Poetry For All

Episode 82: Sidney, Translation of Psalm 52

November 14th, 2024  |  Season 6  |  26 mins 33 secs

16th century, anger, christianity, hope, poetry in translation, rhymed verse, social justice and advocacy, women's history month

Psalm 52 concerns a lying tyrant and God's impending judgment. Mary Sidney, who lived 1561-1621, was an extraordinary writer, editor, and literary patron. Like many talented writers of her time, she translated all the psalms. Here we talk about translation, early modern women's writing, religious engagements with politics, and the power of Psalm 52.

Episode 57: Edna St. Vincent Millay, She had forgotten how the August night

February 14th, 2023  |  Season 5  |  23 mins 46 secs

20th century, eros and desire, modernism, night, repetition or refrain, rhymed verse, sonnet, summer, women's history month

Edna St. Vincent Millay was the emblem of the "New Woman" and one of the most important American poets of the twentieth century. In this episode, we focus on a sonnet that showcases how Millay approached desire and eros in her poetry.

Episode 56: Queen Elizabeth, On Monsieur's Departure

January 31st, 2023  |  Season 5  |  18 mins 46 secs

16th century, eros and desire, love, rhymed verse, women's history month

Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) was one of the longest-reigning monarchs in all of British history, but she was also a gifted poet. In this episode, we discuss "On Monsieur's Departure," a poem that is inspired by Petrarchan conventions and gives insight into the public and private selves of a powerful queen.

Episode 44: Ann Hudson, Soap

March 16th, 2022  |  Season 4  |  23 mins 19 secs

21st century, body in pain, grief and loss, guest on the show, laborers, narrative, science and medicine, social justice and advocacy, women's history month

In this episode, Ann Hudson joins us to read her poem “Soap” and discuss how its narrative structure allows her to explore the history of science, technology, and our notions of progress and beauty, even when those notions do great harm to ordinary workers.

Episode 33: Adrienne Rich, Power

November 10th, 2021  |  Season 3  |  17 mins 21 secs

20th century, ars poetica, body in pain, free verse, guest on the show, lgbtqia month, science and medicine, social justice and advocacy, women's history month

This week, the poet and scholar Stephanie Burt joins us to discuss the extraordinary power of Adrienne Rich. We think through how the spacing and stanzas of a poem can draw out denials and divulgences, while also exploring the life and writing of Rich.

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

Episode 27: Marianne Moore, Poetry

September 22nd, 2021  |  Season 3  |  21 mins 11 secs

20th century, ars poetica, christianity, modernism, rhymed verse, women's history month

In this episode, we read and discuss the influential modernist poet Marianne Moore and her witty, wonderful poem called "Poetry," a classic ars poetica (a poem about writing poetry).

Episode 9: Anne Bradstreet, In Memory of My Dear Grandchild Elizabeth Bradstreet

October 27th, 2020  |  Season 1  |  14 mins 52 secs

17th century, anger, children, christianity, elegy, grief and loss, repetition or refrain, rhymed verse, sonnet, surprise, women's history month

This week we read Anne Bradstreet's elegy for her grandchild Elizabeth and draw out the multiple voices (both faith and doubt, both grief and consolation) and the tensions and deep emotions in the work of this talented Puritan poet--the first woman from British North America to publish a book of poems.

Episode 6: Jen Bervin, Nets

October 6th, 2020  |  Season 1  |  19 mins 13 secs

21st century, erasure, eros and desire, grief and loss, intimacy, women's history month

In this episode we learn about erasure poetry and poetic tradition by looking at Jen Bervin's incredible book NETS, created from the sonnets of Shakespeare.

Episode 2: Emily Dickinson, Tell all the truth

September 10th, 2020  |  Season 1  |  14 mins 13 secs

19th century, ars poetica, rhymed verse, spirituality, surprise, women's history month

What does it mean to tell the truth "slant"? Is this a ballad, a hymn? What is "ars poetica" and is this an example? Join us for a discussion of this great, short, fun, rich poem by Dickinson.