Poetry For All

Episode 116: Patricia Smith, "XXXL"

October 11th, 2026  |  26 mins 51 secs

Family, african american, love, refrain, repetition, twenty-first century, villanelle

In this episode, we continue our series on the villanelle with Patricia Smith's "XXXL." In this poem, Smith uses the constraints of the villanelle form to create a powerful portrait of familial love.

Episode 115: A.E. Stallings, Burned

September 24th, 2026  |  Season 9  |  22 mins 18 secs

21st century, elegy, grief and loss, repetition or refrain, villanelle

In this episode, we continue our villanelle series with the incredible formalist poet A.E. Stallings.

Episode 114: Dylan Thomas, Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

September 10th, 2026  |  Season 9  |  26 mins 40 secs

elegy, grief and loss, refrain, repetition, twentieth century, villanelle

In this episode, we introduce the first villanelle in our three-part series on that poetic form. We begin with Dylan Thomas's "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night," a poem that attempts to stave off the inevitability of mortality.

Episode 29: Elizabeth Bishop, One Art

October 6th, 2021  |  Season 3  |  25 mins 16 secs

20th century, grief and loss, lgbtqia month, love, rhymed verse, villanelle, women's history month