Episodes 101-125 — Poetry Spoken Here

Episode 101: Lynn Patrick Smith

Poet and singer/songwriter Lynn Patrick Smith from Madison, Wisconsin talks about his favorite poets, discusses the different ways he approaches poetics and songwriting, and even mentions Warren Zevon. Smith is part of the Minds Eye Radio Collective and has two books out with Fireweed Press.

Episode 102: Campbell McGrath Reading at the Unamuno Author Festival

Campbell McGrath has won a MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Grand a Guggenheim fellowship a Witter Bynner Fellowship from the Library of Congress, and was a finalist for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize. He is the author of many books of poetry. His most recent, Nouns and Verbs: New and Selected Poems was released earlier this year from Ecco Press.

Episode 103: Octavio Quintanilla Reading at the Unamuno Author Festival

Octavio Quintanilla is currently the poet laureate of San Antonia Texas. He is the author of the 2014 collection "If I Go Missing." In addition to writing poetry and fiction he is also a photographer. His work has appeared in journals such as Alaska Quarterly Review, Southwestern American Literature, and The Texas Observer. “Frontexto: A Return Home” an exhibit incorporating his poetry and sketches was displayed at The Weslaco Museum.

Episode 104: Jimmy Santiago Baca

American Book Award winner Jimmy Santiago Baca, talks poetry, borders, and the pursuit of truth. He also reads from his new book, "When I Walk Through That Door, I Am" released in February 2019 from Penguin Random House.

Episode 105: Red Pine Pt. 1 - Stonehouse

Translator of ancient Chinese poetry, Red Pine (aka Bill Porter), discusses the process of translation which he says is like a dance. He also reads from the work of Stonehouse, a poet he discovered.

Episode 106: Red Pine Pt. 2 - Han Shan and Hermits

Translator of ancient Chinese poetry, Red Pine (aka Bill Porter), discusses and reads translations of the poetry of Hanshan. He also describes his trips to China in search of contemporary hermits.

Episode 107: Shara Lessley Reading at the Unamuno Author Festival

Shara Lessley is the author of "Two Headed Nightingale" and, the book she reads from in this episode, "The Explosive Expert’s Wife."

Lessley was a Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford, and has been awarded a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship. Her essays and poems have appeared in The New England Review, Ploughshares, and The Kenyon Review among many others.

Episode 108: Maria Mazziotti Gillan and David Graham Reviewed

Maria Mazziotti Gillan reads poems about family and loss. She also discusses some of her many poetry outreach efforts in Paterson, NJ and beyond. In the second part of the show, host Charlie Rossiter reviews David Graham’s new book “The Honey of Earth.”

Listen to David Graham’s feature episode on Poetry Spoken Here, here.

Episode 109: Mary Ruefle

Mary Ruefle, the newly appointed poet laureate of Vermont, reads from her latest book "Dunce," discusses the importance of ancient Chinese poets to her work, and the influence being a child in a military family had on her.

Episode 110: Nico Amador Reading at the Unamuno Author Festival

Nico Amador reading at the Unamuno Author Festival. The festival took place earlier this year in Madrid, Spain.

This reading was recorded at El Aleatorio in Madrid Spain.

Last week’s episode featured Vermont’s new poet laureate, Mary Reufle. Today, we have a reading from another Vermont poet, Nico Amador. His poems have appeared in Bettering American Poetry Vol. 3, The Academy of American Poets’ Poem-a-Day series, and many other publications. His 2017 chapbook Flower Wars from Newfound Press won the Anzaldua Poetry Prize.

Episode 111: Linda Pastan

Linda Pastan, former poet laureate of Maryland and two time nominee for the National Book Award, talks about poetic imagination as a political force, discusses themes prominent in her poetry, and reads a few dog poems from her latest book.

Episode 112: Jenny Johnson Reading at the Unamuno Author Festival

Jenny Johnson reading at the Unamuno Author Festival. The festival took place earlier this year in Madrid, Spain.

This reading was recorded at the book store Desperate Literature in Madrid Spain.

Jenny Johnson's 2017 book "In Full Velvet" was published by Sarabande Books. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, New England Review, and Troubling the Line: Trans and Genderqueer Poetry and Poetics among many others. She won a Whiting Award as well as awards and scholarships from the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Yaddo, and Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference.

Episode 113: David Baker Reading at the Unamuno Author Festival

David Baker reading at the Unamuno Author Festival. The festival took place earlier this year in Madrid, Spain.

This reading was recorded at the book store Desperate Literature in Madrid Spain.

Baker has published numerous poetry collections, most recently "Swift: New and Selected Poems" which was released earlier this year. He also and serves as the poetry editor for the Kenyon Review.

He has received fellowships and awards from the Pushcart Foundation, the Guggenheim Foundation, the Poetry Society of America, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Episode 114: Cathryn Cofell

Wisconsin poet Cathryn Cofell reads her poetry, including selections from her book Stick Figure with Skirt which won the 2019 Main Street Rag Poetry Book Award. She also talks about her involvement with Poetry Unlocked, a monthly reading series.

2019: The Poetry Spoken Here Retrospective

In 2019 Poetry Spoken Here celebrated our 100th episode, became the audio home of the Unamuno Author Festival (which included traveling to Spain to record poetry), and had tens of thousands of downloads from over 50 countries.

Episode 115: Dean Rader, Co-Editor of Native Voices Anthology

Dean Rader, co-editor of the new anthology "Native Voices: Indigenous American Poetry, Craft and Conversations" talks about the intergenerational influences of the included poets and reads some of their work.

