem is To be brave, I look to the daffodil by Susan Nguyen. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “I live in that between space of Play it safe and Go for it. I mostly proceed with caution but then again, foolishly, I brave activities that put life and limb at risk, like jumping off a cliff into an unknown depth of water. Literally and figuratively. I’ve never jumped out of an airplane, and I probably would be that guy who’d need to be pushed into a skydive. But I see writing poetry as equally not for the faint of heart.”

Apr 12, 2023
853: from LET IT BE BROKE
00:05:45

Today’s poem is from LET IT BE BROKE by Ed Pavlić. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Today’s poem celebrates the bonding that occurs when music and art are at the center of our treasured relationships. There is gratitude for the ways we learn to talk to each other as family and friends, that make music a spiritual bridge across time.”

Apr 11, 2023
852: Forestbathing (or Trees)
00:05:58

Today’s poem is Forestbathing (or Trees) by francine j. harris. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “As we stroll slowly beneath the earth’s giants, amidst fungi, moss, lichen, and ferns, we are being workshopped in dappled light. What’s restorative isn’t merely the smells and sounds of woodlands, chirping birds and glimpses of wildlife. We are forced to confront the illusions of modern life. We are awash with a simplicity that takes us to idylls of clarity, that encourages introspection. We are reoriented toward human’s first encounter with beauty. It might be, too, that the trees, in communicating amongst themselves across distances, connect us even more to earth’s innate will toward life.”

Apr 10, 2023
851: I Was Wrong About So Much
00:06:34

Today’s poem is I Was Wrong About So Much by Eugenia Leigh. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Today’s poem exquisitely models one of my new and favorite acts of speech, that moment when we hold ourselves accountable for our mishaps and make amends — which feels like taking time to grow.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Apr 07, 2023
850: Split
00:05:56

Today’s poem is Split by Paul Hlava Ceballos. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Today’s poet makes use of the poem as a repository of autobiographical facts, all while dramatizing larger questions of origin, citizenship, immigration, and nationhood.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Apr 06, 2023
849: If There Is Another World
00:06:06

Today’s poem is If There Is Another World by Malena Mörling. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Today’s compelling poem makes an implicit argument—that evidence of a parallel world might just be in front of our eyes. Instead of smashing atoms, we merely need to observe and record our daily singularities, which feel, at times, surreal and otherworldly. As with life, every decision made in a poem creates a new universe.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Apr 05, 2023
848: Six for Gold
00:06:11

Today’s poem is Six for Gold by Kate Hanson Foster. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Confession: As a young parent, when my children barraged me with questions, so many times, I wanted to [poof] disappear. We’ve all experienced this moment (right?) when a child suddenly becomes a human question generator or a “you-think-you’re-smart-but-I’m-going-to-bring-you-to-your-knees-in-recognition-of-your-ignorance” kind of a child? No, there was never malice, but the onslaught felt relentless. Today’s poem models the pitch of imagination that goes into satisfying a child’s curiosity in a way that leaves room for magic.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Apr 04, 2023
847: Liturgy for Family Circles
00:06:40

Today’s poem is Liturgy for Family Circles by Joanna Currey.

Apr 03, 2023
846: Some Madness There
00:07:05

Today’s poem is Some Madness There by Charlotte Pence.

Mar 31, 2023
845: Dear Future Me (#12)
00:06:29

Today’s poem is Dear Future Me (#12) by Lena Moses-Schmitt. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Writing poetry is chiefly a search for language that makes a tidy explanation of both the present and the past, with the hope our mind grabs on so that the poem emerges also as a visceral experience of thinking, that is, thinking as an unfolding and awakening, both for the author and the reader or in this instance, a listener. But then occasionally, writing poetry is also an offering to the future: poem as a container of time, whose language signifies the era in which it was written.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Mar 30, 2023
844: A Ruin
00:06:06

Today’s poem is A Ruin by Paul Muldoon.

Mar 29, 2023
843: Family Court
00:06:39

Today’s poem is Family Court by Patricia Kirkpatrick. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Today’s heartbreaking poem conveys those acute emotional feelings of failure and sheer disbelief that arrive when a marriage is irreparably damaged. Once again, poetry, in its restorative powers to name the inner life, sets us on a journey to restoration and rebuilding.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Mar 28, 2023
842: Zelda Fitzgerald
00:05:59

Today’s poem is Zelda Fitzgerald by Aria Aber. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “We have a long history in American poetry of dramatic monologues, of taking on a character in our own expression. Lately, however, I’ve had trouble working out the ethics of portraying someone other than myself. And yet, as one poet says, the dramatic monologue has been an important tool in recuperating silenced voices. Today’s phenomenal poem does just that. It avoids what my friend Akshya calls the “performance of marginality” by portraying a full, interior life of a woman writer, whose story of mental illness often eclipses her genius.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Mar 27, 2023
841: The Whole World is the Best Land I Ever Lived
00:06:02

Today’s poem is The Whole World is the Best Land I Ever Lived by Lynn Melnick.The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “I’m always looking for people who don’t want to retreat from the world, but to charge into it with gusto and love. I want to learn their secret. Today’s poet helps me learn. She meditates on being so devoted to the world that she decided to bring someone else into it. To offer the unlikeliness of being to her daughter out of love and wonder.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Mar 24, 2023
840: Agoraphobia
00:06:51

Today’s poem is Agoraphobia by Natasha Sajé. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, guest host Jason Schneiderman writes… “I didn’t learn to drive until I was twenty-seven. It’s not because I’m a New Yorker—I finished High School in Maryland, and it’s not because I had a principled opposition to fossil fuels, though I wish I could say it was. It’s because I was in a car accident when I was seventeen. I didn’t learn to drive not because I was afraid of driving, but because I was afraid of what could go wrong if I drove. It took me another ten years to face my fears. Finally, like the subjects of today’s poem, I realized I was living a smaller life because I was afraid.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Mar 23, 2023
839: Pietà by Michelangelo: Marble, 1499
00:05:26

Today’s poem is Pieta by Michelangelo: Marble, 1499 by Darrel Alejandro Holnes. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, guest host Jason Schneiderman writes… “Today’s poem considers an unpainted statue by Michelangelo, depicting Mary holding her son Jesus just after his removal from the cross. I remember seeing this statue when I was very young and being deeply moved both by the posture of Mary’s sorrow, and by the incredible skill of sculpting, by which the cold marble seems as warm and soft as flesh. Here, the poet wonders what color might do to us as the light carrying the image of the statue enters our eyes.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Mar 22, 2023
838: The Truth
00:04:45

Today’s poem is The Truth by Natasha Rao. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “A pretty common response to loss is to encourage other people to cherish what…and whom… they still have. When someone loses a parent, they remind the people around them to call their own mom and dad more often, or they post on social media to exhort you to hold your loved ones a little bit closer tonight. It’s not bad advice, of course, but in my experience, it’s not the saying I love you that’s hard, or the hug that’s hard, it’s the showing up every day, the long conversations that veer into awkward moments of disagreement or the demands imposed by care or necessity.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Mar 21, 2023
837: Fire Destroys Beloved Chicago Bakery
00:05:25

Today’s poem is Fire Destroys Beloved Chicago Bakery by Nathan McClain. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, guest host Jason Schneiderman writes… “Today’s poem starts with a conceit, an idea or premise that motivates the poem. The speaker misreads the word “fire” as “father”— and then proceeds along the twin lines of malapropism and Freudian slip. At times the usage is funny and clever, and at times dire and significant, and sometimes — because this is a poem — it’s both.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Mar 20, 2023
836: A City Like a Guillotine Shivers on Its Way to the Neck
00:05:58

Today’s poem is A City Like a Guillotine Shivers on Its Way to the Neck by Ilya Kaminsky. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Jason Schneiderman writes… “Today’s poem is from a sequence of poems about a town that has been invaded by an occupying force. Both sides believe that they are on the side of right, and both sides justify their violence by calling it a response to the other side’s violence. The poet’s sympathy is certainly with the occupied people, and as a Ukrainian American poet, Ilya Kaminsky’s poems have become relevant in a new way, as they speak to the atrocities we are currently witnessing in his country of origin.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Mar 17, 2023
835: "anyone can be beautiful:
00:05:11

Today’s poem is "anyone can be beautiful: by Kay Gabriel. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, guest host Jason Schneiderman writes… “Today’s poem is from a sequence of sonnets celebrating Candy Darling. The poet starts her poems with a quote from Darling’s diaries, engaging her intellect, but never forgetting the beautiful surface she presented to the world.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Mar 16, 2023
834: Two Boys Ago
00:06:15

