Poetry For All

Episode 103: Dinah Maria Craik, Friendship

January 16th, 2026  |  Season 8  |  14 mins 48 secs

19th century, free verse, friendship, gratitude, joy, love, thanksgiving, women's history month

In a short, simple, well-loved poem, Dinah Maria Craik names one aspect of friendship that many have found true. A great way to start the new year and launch the season. Find a friend and listen in.

Episode 77: Jennifer Grotz, The Conversion of Paul

September 5th, 2024  |  Season 6  |  26 mins 14 secs

21st century, body in pain, christianity, ekphrasis, free verse, friendship, grief and loss, narrative

Poetry engages in conversation. Today, we explore a long, beautiful, narrative poem weaving together the work of fellow poets while looking carefully at a Caravaggio painting, all reflecting on illness, death, and friendship.

Episode 64: Shakespeare, Sonnet 29

September 22nd, 2023  |  Season 6  |  19 mins 51 secs

17th century, friendship, hope, loneliness, love, rhymed verse, sonnet

Shakespeare's Sonnet 29 opens a world of comparison and despair, but also the deep joy of a dear friend that lifts one from disgrace. In our discussion, we consider present-day concerns about social media, the Surgeon General's warning about an epidemic of loneliness in this country, and a long-term Harvard study of happiness.

Episode 12: James Merrill, Christmas Tree

December 2nd, 2020  |  Season 1  |  21 mins 37 secs

20th century, advent/christmas, aging, body in pain, elegy, friendship, grief and loss, guest on the show, intimacy, lgbtqia month, love, science and medicine, visual poetry

Episode 11: Alberto Ríos, When Giving Is All We Have

November 17th, 2020  |  Season 1  |  15 mins 46 secs

21st century, free verse, friendship, gratitude, hispanic heritage month, joy, repetition or refrain, thanksgiving

In this episode, we read and discuss a poem about giving by Alberto Ríos, the inaugural state poet laureate of Arizona.