Poetry For All

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 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.

Episode 25: William Carlos Williams, "This is Just to Say"

September 8th, 2021  |  Season 3  |  18 mins 13 secs

20th century, free verse, modernism, surprise, wonder

In this episode, we discuss a simple, iconic, "sorry-not sorry" poem from the early age of American modernism, which has taken on new life in the age of Twitter and the pandemic.

Episode 24: Robert Hayden, Those Winter Sundays

June 14th, 2021  |  Season 2  |  20 mins 49 secs

20th century, aging, black history month, children, father's day, gratitude, love, sonnet, surprise, winter, wonder

Episode 19: Naomi Shihab Nye, Gate A-4

March 9th, 2021  |  Season 2  |  18 mins 59 secs

21st century, hope, joy, narrative, social justice and advocacy, spirituality, surprise, wonder

Remember airports? In this wonderful, narrative poem, Nye speaks of the remarkable capacity for community in a world of strangers.

Episode 18: Jenny Johnson, Dappled Things

March 2nd, 2021  |  Season 2  |  27 mins 25 secs

21st century, gratitude, guest on the show, joy, lgbtqia month, nature poetry, thanksgiving, wonder

In this episode, Jenny Johnson discusses the sources of inspiration for her poem "Dappled Things," her love of Gerard Manley Hopkins, and the incredible diversity--and fragility--of the natural world.

Episode 17: Gerard Manley Hopkins, Pied Beauty

February 23rd, 2021  |  Season 2  |  14 mins 35 secs

19th century, alliterative verse, gratitude, joy, nature poetry, rhymed verse, sonnet, thanksgiving, wonder

In this extraordinary curtal sonnet (a shortened sonnet, curtailed), Hopkins packs immense power. He uses the shortened form to heighten the emotion, drawing himself up short in the end with nothing else that can be said other than "Praise him." This week, we walk through these short lines and unfold some of the ways that Hopkins works.

Episode 8: Toi Derricotte, "The Minks"

October 20th, 2020  |  Season 1  |  20 mins 18 secs

21st century, black history month, free verse, guest on the show, narrative, surprise, wonder

This week, with special guest Carl Phillips, we take a close look at "The Minks" and consider the art of narrative poetry and the movements of a single-stanza poem.