Today’s poem is Two Boys Ago by Kazim Ali. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, guest host Jason Schneiderman writes… “There’s something wonderful about having no context, about the first time you encounter an idea in art or life, that shock of recognition and that glimpse of a new world, but there’s also something wonderful about being able to see how that idea fits into a bigger picture. Today’s poem offers us those puzzle pieces one by one, but as a negative. In refusing the things the speaker no longer wants, fragments of life come into focus, and we discover a gorgeous portrait of the artist and the poet, and the mystery of negation that makes each piece present.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Mar 15, 2023
833: The Railroad Worm
00:05:19

Today’s poem is The Railroad Worm by Kimiko Hahn. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, guest host Jason Schneiderman writes… “Night can be cozy or night can be sexy, and night is always spiked with a little bit of danger. Night has always felt full of possibility to me. In college, I loved coming back to the dormitories at night, seeing the lights on in my friends’ windows. We humans are fascinated by anything that illuminates the darkness. We love the moon, and we love the stars. We love lightning bugs, and glow sticks, and I might know a little something about neon body paint under the black lights of the dance floor.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Mar 14, 2023
832: The Illiterate
00:05:13

Today’s poem is The Illiterate by William Meredith. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, guest host Jason Schneiderman writes… “Today’s poem is about taking time to turn over and over the mysteries of gratitude and the ways in which desire makes us strange to ourselves. The poet uses the mysteries of writing and the figure of illiteracy not to pin down what it meant for him to know love, but to open up the space where love might be seen in all its confusions.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Mar 13, 2023
831: Panama Hat
00:07:12

Today’s poem is Panama Hat by David Lehman. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Today’s instructive poem realizes that sometimes, simply saying what happened with accuracy is the poem, naming in such a way that we become enchanting to ourselves.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Mar 10, 2023
830: What's Been Caged
00:06:50

Today’s poem is What's Been Caged by Jamaica Baldwin.

Mar 09, 2023
829: Don't Touch
00:05:55

Today’s poem is Don't Touch by Sarah Carson. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “When I hear of violent shootings in some part of the country, places of worship in Pittsburgh and Charleston, or a grocery store in Buffalo, concert venues and clubs, our schools, not only am I devastated and returned to early trauma, I think once again how we continually fail each other by not passing gun control laws that are substantive and impactful — even more, how we fail our children who deserve every day, minute, hour their birth promises them. We are arming ourselves against our senses of compassion.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Mar 08, 2023
828: Against Poetry
00:07:15

Today’s poem is Against Poetry by Diane Seuss. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “The truth is, I have questioned poetry’s value, and my role in making it. I don’t know what to do when people ask “What kind of poetry do you write?” Picture me, wide-eyed blinking with a fake smile, like I was thrust onto a red carpet. Or what to do when someone states with mild revulsion: “I don’t get poetry.” Or, in the company of a contrarian, with a disdain for the here and now, asserts: “Poetry written today does not hold a candle to the poetry of the past.” I just read such an editorial . . . oh well, his loss.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Mar 07, 2023
827: Naming the Waves
00:05:55

Today’s poem is Naming the Waves by Alison Prine. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “The love language in today’s poem can be classified as “words of affirmation” — in this case, words that describe the seaside, but also the world that the speaker and their love share. It models a spirit of full immersion, one in which the power of seeing becomes a vow of commitment and a gorgeous illustration of affection.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Mar 06, 2023
826: How
00:07:13

Today’s poem is How by Heid E. Erdrich. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Isn’t it a pleasure sometimes to simply live in the ineffable? I have noticed lately that running to retrieve my phone to source answers short-circuits one of my favorite feelings in life: the evocative experience of being awed, encountering something vast and grand. Today’s poem is full of the music of wonder and the miracle that makes itself visible to us in both the extraordinary and the ordinary.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Mar 03, 2023
825: Hotter Than July
00:06:58

Today’s poem is Hotter Than July by DaMaris B. Hill. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “I love my aging body because it is a living record of my growth. It holds all the history of my feelings and perceptions. When I hear music and begin to unselfconsciously dance, that’s my body calibrating once again, tuning. Do I wish to return my body to its former state? Yes, I guess I do, which is why I bike and walk frequently, to bring me closer. But ultimately, I love my body against all the messages from outside that I should not. It’s the only body I have to love.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Mar 02, 2023
824: Head of Anahit / British Museum
00:07:56

Today’s poem is Head of Anahit / British Museum by Peter Balakian. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Today’s poem imagines a father’s future funeral and voices an intention to both preserve and remember the small moments, that which becomes large once our parents are no longer present in our lives.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Mar 01, 2023
823: Salmon
00:06:17

Today’s poem is Salmon by Gabrielle Bates. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Today’s poem imagines a father’s future funeral and voices an intention to both preserve and remember the small moments, that which becomes large once our parents are no longer present in our lives.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Feb 28, 2023
822: Cricket Song
00:05:46

Today’s poem is Cricket Song by George Kalogeris. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “At times, no words exist to capture our rapid, forward-marching world. Life outpaces language. It is then we attempt to create fresh language or rinse cycle words until we have a new purchase on old concepts. For example, for about a decade, I’ve been trying to formulate a word that explains the phenomenon of contagious yawning. It’s a thing and I’m haunted by this lack in our speech. It is what leads me to sing.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Feb 27, 2023
821: I Have No Idea What's Going to Happen
00:06:15

Today’s poem is I Have No Idea What's Going to Happen by Justin Marks. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Today’s understated poem shows us how impromptu encounters with art, those that are unforeseen, disruptive in the best sense, have us dwell outside time and exist within the spirit of the maker, then return us to our days with a new purchase on our lives.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Feb 24, 2023
820: Jesus Saves
00:05:04

Today’s poem is Jesus Saves by Jae Nichelle. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Today’s sly poem riffs off that famous setup of three holy men walking into a bar. Instead of a priest, a rabbi, and a minister, Jesus walks in, and instead of a bar, he saunters into a coffee shop. I enjoy when poets ask themselves the question “What if,” which is the crux of any joke, but also of many great poems.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Feb 23, 2023
819: Egrets (in memory of Barry Lopez)
00:06:30

Today’s poem is Egrets (in memory of Barry Lopez) by Ralph Black. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Writers build universes out of letters and words from mere marks of a pen or keystrokes on a keyboard: an interiority to be heard and imagined in the reader’s mind. Which is to say: poets rely on readers to make pictures in their head or to hear the thoughts of the speaker in a poem. Poetry shocks us into a recognition of the world and helps renew our lost, or maybe, lapsed capacity to feel.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Feb 22, 2023
818: Everything Lies in All Directions
00:05:50

Today’s poem is Everything Lies in All Directions by Hua Xi.

Feb 21, 2023
817: Context is all
00:07:27

Today’s poem is Context is all by Erica Hunt. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Today’s poem underscores the implied racial and class dynamics at the center of American life. How we are defined and claimed and rendered opponents; how the ongoing battles and struggles construct an “Us vs Them.” Even when it means abandoning an authentic selfhood separate from, yet a part of, the groups we get put into.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Feb 20, 2023
816: The Freeways Considered As Earth Gods
00:06:54

Today’s poem is The Freeways Considered As Earth Gods by Dana Gioia. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Today’s terrifically imagined poem personifies our system of roads and thoroughfares as commanding mythic figures. In this way, it dramatizes the extent to which we are profoundly enmeshed with and dependent on that system, which has made life convenient for humankind, but in the process, imperiled our planet.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Feb 17, 2023
815: My Mother Talks to Her Son About Her Heart
00:06:34

Today’s poem is My Mother Talks to Her Son About Her Heart by Kerrin McCadden. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “I marvel at our capacity to love each other, beyond artificial categories and social boundaries. I am awed by how we fill in the gaps for each other.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Feb 16, 2023
814: on persona
00:05:30

Today’s poem is on persona by Raena Shirali. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “I often think about poetry’s distinct ability to mute what estranges and highlight more of what we share. In writing poems about our lives, we provide pathways for others to feel and understand our common journey of breathing together on our shared planet, and in the best case, to inhabit our various freedoms.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Feb 15, 2023
813: Forgiveness, Perhaps
00:05:30

Today’s poem is Forgiveness, Perhaps by Marci Calabretta Cancio-Bello. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Today’s poem, through repetition, reminds us that forgiveness takes serious effort; it is an ongoing act of affording grace, mercy, and compassion, whose result allows us to live more fully in the present, rather than be destroyed by the past.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Feb 14, 2023
812: September
00:06:58

Today’s poem is September by Nathaniel Perry. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Today’s gorgeous poem invokes the enigmatic energy of an impending storm, the kind that mesmerizes, that beckons us to read the symbolism of nature, that points to both destruction and life.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Feb 13, 2023
811: Possum
00:06:25

Today’s poem is Possum by Todd F. Davis.

