Episode 112: Walt Whitman, When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer
As we prepare for the new school year, we turn to Walt Whitman’s poem “When I Heard the Learned Astronomer.” We discuss Whitman’s influence, the effects of war, the role of poetry.
Episode 111: Katie Ford, The Shroud of Turin
In this episode, Laura Evers (who has done so much work for this podcast), joins us to discuss the poem that drew her into poetry. We explore Katie Ford’s haunting poem of.
Episode 106: Jane Mead, I wonder if I will miss the moss
This poem offers a humble love of the world and a leave-taking of it. It was found in the papers of Jane Mead (1958-2019), which were left to her great friend Kathleen.
Episode 104: Jane Zwart, I read that the moon is rusting
This episode brings together a collage of images to explore the meaning of time, the emergence of events from one to another, and the wonder of the unknown. For the full text.
Episode 90: N. Scott Momaday, The Delight Song of Tsoai-talee
This episode explores the incantation and mystic union of Momaday’s famous delight poem, ending with a recorded recitation in his own rich voice. We explain anaphora and explore its power, and we.
Episode 68: W.S. Merwin, To the New Year
In the first episode of 2024, we read one of the great poets of the past century, W.S. Merwin, and his address to the new year, considering his attentiveness, his style, and.
Episode 66: Katy Didden, The Priest Questions the Lava
In our discussion of “The Priest Questions the Lava,” Katy describes the sentience of the natural world, her erasure of documentary texts, her interest in visual poetry, and the importance of poems.
Episode 63: Rumi, Colorless, Nameless, Free
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.