Poetry For All
Finding Our Way Into Great Poems
Displaying all 5 Episode of Poetry For All with the tag “world poetry”.
-
Episode 75: Du Fu, Passing the Night by White Sands Post Station
August 7th, 2024 | Season 6 | 18 mins 16 secs
aging, chinese poetry, loneliness, nature poetry, night, poetry in translation, restlessness, world poetry
What is a good life, and how do we make sense of the world when it seems like society is collapsing? In this episode, Lucas Bender joins us once again to discuss the work of Du Fu, the great Chinese poet of the Tang Dynasty. Luke helps us to see how Du Fu’s “Passing the Night by White Sands Post Station” can be read in multiple ways depending on how one translates each word of the poem. In doing so, he reveals the poem’s concerns with aging, disappointment, and the possibility of hope in difficult times.
-
Episode 73: Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz, Sonnet 189
July 8th, 2024 | Season 6 | 24 mins 41 secs
17th century, eros and desire, hispanic heritage month, love, poetry in translation, sonnet, women’s history month, world poetry
In this episode, Professor Stephanie Kirk guides our reading of Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz’s “Sonnet 189.” Her scholarly insights help us to appreciate the nuances of Sor Juana’s poetry and her importance in her own lifetime and beyond.
-
Episode 65: Du Fu, Facing Snow
October 19th, 2023 | Season 6 | 23 mins 57 secs
8th century, grief and loss, guest on the show, poetry in translation, rhymed verse, world poetry
In this episode, Lucas Bender guides us through his translation of Du Fu's "Facing Snow," one of the most famous poems in the Chinese language.
-
Episode 63: Rumi, Colorless, Nameless, Free
August 29th, 2023 | Season 6 | 29 mins 56 secs
13th century, ghazal, guest on the show, islam, joy, poetry in translation, restlessness, rhymed verse, spirituality, surprise, wonder, world poetry
In this episode, poet and translator Haleh Liza Gafori joins us to closely read and discuss a poem by Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī (1207-1273 CE), one of the greatest of all Sufi poets. We discuss the poetic constraints of the ghazal form, Rumi's encounters with the divine, and the significance of his friendship with Shams, a man who transformed his life and poetic practice.
-
Episode 62: Kobayashi Issa, Haiku
August 11th, 2023 | Season 6 | 17 mins 19 secs
18th century, haiku, joy, poet laureate, poetry in translation, spring, surprise, world poetry
What makes haiku "the perfect poetic form"? This episode reads three wonderful haiku by Kobayashi Issa and explores what makes them so moving and fun.