Feb 10, 2023
810: There Is No Touchdown Here, Belichick
00:07:18

Today’s poem is There Is No Touchdown Here, Belichick by Vi Khi Nao.

Feb 09, 2023
809: A Statement from No One, Incorporated
00:06:29

Today’s poem is A Statement from No One, Incorporated by Justin Phillip Reed.

Feb 08, 2023
808: Birds in Home Depot—December
00:05:43

Today’s poem is Birds in Home Depot—December by Richard Maxson.

Feb 07, 2023
807: Short Essay on Love
00:06:08

Today’s poem is Short Essay on Love by Sarah Manguso.

Feb 06, 2023
806: Polycardial
00:07:18

Today’s poem is Polycardial by James Hoch.

Feb 03, 2023
805: Discourse
00:05:55

Today’s poem is Discourse by Orlando White.

Feb 02, 2023
804: Foxglove
00:07:07

Today’s poem is Foxglove by Ambalila Hemsell.

Feb 01, 2023
803: In Light of Stars
00:05:48

Today’s poem is In Light of Stars by Bruce Willard.

Jan 31, 2023
802: Heirloom
00:06:42

Today’s poem is Heirloom by Zeina Hashem Beck.

Jan 30, 2023
801: Landscape with Things
00:07:34

Today’s poem is Landscape with Things by Alexandria Hall.

Jan 27, 2023
800: We Wear the Mask
00:05:39

Today’s poem is We Wear the Mask by Paul Laurence Dunbar

Jan 26, 2023
799: Fragment (Stone)
00:06:24

Today’s poem is Fragment (Stone) by Ann Lauterbach.

Jan 25, 2023
798: Improvement
00:05:12

Today’s poem is Improvement by Danusha Laméris.

Jan 24, 2023
797: Night Terrors in America
00:05:36

Today’s poem is Night Terrors in America by CJ Evans.

Jan 23, 2023
[encore] 740: Shucking Oysters
00:06:15

Today’s poem is Shucking Oysters by Khalisa Rae. This episode was originally released on August 15, 2022.

Jan 20, 2023
[encore] 552: Hammond B3 Organ Cistern
00:05:05

Today’s poem is Hammond B3 Organ Cistern by Gabrielle Calvocoressi. This episode was originally released on November 24, 2021.

Jan 19, 2023
[encore] 630: Don't Think
00:05:10

Today’s poem is Don't Think by Elisa Gabbert. This episode was originally released on March 14, 2022.

Jan 18, 2023
[encore] 691: Final Poem for the "Field of Poetry"
00:05:01

Today’s poem is Final Poem for the "Field of Poetry" by Phillip B. Williams. This episode was originally released on June 7, 2022.

Jan 17, 2023
[encore] 570: Asking About My Mother
00:04:23

Today’s poem is Asking About My Mother by Crystal Wilkinson. This episode was originally released on December 20, 2021.

Jan 16, 2023
[encore] 696: Reading Szymborska at Friday Harbor
00:06:35

Today’s poem is Reading Szymborska at Friday Harbor by Patrycja Humienik. This episode was originally released on June 14th, 2022.

Jan 13, 2023
Returning with new host Major Jackson
00:02:21

In sharing poems, we take a moment to pause and acknowledge the world’s magnitude, and how poets illuminate that mystery. Join The Slowdown's new host, Major Jackson, for new episodes beginning January 23, 2023.

Jan 12, 2023
[encore] 581: Red-ish Brown-ish
00:05:12

Today’s poem is Red-ish Brown-ish by Trevino L. Brings Plenty. This episode was originally released on January 4th, 2022.

Jan 12, 2023
[encore] 625: Not everything is a poem
00:04:56

Today’s poem is Not everything is a poem by Maggie Smith. This episode was originally released on March 7th, 2022.

Jan 11, 2023
796: It Must Be The Supermarket in Me
00:06:20

Today’s poem is It Must Be The Supermarket in Me by Major Jackson. Major Jackson will be the new host of the Slowdown, starting on January 23rd, 2023.

Jan 10, 2023
[encore] 643: Eventually / One Point Where We Arrive
00:04:56

Today’s poem is Eventually / One Point Where We Arrive by Adam Clay. This episode was originally released on March 28th, 2022.

Jan 09, 2023
[encore] 719: Museum of Sex
00:06:15

Today’s poem is Museum of Sex by Ellen Hagan. This episode was originally released on July 15, 2022.

Jan 06, 2023
[encore] 555: Private Property
00:05:25

Today’s poem is Private Property by Analicia Sotelo. This episode was originally released on November 29, 2021.

Jan 05, 2023
[encore] 772: On Friendship
00:05:00

Today’s poem is On Friendship by Hagit Grossman. This episode was originally released on September 28, 2022.

Jan 04, 2023
[encore] 513: Romantics
00:05:43

Today’s poem is Romantics by Lisel Mueller. This episode was originally released on September 30, 2021.

Jan 03, 2023
[encore] 769: Meeting at an Airport
00:06:16

Today’s poem is Meeting at an Airport by Taha Muhammad Ali. This episode was originally released on September 23, 2022.

Jan 02, 2023
[encore] 739: Cherry Blossoms
00:05:59

Today’s poem is Cherry Blossoms by Toi Derricotte. This episode was originally released on August 12, 2022.

Dec 30, 2022
[encore] 573: Bury Me in the Woods of My Childhood
00:05:08

Today’s poem is Bury Me in the Woods of My Childhood by Erin Rodoni. This episode was originally released on December 23, 2021.

Dec 29, 2022
[encore] 562: The Lonely Humans
00:05:27

Today’s poem is The Lonely Humans by Jennifer Chang. This episode was originally released on December 8, 2021.

Dec 28, 2022
[encore] 685: Trees at Night
00:05:20

Today’s poem is Trees at Night by Helene Johnson. This episode was originally released on May 30, 2022.

Dec 27, 2022
[encore] 576: Taking Down the Tree
00:05:08

Today’s poem is Taking Down the Tree by Jane Kenyon. This episode was originally released on December 8, 2021.

Dec 26, 2022
[encore] 627: Don't Say Love Just Signal
00:05:50

Today’s poem is Don't Say Love Just Signal by Tyree Daye. This episode was originally released on March 9, 2022.

Dec 23, 2022
[encore] 584: Marte
00:04:36

Today’s poem is Marte by Gustavo Hernandez. This episode was originally released on January 7, 2022.

Dec 22, 2022
[encore] 699: Photosynthesis
00:05:42

Today’s poem is Photosynthesis by Ashley M. Jones. This episode was originally released on June 17, 2022.

Dec 21, 2022
[encore] 567: Besaydoo
00:04:49

Today’s poem is Besaydoo by Yalie Saweda Kamara. This episode was originally released on December 15, 2021.

Dec 20, 2022
[encore] 511: Present Tense
00:04:32

Today’s poem is Present Tense by Maya Pindyck. This episode was originally released on September 28, 2021.

Dec 19, 2022
[encore] 575: How I Learned Bliss
00:05:37

Today’s poem is How I Learned Bliss by Oliver de la Paz. This episode was originally released on December 27, 2021.

Dec 16, 2022
[encore] 622: Self-Portrait With Woman On The Subway
00:04:47

Today’s poem is Self-Portrait With Woman On The Subway by Hayan Charara. This episode was originally released on March 2, 2022.

Dec 15, 2022
[encore] 692: Other Women's Babies
00:04:54

Today’s poem is Other Women's Babies by Rachel Long. This episode was originally released on June 8, 2022.

Dec 14, 2022
[encore] 547: Travel
00:04:36

Today’s poem is Travel by Edna St. Vincent Millay. This episode was originally released on November 17, 2021.

Dec 13, 2022
[encore] 665: Metro-North
00:04:59

Today’s poem is Metro-North by Jason Barry. This episode was originally released on May 2, 2022.

Dec 12, 2022
[encore] 559: Parable of Childhood
00:05:09

Today’s poem is Parable of Childhood by Wayne Miller. This episode was originally released on December 3, 2021.

Dec 09, 2022
[encore] 649: sunrise through mount vernon, wa.
00:06:01

Today’s poem is sunrise through mount vernon, wa. by Jasmine Khaliq. This episode was originally released on April 8, 2022.

Dec 08, 2022
[encore] 654: In the End You Get Everything Back (Liza Minnelli)
00:06:44

Today’s poem is In the End You Get Everything Back (Liza Minnelli) by Jason Schneiderman. This episode was originally released on April 15, 2022.

Dec 07, 2022
[encore] 717: Afterlife with a Gentle Afterward
00:05:12

Today’s poem is Afterlife with a Gentle Afterward by Matthew Henriksen. This episode was originally released on July 13, 2022.

