Poetry For All

Episode 58: Richie Hofmann, Things That Are Rare

February 27th, 2023  |  Season 5  |  23 mins 57 secs

21st century, eros and desire, free verse, guest on the show, intimacy, lgbtqia month, night, sonnet

Episode 55: Kay Ryan, Crib

December 19th, 2022  |  Season 5  |  17 mins 17 secs

20th century, advent/christmas, free verse, lgbtqia month, poet laureate, rhymed verse, wonder

In this episode, we discuss Kay Ryan's "Crib," a brief poem that begins with an interest in the deep archaeology of language and shifts to a powerful meditation on theft, innocence, and guilt.

Episode 54: Carl Phillips, To Autumn

November 21st, 2022  |  Season 5  |  24 mins 47 secs

21st century, autumn, black history month, city, free verse, guest on the show, intimacy, lgbtqia month, nature poetry, night, ode, restlessness, spirituality

In this episode, we talk with David Baker about "To Autumn" by Carl Phillips, exploring the way Phillips masterfully achieves a sense of intimacy and restlessness in a lyric ode that tosses between two parts while incorporating the sonnet tradition.

Episode 49: Lisel Mueller, When I am Asked

September 12th, 2022  |  Season 5  |  19 mins 57 secs

20th century, ars poetica, elegy, free verse, grief and loss, repetition or refrain

In this episode, we closely read Lisel Mueller's "When I am Asked" in order to better understand grief as a deep source of artistic expression.

Episode 47: Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass

April 22nd, 2022  |  Season 4  |  26 mins 39 secs

19th century, ars poetica, children, free verse, guest on the show, nature poetry, repetition or refrain, spirituality, wonder

In this episode, Christopher Hanlon joins us to discuss an excerpt from Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass. We discuss the poem's prophetic voice, its patterns of repetition, the connective tissue that binds his ideas and invites readers in, and the cultural context in which Whitman produced his work.

Episode 46: Lucille Clifton, spring song

April 13th, 2022  |  Season 4  |  17 mins 35 secs

20th century, black history month, christianity, easter, free verse, hope, joy, love, repetition or refrain, spring, wonder

Lucille Clifton (1936-2010) was one of the most powerful poets of the twentieth century. This joyful poem caps a sequence of sixteen poems called "some jesus," which walks through biblical characters (beginning with Adam and Eve) and ends on four poems for Holy Week and Easter.

Episode 43: Margaret Noodin, What the Peepers Say

March 2nd, 2022  |  Season 4  |  24 mins 22 secs

21st century, alliterative verse, free verse, guest on the show, native american heritage month, nature poetry, poetry in translation, repetition or refrain, spirituality, spring, wonder

In this episode, Margaret Noodin joins us to discuss her poem "What the Peepers Say." In our conversation, we talk about Margaret's writing in both Anishinaabemowin and English, her attention to sounds and rhythms, and what the peeper--a tiny springtime frog--can teach us about presence and listening.

Episode 38: Laura Van Prooyen, Elegy for My Mother's Mind

January 26th, 2022  |  Season 4  |  29 mins 16 secs

21st century, aging, children, elegy, free verse, gratitude, grief and loss, guest on the show, love, mother's day

In this episode, our guest Laura Van Prooyen reads "Elegy for My Mother's Mind," a poem that navigates the complexities of memory, loss, and familial relationships. Laura's poem gives us an opportunity to think about the deep sources of poetic inspiration, the revision process, and the power of metaphor.

Episode 36: Denise Levertov, On the Mystery of the Incarnation

December 21st, 2021  |  Season 3  |  16 mins 42 secs

20th century, advent/christmas, free verse, wonder

In this episode, we discuss Denise Levertov's powerful meditation on the horrors of the twentieth century, and how the mystery of the incarnation might provide humanity with hope.

Episode 35: Matthew Zapruder, Poem for Wisconsin

December 15th, 2021  |  Season 3  |  22 mins 56 secs

21st century, free verse, laborers, surprise, winter, wonder

In this episode, we discuss the way in which Matthew Zapruder attends to vivid, specific details to create a sense of wonder, connection, and surprise.