Episode 76: Philip Levine, What Work Is
In this episode, we read and discuss Philip Levine's most famous poem, "What Work Is." We consider his deft use of the second-person perspective, the sociability and narrative energy of his poetry,.
Episode 74: Diane Seuss, [The sonnet, like poverty]
This remarkable sonnet dives into issues of poverty, poetry, and grief. We talk about the pedagogy of constraint, while exploring the achievements, including the hardbitten gratitude, embedded in this poem. Thank you.
Episode 51: Martín Espada, Jumping Off the Mystic Tobin Bridge
To learn more about Martín Espada, click here. To read the poem, click here. This is the first poem that appears in Floaters, the winner of the 2021 National Book Award. To.
Episode 44: Ann Hudson, Soap
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.
Episode 35: Matthew Zapruder, Poem for Wisconsin
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. To read "Poem for Wisconsin," click here..
Episode 23: Langston Hughes, "Johannesburg Mines"
In this episode, we discuss social poetics, the poetry of witness, and the way poets can speak of the failure of language and the need for silence in the face of trauma..
Episode 1: Seamus Heaney, Digging
In this episode, we begin learning about poetry through Seamus Heaney's great poem "Digging." For the text of Heaney's poem, please see: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47555/digging To hear Seamus Heaney reading this poem himself, please.