Dec 06, 2022
[encore] 509: Wondrous
00:05:10

Today’s poem is Wondrous by Sarah Freligh. This episode was originally released on September 24, 2021.

Dec 05, 2022
[encore] 705: The Bats
00:05:07

Today’s poem is The Bats by Mark Wunderlich. This episode was originally released on June 27, 2022.

Dec 02, 2022
[encore] 634: Nest
00:05:45

Today’s poem is Nest by Sarah Arvio. This episode was originally released on March 18, 2022.

Dec 01, 2022
[encore] 519: Missing Cat
00:05:04

Today’s poem is Missing Cat by Freesia McKee. This episode was originally released on October 8, 2021.

Nov 30, 2022
[encore] 618: Elegy for Kentucky
00:05:28

Today’s poem is Elegy for Kentucky by Joy Priest. This episode was originally released on February 24, 2022.

Nov 29, 2022
[encore] 651: Training
00:04:48

Today’s poem is Training by Diannely Antigua. This episode was originally released on April 12, 2022.

Nov 28, 2022
[encore] 689: Alive at the End of the World
00:05:57

Today’s poem is Alive at the End of the World by Saeed Jones. This episode was originally released on June 3, 2022.

Nov 25, 2022
[encore] 523: Our Valley
00:05:04

Today’s poem is Our Valley by Philip Levine. This episode was originally released on October 14, 2021.

Nov 24, 2022
[encore] 508: Rehearsal for the New World
00:04:43

Today’s poem is Rehearsal for the New World by Hazem Fahmy. This episode was originally released on September 23, 2021.

Nov 23, 2022
[encore] 673: New Town
00:05:17

Today’s poem is New Town by Aleksandar Hemon. This episode was originally released on May 12, 2022.

Nov 22, 2022
[encore] 521: Invocation
00:04:39

Today’s poem is Invocation by W. Todd Kaneko. This episode was originally released on October 12 2021.

Nov 21, 2022
[encore] 662: To Be in Love
00:04:55

Today’s poem is To Be in Love by Gwendolyn Brooks. This episode was originally released on April 27, 2022.

Nov 18, 2022
[encore] 612: After the Fire
00:05:04

Today’s poem is After the Fire by Gregory Fraser. This episode was originally released on February 16, 2022.

Nov 17, 2022
[encore] 549: Mountain Dew Commercial Disguised as a Love Poem
00:04:47

Today’s poem is Mountain Dew Commercial Disguised as a Love Poem by Matthew Olzmann. This episode was originally released on November 19, 2021.

Nov 16, 2022
[encore] 534: The moon rose over the bay. I had a lot of feelings.
00:05:02

Today’s poem is The moon rose over the bay. I had a lot of feelings. by Donika Kelly. This episode was originally released on October 29, 2021.

Nov 15, 2022
[encore] 648: Love is a Luminous Insect at the Window
00:05:02

Today’s poem is Love is a Luminous Insect at the Window by Martín Espada. This episode was originally released on April 7, 2022.

Nov 14, 2022
[encore] 644: Georgia O'Keeffe, "From the Faraway, Nearby," 1937
00:06:35

Today’s poem is Georgia O'Keeffe, "From the Faraway, Nearby," 1937 by Camille Carter. This episode was originally released on April 1, 2022.

Nov 11, 2022
[encore] 611: During the Pandemic I Listen to the July 26, 1965, Juan-les-Pins Recording of A Love Supreme
00:05:31

Today’s poem is During the Pandemic I Listen to the July 26, 1965, Juan-les-Pins Recording of A Love Supreme by Ellen Bass. This episode was originally released on February 15, 2022.

Nov 10, 2022
[encore] 646: every exquisite thing
00:05:27

Today’s poem is every exquisite thing by heidi andrea restrepo rhodes. This episode was originally released on April 5, 2022.

Nov 09, 2022
[encore] 595: Pegasus Autopsy
00:04:58

Today’s poem is Pegasus Autopsy by Julio Pazos Barrera. This episode was originally released on January 24, 2022.

Nov 08, 2022
[encore] 615: The Studio
00:05:05

Today’s poem is The Studio by Cedar Sigo. This episode was originally released on February 21 2022.

Nov 07, 2022
[encore] 629: Halfway
00:06:20

Today’s poem is Halfway by Paula Mendoza.

This episode was originally released on 3/11/2022.

Nov 04, 2022
[encore] 683: I Have a Rendezvous With Life
00:05:07

Today’s poem is I Have a Rendezvous With Life by Countee Cullen.

This episode was originally released on 5/26/2022.

Nov 03, 2022
[encore] 518: Metamorphosis: The Female Into
00:05:30

Today’s poem is Metamorphosis: The Female Into by Maggie Queeney.

This episode was originally released on 10/7/2021.

Nov 02, 2022
636: How to Hold the Heavy Weight of Now
00:05:00

Today’s poem is How to Hold the Heavy Weight of Now by Dana Levin.

This episode was originally released on 3/22/2022.

Nov 01, 2022
795: The End of Poetry
00:06:07

Today’s poem is The End of Poetry by Ada Limón.

Oct 31, 2022
794: High Fidelity
00:06:03

Today’s poem is High Fidelity by Tara Betts.

Oct 28, 2022
793: Children Listen
00:04:48

Today’s poem is Children Listen by Roger Reeves.

Oct 27, 2022
792: Trash
00:05:14

Today’s poem is Trash by Joshua Bennett.

Oct 26, 2022
791: Love Poem
00:05:34

Today’s poem is Love Poem by Jayme Ringleb.

Oct 25, 2022
790: Anxiety checks her phone again
00:05:46

Today’s poem is Anxiety checks her phone again by K.A. Hays.

Oct 24, 2022
789: hoop snake
00:06:14

Today’s poem is hoop snake by Rebecca Wee.

Oct 21, 2022
788: John Muir, A Dream, A Waterfall, A Mountain Ash
00:05:13

Today’s poem is John Muir, A Dream, A Waterfall, A Mountain Ash by Robert Hass.

Oct 20, 2022
787: The Orange
00:05:18

Today’s poem is The Orange by Wendy Cope.

Oct 19, 2022
786: Compassion Comes Late
00:05:10

Today’s poem is Compassion Comes Late by Fady Joudah.

Oct 18, 2022
785: Magdalene—The Seven Devils
00:05:43

Today’s poem is Magdalene—The Seven Devils by Marie Howe.

Oct 17, 2022
784: Sex Without Love
00:06:04

Today’s poem is Sex Without Love by Sharon Olds.

Oct 14, 2022
783: The Beginning of the Beginning
00:04:35

Today’s poem is The Beginning of the Beginning by Phuong T. Vuong.

Oct 13, 2022
782: The Strength of U
00:05:28

Today’s poem is The Strength of U by DeShara Suggs-Joe.

Oct 12, 2022
781: Cut Apple
00:04:39

Today’s poem is Cut Apple by Richelle Buccilli.

Oct 11, 2022
780: Edward Hopper Study: Hotel Room
00:05:05

Today’s poem is Edward Hopper Study: Hotel Room by Victoria Chang.

Oct 10, 2022
779: My Rock
00:05:54

Today’s poem is My Rock by Pat Mora.

Oct 07, 2022
778: Batter My Heart, Transgender'd God
00:05:03

Today’s poem is Batter My Heart, Transgender'd God by Meg Day.

Oct 06, 2022
777: The Lightkeeper
00:04:58

Today’s poem is The Lightkeeper by Carolyn Forché.

Oct 05, 2022
776: Bonfire Brides
00:05:52

Today’s poem is Bonfire Brides by Faylita Hicks.

Oct 04, 2022
775: A Case Study of Beethoven's Nine Symphonies
00:06:07

Today’s poem is A Case Study of Beethoven's Nine Symphonies by Keisha Cassel.

Oct 03, 2022
774: Uncertainty Principle at Dawn
00:05:51

Today’s poem is Uncertainty Principle at Dawn by Catherine Barnett.

Sep 30, 2022
773: The Dead Are Beautiful Tonight
00:05:12

Today’s poem is The Dead Are Beautiful Tonight by Luther Hughes.

Sep 29, 2022
772: On Friendship
00:05:00

Today’s poem is On Friendship by Hagit Grossman.

Sep 28, 2022
771: Your Damage
00:04:33

Today’s poem is Your Damage by Mary Biddinger.

Sep 27, 2022
770: And
00:05:28

Today’s poem is And by Nicole Sealey.

Sep 26, 2022
769: Meeting at an Airport
00:06:16

Today’s poem is Meeting at an Airport by Taha Muhammad Ali.

Sep 23, 2022
768: Lately I Am Trying
00:05:15

Today’s poem is Lately I Am Trying by Sanna Wani.

Sep 22, 2022
767: Love Poem
00:05:10

Today’s poem is Love Poem by Megan Fernandes.

Sep 21, 2022
766: All I Know
00:05:25

Today’s poem is All I Know by Paul Guest.

Sep 20, 2022
765: a fishing story.
00:05:02

Today’s poem is a fishing story. by Mia S. Willis.

Sep 19, 2022
764: Fides, Spes
00:06:18

Today’s poem is Fides, Spes by Willa Cather.

Sep 16, 2022
763: Erasure of Girlhood
00:05:02

Today’s poem is Erasure of Girlhood by Sarah María Medina.

Sep 15, 2022
762: Home is still possible there…
00:05:11

Today’s poem is Home is still possible there… by Kateryna Kalytko, translated by Olena Jennings and Oksana Lutsyshyna.

Sep 14, 2022
761: After
00:05:06

Today’s poem After by Andrea Cohen.

Sep 13, 2022
760: Song
00:04:40

Today’s poem is Song by Charif Shanahan.

Sep 12, 2022
759: Gitanjali 60
00:05:24

Today’s poem is Gitanjali 60 by Rabindranath Tagore.

Sep 09, 2022
758: What You Missed That Day You Were Absent from Fourth Grade
00:04:49

Today’s poem is What You Missed That Day You Were Absent from Fourth Grade by Brad Aaron Modlin.

Sep 08, 2022
757: February Augury
00:04:49

Today’s poem is February Augury by Sarah Ghazal Ali.

Sep 07, 2022
756: Songs for the People
00:04:57

Today’s poem is Songs for the People by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper.

Sep 06, 2022
755: On Being Asked, "What Is Your Dream Job?"
00:05:07

Today’s poem is On Being Asked, "What Is Your Dream Job?" by Ally Ang.

Sep 05, 2022
754: from SHIFTING THE SILENCE
00:06:33

Today’s poem is from SHIFTING THE SILENCE by Etel Adnan.

Sep 02, 2022
753: List of Things To Say Instead of "I'm Fine"
00:05:34

Today’s poem is List of Things To Say Instead of "I'm Fine" by Marlin M. Jenkins.

Sep 01, 2022
752: Snow
00:05:31

Today’s poem is Snow by Louis MacNeice.

Aug 31, 2022
751: Behaving Like a Jew
00:05:24

Today’s poem is Behaving Like a Jew by Gerald Stern.

Aug 30, 2022
750: Ars Poetica
00:05:45

Today’s poem is Ars Poetica by Valzhyna Mort.

Aug 29, 2022
749: Sun Goes Up
00:06:08

Today’s poem is Sun Goes Up by Hilary-Anne Farley.

Aug 26, 2022
748: gather them & give them back to me.
00:05:04

Today’s poem is gather them & give them back to me. by Renia White.

Aug 25, 2022
747: The rest of a life
00:04:56

Today’s poem is The rest of a life by Mahmoud Darwish.

Aug 24, 2022
746: A Study of Beauty
00:05:20

Today’s poem is A Study of Beauty by Patrick Rosal.

Aug 23, 2022
745: My Name Is Not The Cruelest Month
00:04:56

Today’s poem is My Name Is Not The Cruelest Month by April Ranger.

Aug 22, 2022
744: Contentment
00:06:06

Today’s poem is Contentment by Rüştü Onur, translated by Hüseyin Alhas and Ulaş Özgün.

Aug 19, 2022
743: And the Word Was God
00:04:53

Today’s poem is And the Word Was God by Savannah Sipple.

Aug 18, 2022
742: In the end we are humanlike: Blade Runner 2049
00:04:58

Today’s poem is In the end we are humanlike: Blade Runner 2049 by Nina Mingya Powles.

Aug 17, 2022
741: Another Attempt at Rescue
00:04:47

Today’s poem is Another Attempt at Rescue by M.L. Smoker.

Aug 16, 2022
740: Shucking Oysters
00:06:15

Today’s poem is Shucking Oysters by Khalisa Rae.

Aug 15, 2022
739: Cherry Blossoms
00:05:59

Today’s poem is Cherry Blossoms by Toi Derricotte.

Aug 12, 2022
738: Park Benches with Teeth
00:05:11

Today’s poem is Park Benches with Teeth by Mohammed El-Kurd.

Aug 11, 2022
737: A Small Moment
00:04:33

Today’s poem is A Small Moment by Cornelius Eady.

Aug 10, 2022
736: For the Korean Grandmother on Sunset Boulevard
00:04:50

Today’s poem is For the Korean Grandmother on Sunset Boulevard by Christine Kitano.

Aug 09, 2022
735: Deep Learning
00:04:48

Today’s poem is Deep Learning by Ryann Stevenson.

Aug 08, 2022
734: A Man in My Bed Like Cracker Crumbs
00:04:22

Today’s poem is A Man in My Bed Like Cracker Crumbs by Sandra Cisneros. Today’s episode features guest host Nate Marshall.

Aug 05, 2022
733: Disease Is Not the Only Thing That Spreads
00:04:26

Today’s poem is Disease Is Not the Only Thing That Spreads by Seema Yasmin. Today’s episode features guest host Nate Marshall.

Aug 04, 2022
732: Caregiving
00:04:01

Today’s poem is Caregiving by Maya Marshall. Today’s episode features guest host Nate Marshall.

Aug 03, 2022
731: no name in the street
00:04:10

Today’s poem is n̶o̶ ̶n̶a̶m̶e̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶t̶r̶e̶e̶t̶ by Aurielle Marie. Today’s episode features guest host Nate Marshall.

Aug 02, 2022
730: Borderland Apocrypha
00:05:40

Today’s poem is Borderland Apocrypha by Anthony Cody. Today’s episode features guest host Nate Marshall.

Aug 01, 2022
729: Fiery Young Colored Girl
00:04:45

Today’s poem is Fiery Young Colored Girl by Alison C. Rollins. Today’s episode features guest host Nate Marshall.

Jul 29, 2022
728: Grief Symphony
00:04:40

Today’s poem is Grief Symphony by Noor Hindi. Today’s episode features guest host Nate Marshall.

Jul 28, 2022
727: Ode to the Crossfader
00:04:21

Today’s poem is Ode to the Crossfader by John Murillo. Today’s episode features guest host Nate Marshall.

Jul 27, 2022
726: After Abolition
00:04:22

Today’s poem is After Abolition by Kyle Carrero Lopez. Today’s episode features guest host Nate Marshall.

Jul 26, 2022
725: Black Light
00:05:08

Today’s poem is Black Light by A. Van Jordan. Today’s episode features guest host Nate Marshall.

Jul 25, 2022
724: Conditionally
00:06:01

Today’s poem is Conditionally by Devin Kelly.

Jul 22, 2022
723: Divorce
00:04:44

Today’s poem is Divorce by José A. Alcantara.

Jul 21, 2022
722: Ghazal for Dogeaters
00:04:59

Today’s poem is Ghazal for Dogeaters by Danni Quintos.

Jul 20, 2022
721: Self-Portrait as Duckie Dale
00:05:25

Today’s poem is Self-Portrait as Duckie Dale by Nicky Beer.

Jul 19, 2022
720: The Trees are Down
00:05:31

Today’s poem is The Trees are Down by Charlotte Mew.

Jul 18, 2022
719: Museum of Sex
00:06:15

Today’s poem is Museum of Sex by Ellen Hagan.

Jul 15, 2022
718: Weeding
00:04:56

Today’s poem is Weeding by Dan Rosenberg.

Jul 14, 2022
717: Afterlife with a Gentle Afterward
00:05:12

Today’s poem is Afterlife with a Gentle Afterward by Matthew Henriksen.

Jul 13, 2022
716: Without
00:04:57

Today’s poem is Without by Joy Harjo.

Jul 12, 2022
715: I Dream of Horses Eating Cops
00:04:53

Today’s poem is I Dream of Horses Eating Cops by Joshua Jennifer Espinoza.

Jul 11, 2022
714: A Personality Test
00:06:04

Today’s poem is A Personality Test by Maureen Thorson.

Jul 08, 2022
713: how to make her stay
00:05:43

Today’s poem is how to make her stay by Shauna M. Morgan.

Jul 07, 2022
712: Saguaros
00:05:06

Today’s poem is Saguaros by Javier Zamora.

Jul 06, 2022
711: Droplet
00:04:47

Today’s poem is Droplet by Caitlin Scarano.

Jul 05, 2022
710: Acknowledgments
00:04:57

Today’s poem is Acknowledgments by Nkosi Nkululeko.

Jul 04, 2022
709: Work Song
00:05:29

Today’s poem is Work Song by Dawn Lundy Martin.

Jul 01, 2022
708: Bruised Peaches
00:04:54

Today’s poem is Bruised Peaches by Bronwen Tate.

Jun 30, 2022
707: Poem for My Children Born During the Sixth Extinction
00:05:11

Today’s poem is Poem for My Children Born During the Sixth Extinction by Laura Cresté.

Jun 29, 2022
706: Scavenged
00:05:05

Today’s poem is Scavenged by Dion O'Reilly.

Jun 28, 2022
705: The Bats
00:05:07

Today’s poem is The Bats by Mark Wunderlich.

Jun 27, 2022
704: Hunter's Moon
00:06:18

Today’s poem is Hunter's Moon by Ansel Elkins.

Jun 24, 2022
703: A Thousand Cardinals
00:05:42

Today’s poem is A Thousand Cardinals by Julian Randall.

Jun 23, 2022
702: Slow Drag with Branches of Pine
00:05:18

Today’s poem is Slow Drag with Branches of Pine by Ama Codjoe.

Jun 22, 2022
701: Summer Sorrow
00:05:29

Today’s poem is Summer Sorrow by Leonora Speyer.

Jun 21, 2022
700: Juneteenth, 2020
00:05:48

Today’s poem is Juneteenth, 2020 by Mariama J. Lockington.

Jun 20, 2022
699: Photosynthesis
00:05:42

Today’s poem is Photosynthesis by Ashley M. Jones.

Jun 17, 2022
698: Morning Freight
00:05:20

Today’s poem is Morning Freight by Sophia Terazawa.

Jun 16, 2022
697: When Light Leaves Her Eyes
00:05:07

Today’s poem is When Light Leaves Her Eyes by Kwame Dawes.

Jun 15, 2022
696: Reading Szymborska at Friday Harbor
00:06:35

Today’s poem is Reading Szymborska at Friday Harbor by Patrycja Humienik.

Jun 14, 2022
695: Pastoral
00:05:57

Today’s poem is Pastoral by Djuna Barnes.

Jun 13, 2022
694: Romance Is in the Air
00:05:50

Today’s poem is Romance Is in the Air by Danny Caine.

Jun 10, 2022
693: Portrait of the Artist
00:05:22

Today’s poem is Portrait of the Artist by Dorothy Parker.

Jun 09, 2022
692: Other Women's Babies
00:04:54

Today’s poem is Other Women's Babies by Rachel Long.

Jun 08, 2022
691: Final Poem for the "Field of Poetry"
00:05:01

Today’s poem is Final Poem for the "Field of Poetry" by Phillip B. Williams.

Jun 07, 2022
690: Deportation
00:05:15

Today’s poem is Deportation by Stella Wong.

Jun 06, 2022
689: Alive at the End of the World
00:05:57

Today’s poem is Alive at the End of the World by Saeed Jones.

Jun 03, 2022
688: [since feeling is first]
00:04:59

Today’s poem is [since feeling is first] by E.E. Cummings.

Jun 02, 2022
687: Ode to a Freckle above My Left Breast
00:04:49

Today’s poem is Ode to a Freckle above My Left Breast by Amy Haddad.

Jun 01, 2022
686: The Wealth
00:05:40

Today’s poem is The Wealth by Bianca Stone.

May 31, 2022
685: Trees at Night
00:05:20

Today’s poem is Trees at Night by Helene Johnson.

May 30, 2022
684: I Would Do Anything For Love, But I Won't
00:05:46

Today’s poem is I Would Do Anything For Love, But I Won't by Traci Brimhall.

May 27, 2022
683: I Have a Rendezvous With Life
00:05:07

Today’s poem is I Have a Rendezvous With Life by ​​Countee Cullen.

May 26, 2022
682: At Forty, the Mountains Are More Green
00:04:44

Today’s poem is At Forty, the Mountains Are More Green by Keetje Kuipers.

May 25, 2022
681: The Point
00:05:08

Today’s poem is The Point by C. Dale Young.

May 24, 2022
680: The Years That The Days and Months Turned Into
00:05:12

Today’s poem is The Years That The Days and Months Turned Into by Shafer Hall.

May 23, 2022
679: Self-Care
00:05:51

Today’s poem is Self-Care by Solmaz Sharif.

May 20, 2022
678: You're the One I Wanna Watch the Last Ships Go Down With
00:04:24

Today’s poem is You're the One I Wanna Watch the Last Ships Go Down With by Brian Tierney.

May 19, 2022
677: Practicing
00:05:25

Today’s poem is Practicing by Ciona Rouse.

May 18, 2022
676: Last Sundays at Bootleggers
00:04:56

Today’s poem is Last Sundays at Bootleggers by Carlos Andrés Gómez.

May 17, 2022
675: [chiasmus with all the other animals]
00:05:04

Today’s poem is [chiasmus with all the other animals] by Brenda Hillman.

May 16, 2022
674: My Ornithology (Orange-crowned Warbler)
00:06:31

Today’s poem is My Ornithology (Orange-crowned Warbler) by Hai-Dang Phan

May 13, 2022
673: New Town
00:05:17

Today’s poem is New Town by Aleksandar Hemon

May 12, 2022
672: The Cattle Dog
00:05:07

Today’s poem is The Cattle Dog by Jenn Givhan

May 11, 2022
671: September
00:04:52

Today’s poem is September by Alexis Sears.

May 10, 2022
670: Think of Me, Laughing
00:05:00

Today’s poem is Think of Me, Laughing by Major Jackson

May 09, 2022
669: Blueberries for Cal
00:05:07

Today’s poem is Blueberries for Cal by Brenda Shaughnessy

May 06, 2022
668: Lament
00:04:57

Today’s poem is Lament by Barbara Jane Reyes.

May 05, 2022
667: Now That You've Met God, Where to Go From Here
00:04:50

Today’s poem is Now That You've Met God, Where to Go From Here by Anthony Aguero

May 04, 2022
666: Against Mastery
00:05:46

Today’s poem is Against Mastery by Brionne Janae.

May 03, 2022
665: Metro-North
00:04:59

Today’s poem is Metro-North by Jason Barry.

May 02, 2022
664: Prayer Beginning with a Line by Czaykowski
00:05:33

Today’s poem is Prayer Beginning with a Line by Czaykowski by Pablo Piñero Stillmann.

Apr 29, 2022
663: The Evening Meeting
00:05:05

Today’s poem is The Evening Meeting by Matthew Zapruder.

Apr 28, 2022
662: To Be in Love
00:04:55

Today’s poem is To Be in Love by Gwendolyn Brooks.

Apr 27, 2022
661: The Field
00:05:08

Today’s poem is The Field by Rick Barot.

Apr 26, 2022
660: Flowers, Poems, Flower Poems
00:04:44

Today’s poem is Flowers, Poems, Flower Poems by Rachelle Toarmino.

Apr 25, 2022
659: soiree
00:06:52

Today’s poem is soiree by caroline sinavaiana-gabbard.

Apr 22, 2022
658: Shot in Sobriety
00:06:04

Today’s poem is Shot in Sobriety by Joan Naviyuk Kane.

Apr 21, 2022
657: Deep in the Rock
00:05:45

Today’s poem is Deep in the Rock by Laura Tohe.

Apr 20, 2022
656: cycle
00:05:52

Today’s poem is cycle by Alexis Pauline Gumbs.

Apr 19, 2022
655: The Frolicsome Crests and Glistening
00:05:45

Today’s poem is The Frolicsome Crests and Glistening by Rena Priest.

Apr 18, 2022
654: In the End You Get Everything Back (Liza Minnelli)
00:06:44

Today’s poem is In the End You Get Everything Back (Liza Minnelli) by Jason Schneiderman.

Apr 15, 2022
653: Get Out of the Water
00:05:07

Today’s poem is Get Out of the Water by Monica Rico.

Apr 14, 2022
652: Credo
00:04:51

Today’s poem is Credo by Alex Lemon.

Apr 13, 2022
651: Training
00:04:48

Today’s poem is Training by Diannely Antigua.

Apr 12, 2022
650: Notes on Self-Care
00:05:35

Today’s poem is Notes on Self-Care by Yesenia Montilla.

Apr 11, 2022
649: sunrise through mount vernon, wa.
00:06:01

Today’s poem is sunrise through mount vernon, wa. by Jasmine Khaliq.

Apr 08, 2022
648: Love is a Luminous Insect at the Window
00:05:02

Today’s poem is Love is a Luminous Insect at the Window by Martín Espada.

Apr 07, 2022
647: Walking Across Fire Island
00:05:01

Today’s poem is Walking Across Fire Island by Shelley Wong.

Apr 06, 2022
646: every exquisite thing
00:05:27

Today’s poem is every exquisite thing by heidi andrea restrepo rhodes.

Apr 05, 2022
645: It’s 9:30am, I’ve ran four miles, cried four times, & eaten two chicken sandwiches
00:05:15

Today’s poem is It’s 9:30am, I’ve ran four miles, cried four times, & eaten two chicken sandwiches by Christian Aldana.

Apr 04, 2022
644: Georgia O'Keeffe, "From the Faraway, Nearby," 1937
00:06:35

Today’s poem is Georgia O'Keeffe, "From the Faraway, Nearby," 1937 by Camille Carter.

Apr 01, 2022
643: Come give me a kiss on the cheek
00:04:56

Today’s poem is Come give me a kiss on the cheek by Manahil Bandukwala.

Mar 31, 2022
642: Burning Duplex
00:05:21

Today’s poem is Burning Duplex by Janiru Liyanage.

Mar 30, 2022
641: Old Growth
00:05:08

Today’s poem is Old Growth by Natasha Rao.

Mar 29, 2022
640: Eventually / One Point Where We Arrive
00:04:56

Today’s poem is Eventually / One Point Where We Arrive by Adam Clay.

Mar 28, 2022
639: An Algorithm Matches Me With a Nice Girl and I Tell Her
00:05:54

Today’s poem is An Algorithm Matches Me With a Nice Girl and I Tell Her by Jireh Deng.

Mar 25, 2022
638: In the Bad Days
00:04:52

Today’s poem is In the Bad Days by Kevin Prufer.

Mar 24, 2022
637: ATLien Freestyles Over "Wheelz of Steel"
00:05:14

Today’s poem is ATLien Freestyles Over "Wheelz of Steel" by Marcus Wicker.

Mar 23, 2022
636: How to Hold the Heavy Weight of Now
00:05:00

Today’s poem is How to Hold the Heavy Weight of Now by Dana Levin.

Mar 22, 2022
635: until the meteor makes a shadow over home
00:05:06

Today’s poem is until the meteor makes a shadow over home by Mihee Kim.

Mar 21, 2022
634: Nest
00:05:45

Today’s poem is Nest by Sarah Arvio.

Mar 18, 2022
633: The Moth
00:04:50

Today’s poem is The Moth by Francisco Márquez.

Mar 17, 2022
632: Touch Cave
00:05:03

Today’s poem is Touch Cave by Erika Meitner.

Mar 16, 2022
631: Every Mourning
00:05:05

Today’s poem is Every Mourning by Michael Kleber-Diggs.

Mar 15, 2022
630: Don’t Think
00:05:10

Today’s poem is Don’t Think by Elisa Gabbert.

Mar 14, 2022
629: Halfway
00:06:20

Today’s poem is Halfway by Paula Mendoza.

Mar 11, 2022
628: I Guess By Now I Thought I’d Be Done With Shame
00:04:50

Today’s poem is I Guess By Now I Thought I’d Be Done With Shame by Franny Choi.

Mar 10, 2022
627: Don't Say Love Just Signal
00:05:50

Today’s poem is Don't Say Love Just Signal by Tyree Daye.

Mar 09, 2022
626: Explication on a Nude Photograph Taken After Hours at the Bright Beach
00:05:04

Today’s poem is Explication on a Nude Photograph Taken After Hours at the Bright Beach by A. Prevett.

Mar 08, 2022
625: Not everything is a poem
00:04:56

Today’s poem is Not everything is a poem by Maggie Smith.

Mar 07, 2022
624: Sunflowers in the Median
00:06:13

Today’s poem is Sunflowers in the Median by Natalie Homer.

Mar 04, 2022
623: What Do You Want to Do Today
00:04:27

Today’s poem is What Do You Want to Do Today by Sean Cho A.

Mar 03, 2022
622: Self-Portrait With Woman On The Subway
00:04:47

Today’s poem is Self-Portrait With Woman On The Subway by Hayan Charara.

Mar 02, 2022
621: The Wrong Question More Than Once
00:05:37

Today’s poem is The Wrong Question More Than Once by Matt Donovan.

Mar 01, 2022
620: Egrets
00:04:59

Today’s poem is Egrets by Kevin Young.

Feb 28, 2022
619: Without Enchantment
00:05:51

Today's poem is Without Enchantment by Víctor Fowler Calzada, translated from the Spanish by Katerina Gonzalez Seligmann.

Feb 25, 2022
618: Elegy for Kentucky
00:05:28

Today's poem is Elegy for Kentucky by Joy Priest.

Feb 24, 2022
617: Places With Terrible Wi-Fi
00:04:59

Today's poem is Places With Terrible Wi-Fi by J. Estanislao Lopez.

Feb 23, 2022
616: flight training
00:04:46

Today's poem is flight training by Shayla Lawz.

Feb 22, 2022
615: The Studio
00:05:05

Today's poem is The Studio by Cedar Sigo.

Feb 21, 2022
614: On Being Asked, "What Is Your Dream Job?"
00:04:48

Today's poem is On Being Asked, "What Is Your Dream Job?" by Ally Ang

Feb 18, 2022
613: City Lake
00:05:08

Today's poem is City Lake by Chelsea DesAutels

Feb 17, 2022
612: After the Fire
00:05:04

Today's poem is After the Fire by Gregory Fraser

Feb 16, 2022
611: During the Pandemic I Listen to the July 26, 1965, Juan-les-Pins Recording of A Love Supreme
00:05:31

Today's poem is During the Pandemic I Listen to the July 26, 1965, Juan-les-Pins Recording of A Love Supreme by Ellen Bass

Feb 15, 2022
610: A Valentine
00:05:09

Today's poem is A Valentine by Priscilla Jane Thompson

Feb 14, 2022
609: 9 dreams
00:05:20

Today's poem is 9 dreams by Nicole Cecilia Delgado.

Feb 11, 2022
608: Las Chácharas They Carried
00:04:48

Today's poem is Las Chácharas They Carried by Antonio de Jesús López.

Feb 10, 2022
607: Chelsea Piers
00:04:59

Today's poem is Chelsea Piers by Joseph O. Legaspi.

Feb 09, 2022
606: The Lunch Counter of Eternal Tears
00:04:54

Today's poem is The Lunch Counter of Eternal Tears by Nikki Wallschlaeger.

Feb 08, 2022
605: Birthday
00:05:19

Today's poem is Birthday by Kathleen Rooney.

Feb 07, 2022
604: The Extravagant Stars
00:05:10

Today's poem is The Extravagant Stars by Nicole Callihan.

Feb 04, 2022
603: Sligo Abbey
00:05:11

Today's poem is Sligo Abbey by Rebecca Lindenberg.

Feb 03, 2022
602: The Tyger
00:04:47

Today's poem is The Tyger by William Blake.

Feb 02, 2022
601: Life Preserver
00:05:20

Today's poem is Life Preserver by Javier Velaza.

Feb 01, 2022
600: I Imagine the Butches' Stripper Bar
00:04:59

Today's poem is I Imagine the Butches' Stripper Bar by Jill McDonough.

Jan 31, 2022
599: Fatherteeth
00:04:48

Today's poem is Fatherteeth by Ashley Brooke Dailey.

Jan 28, 2022
598: Bioluminescence
00:05:34

Today's poem is Bioluminescence by Paul Tran.

Jan 27, 2022
597: Facelift
00:05:05

Today's poem is Facelift by Jennifer L. Knox.

Jan 26, 2022
596: Prayer of the Palo Verde Beetle
00:04:36

Today's poem is Prayer of the Palo Verde Beetle by Felicia Zamora.

Jan 25, 2022
595: Pegasus Autopsy
00:04:58

Today's poem is Pegasus Autopsy by Julio Pazos Barrera.

Jan 24, 2022
594: What Bodies Move
00:04:50

Today's poem is What Bodies Move by Kristene Kaye Brown.

Jan 21, 2022
593: Fragments for Subduing the Silence
00:05:06

Today's poem is Fragments for Subduing the Silence by Alejandra Pizarnik.

Jan 20, 2022
592: Lavender
00:06:07

Today's poem is Lavender by Joanna Fuhrman.

Jan 19, 2022
591: The Remaining Facts
00:06:05

Today's poem is The Remaining Facts by Michael Robins.

Jan 18, 2022
590: "Let my anger be the celebration we were never / supposed to have."
00:05:04

Today's poem is "Let my anger be the celebration we were never / supposed to have." by Natasha Oladokun.

Jan 17, 2022
589: addy
00:05:03

Today's poem is addy by moonheart (formerly known as kim mayo).

Jan 14, 2022
588: Good Death
00:05:12

Today's poem is Good Death by Rachel Eliza Griffiths.

Jan 13, 2022
587: An Old Story
00:05:10

Today's poem is An Old Story by Tracy K. Smith.

Jan 12, 2022
586: Poem That Leaves Behind The Ocean
00:04:48

Today's poem is Poem That Leaves Behind The Ocean by Jim Moore.

Jan 11, 2022
585: Complex Nonlinear Systems
00:04:37

Today's poem is Complex Nonlinear Systems by Chelsea Dingman.

Jan 10, 2022
584: Marte
00:04:36

Today's poem is Marte by Gustavo Hernandez.

Jan 07, 2022
583: What We Talk About When We Talk About the Pursuit of Gender Euphoria
00:04:46

Today's poem is What We Talk About When We Talk About the Pursuit of Gender Euphoria by Levi Cain.

Jan 06, 2022
582: Marrying the Wind
00:04:57

Today's poem is Marrying the Wind by Brett Elizabeth Jenkins.

Jan 05, 2022
581: Red-ish Brown-ish
00:05:12

Today's poem is Red-ish Brown-ish by Trevino L. Brings Plenty.

Jan 04, 2022
580: Walking the Dogs
00:05:40

Today's poem is Walking the Dogs by Matthew Dickman.

Jan 03, 2022
579: My Empire
00:05:27

Today's poem is My Empire by Kaveh Akbar.

Dec 31, 2021
578: Setting Lemon Curd
00:05:47

Today's poem is Setting Lemon Curd by Megan Denton Ray.

Dec 30, 2021
577: Poem Beginning to Sound
00:05:43

Today's poem is Poem Beginning to Sound by Wendy Xu.

Dec 29, 2021
576: Taking Down the Tree
00:05:08

Today's poem is Taking Down the Tree by Jane Kenyon.

Dec 28, 2021
575: How I Learned Bliss
00:05:37

Today's poem is How I Learned Bliss by Oliver de la Paz.

Dec 27, 2021
574: Monday
00:05:07

Today's poem is Monday by Alex Dimitrov.

Dec 24, 2021
573: Bury Me in the Woods of My Childhood
00:05:08

Today's poem is Bury Me in the Woods of My Childhood by Erin Rodoni.

Dec 23, 2021
572: Earth Evanescent
00:05:02

Today's poem is Earth Evanescent by Maxwell Anderson.

Dec 22, 2021
571: Golden Age
00:05:17

Today's poem is Golden Age by Chris Santiago.

Dec 21, 2021
570: Asking About My Mother
00:04:23

Today's poem is Asking About My Mother by Crystal Wilkinson.

Dec 20, 2021
569: Let's Crawl Into That Photograph & Stay There for a While
00:05:34

Today's poem is Let's Crawl Into That Photograph & Stay There for a While by Rachel McKibbens.

Dec 17, 2021
568: When You're Young You Always Take Too Much
00:05:14

Today's poem is When You're Young You Always Take Too Much by John McCarthy.

Dec 16, 2021
567: Besaydoo
00:04:49

Today's poem is Besaydoo by Yalie Saweda Kamara.

Dec 15, 2021
566: [little tree]
00:05:12

Today's poem is [little tree] by e.e. cummings.

Dec 14, 2021
565: Go Inward
00:05:11

Today's poem is Go Inward by Jen Levitt.

Dec 13, 2021
564: Spell
00:05:02

Today's poem is Spell by Emma Hine.

Dec 10, 2021
563: Dust of Snow
00:05:03

Today's poem is Dust of Snow by Robert Frost.

Dec 09, 2021
562: The Lonely Humans
00:05:27

Today's poem is The Lonely Humans by Jennifer Chang.

Dec 08, 2021
561: from "frank: sonnets"
00:05:22

Today's poem is from "frank: sonnets" by Diane Seuss.

Dec 07, 2021
560: I, Lover
00:06:04

Today's poem is I, Lover by Elsa Gidlow.

Dec 06, 2021
559: Parable of Childhood
00:05:09

Today's poem is Parable of Childhood by Wayne Miller.

Dec 03, 2021
558: City That Does Not Sleep
00:05:16

Today's poem is City That Does Not Sleep by Federico García Lorca. Translated by Robert Bly.

Dec 02, 2021
557: from A Year
00:04:56

Today's poem is from A Year by Jos Charles.

Dec 01, 2021
556: Our Land
00:05:13

Today's poem is Our Land by Langston Hughes.

Nov 30, 2021
555: Private Property
00:05:25

Today's poem is Private Property by Analicia Sotelo.

Nov 29, 2021
554: Sonoran Desert Poem
00:05:19

Today's poem is Sonoran Desert Poem by Jake Skeets.

Nov 26, 2021
553: Daylight Saving, Age 5
00:04:40

Today's poem is Daylight Saving, Age 5 by James Crews.

Nov 25, 2021
552: Hammond B3 Organ Cistern
00:05:05

Today's poem is Hammond B3 Organ Cistern by Gabrielle Calvocoressi.

Nov 24, 2021
551: Tangerine Peel
00:05:00

Today's poem is Tangerine Peel by Mary Ruefle.

Nov 23, 2021
550: My Standard Response
00:05:44

Today's poem is My Standard Response by Karenne Wood.

Nov 22, 2021
549: Mountain Dew Commercial Disguised as a Love Poem
00:04:47

Today's poem is Mountain Dew Commercial Disguised as a Love Poem by Matthew Olzmann.

Nov 19, 2021
548: I Wonder If I Will Miss The Moss
00:05:18

Today's poem is I Wonder If I Will Miss The Moss by Jane Mead.

Nov 18, 2021
547: Travel
00:04:36

Today's poem is Travel by Edna St. Vincent Millay.

Nov 17, 2021
546: Ouroboros (Or: A Brief Dip Into the Relationship I Have with My Mother)
00:05:07

Today's poem is Ouroboros (Or: A Brief Dip Into the Relationship I Have with My Mother) by Juliette Givhan.

Nov 16, 2021
545: Response, Years Later, to Two Male Poets I Overheard Discussing How Sick They Were of Women's Poems about the Body
00:04:44

Today's poem is Response, Years Later, to Two Male Poets I Overheard Discussing How Sick They Were of Women's Poems about the Body by Meghan Dunn.

Nov 15, 2021
544: Elegy for Estrogen
00:05:27

Today's poem is Elegy for Estrogen by V. Penelope Pelizzon.

Nov 12, 2021
543: The Hummingbird
00:05:17

Today's poem is The Hummingbird by Blas Falconer.

Nov 11, 2021
542: In Gratitude
00:05:19

Today's poem is In Gratitude by Abigail Carroll.

Nov 10, 2021
541: Little Grey Dreams
00:04:31

Today's poem is Little Grey Dreams by Angelina Weld Grimké.

Nov 09, 2021
540: far away from home I am hungry
00:05:16

Today's poem is far away from home I am hungry by Urvi Kumbhat.

Nov 08, 2021
539: Full Moon
00:04:59

Today’s poem is Full Moon by Elinor Wylie.

Nov 05, 2021
538: Declassified
00:05:34

Today's poem is Declassified by Mai Der Vang.

Nov 04, 2021
537: Today I'm Not Thinking About Gender
00:05:18

Today's poem is Today I'm Not Thinking About Gender by Dennison Ty Schultz.

Nov 03, 2021
536: Hoodie
00:04:50

Today's poem is Hoodie by January Gill O'Neil.

Nov 02, 2021
535: This Close
00:05:17

Today's poem is This Close by Dorianne Laux.

Nov 01, 2021
534: The moon rose over the bay. I had a lot of feelings.
00:05:02

Today's poem is The moon rose over the bay. I had a lot of feelings. by Donika Kelly.

Oct 29, 2021
533: Offering
00:04:39

Today's poem is Offering by Albert Garcia.

Oct 28, 2021
532: The Vine
00:05:01

Today's poem is The Vine by Laura Kasischke.

Oct 27, 2021
531: anti-immigration
00:05:30

Today's poem is anti-immigration by Evie Shockley.

Oct 26, 2021
530: Cattails
00:05:55

Today's poem is Cattails by Nikky Finney.

Oct 25, 2021
529: [Somewhere In Los Angeles] This Poem Is Needed
00:05:20

Today's poem is [Somewhere In Los Angeles] This Poem Is Needed by Christopher Soto.

Oct 22, 2021
528: First
00:04:44

Today's poem is First by Carrie Fountain.

Oct 21, 2021
527: Rabbits and Fire
00:05:17

Today's poem is Rabbits and Fire by Alberto Ríos.

Oct 20, 2021
526: Saudade
00:04:58

Today's poem is Saudade by Silvia Bonilla.

Oct 19, 2021
525: Bonsai Primer
00:04:52

Today's poem is Bonsai Primer by Zang Di. Translated from Chinese by Eleanor Goodman.