Episode 116: Appreciating the Poetry of Mary Oliver

Host Charlie Rossiter offers an appreciation of the poetry of Mary Oliver.

Episode 117: Camille Guthrie

Camille Guthrie, professor at Bennington College, talks about her varied influences, how she teaches poetry and shares her sometimes funny, always inventive, award-winning poetry.

Episode 118: Jesus Papoleto Melendez

Jesus Papoleto Melendez, one of the founders of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, reads his poems, discusses his latest book "Borracho," and tells tales from the early days of the Nuyorican movement. Amneris Morales, his translator, reads one of his poems in Spanish.

Episode 119: Rage Hezekiah and The Book Lights Project

Rage Hezekiah shares her poems, discusses her time as a doula, and her relationship to the ocean and nature. In the second part of the show, host Charlie Rossiter talks with Alys Culhane founder of The Bright Lights Book Project of Palmer, Alaska, which finds new homes for discarded books.

Episode 120: Announcing the Open Mic of the Air and an Appreciation of Margaret Atwood's Poetry

Host Charlie Rossiter offers an appreciation of Margaret Atwood's poetry. Also...

ANNOUNCING the Open Mic of the Air. We are putting out a call for submissions for a new audio poetry project! If you are searching for poetic community and an outlet for your pent up creative energy, this is an opportunity to share your poetry and be inspired by the poetry of others while you’re at home avoiding the coronavirus.

Send a recording - 5 mins or shorter - of yourself reading one of your poems, including your name and location, to openmicoftheair@gmail.com.

Episode 121: Open Mic of the Air #1

The Open Mic of the Air is a new project from Poetry Spoken Here. Since in-person events are temporarily suspended due to coronavirus, this is a way for poets from around the world to connect and have a creative outlet while staying safe at home.

This first Open Mic of the Air features poets from Brazil, Mexico, India, both coasts of the United States, and the heartland. Give a listen and submit your work for the next episode!

Send a recording - 5 mins or shorter - of yourself reading one of your poems, including your name and location, to openmicoftheair@gmail.com.

For full submission guidelines, check out: www.poetryspokenhere.com/open-mic-of-the-air

This Week's Readers
2:52 Dan Wilcox, Albany, New York – “Hanging Over the Edge”
4:20 Andrew Shaw, Port Townsend, Washington – “On the Nature of Motifs”
6:38 Leonides Jongui, San Luis Potosi, Mexico – “Momnto et Pasado”
8:39 John Berry, Winchester, Virginia – “How to Teach Poetry”
10:42 Jeannie E. Roberts, Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin – “The Tempo of Gratitude”
12:47 G.E. Schwartz, Henrietta, New York – “The Searchers”
16:22 Charles Castle, Eugene, Oregon – “Poetry in the Time of Coronavirus”
18:47 Ralph Carusillo, Hudson River Valley, New York – “The Last Avenue”
23:36 Vandana Parashar, Panchkula, India – “A Leap of Faith”
25:48 Sandy Rochelle, New Jersey – “To Mothers All Alone in a Sandbox”
27:26 Dottie Joslyn, Springfield, Missouri – “Virus Two”
28:34 Michael Glassman, Newburgh, New York – “Drop Zone”
31:33 Louiza Mussnich, Rio de Janiero, Brazil – “Accident (to Iris Murdoch)” and “For Sale”
33:56 Romy Maimon, Cape Cod, Massachusetts – “I Wish”

Episode 122: Open Mic of the Air #2

This is the second episode of the Open Mic of the Air features poets from across the United States - Texas, Vermont, West Virginia and more. Give a listen and submit your work for the next episode!

Send a recording - 5 mins or shorter - of yourself reading one of your poems, including your name and location, to openmicoftheair@gmail.com.

For full submission guidelines, check out: www.poetryspokenhere.com/open-mic-of-the-air

This Week's Readers
1:22 Linda Simone, San Antonio, Texas – “Salon”
3:12 Michael Minassian, Flower Mound, Texas – “Cut Above the Heart”
5:16 Carlos “El Principito” Garcia Leon, Cincinnati, Ohio – “This is a Sentence”
8:09 Selena Abbot – Largo, Florida, “hear me”
10:11 Susan Jefts, Lake George, New York – “Bardo Over the Hudson”
12:39 Kirk Judd, Morgantown, West Virginia – “The High Country Remembers Her Heritage”
15:29 J. D. Fox, Barre, Vermont – "Daff o Dils"
18:13 Brenda Berry, Winchester, Virginia – “Longanimity”
20:36 Matthew Ussia, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – “At the Moment He Was Conceived”
22:10 Ralph Culver, South Burlington, Vermont – “To March”
25:27 Kate Jordan, Cross Lanes, West Virginia – “Ten-Year Father”
31:14 Laura Santner, Brooklyn, New York – “March”

Episode 123: Open Mic of the Air #3

This is the third episode of the Open Mic of the Air featuring poets from across the United States - California, New Hampshire, Missouri, and more - as well as work from Australia. Give a listen and submit your work for the next episode!

Send a recording - 5 mins or shorter - of yourself reading one of your poems, including your name and location, to openmicoftheair@gmail.com.

For full submission guidelines, check out: www.poetryspokenhere.com/open-mic-of-the-air

This Week's Readers

Michael Zinkowski, Salem, Oregon – “If I knew It Would Come Back, Have I Given Anything?”
John Elizabeth Stinzi, Kansas City, Missouri – “Toward Hoboken Station”
Kari Gunter-Seymour, Southeastern (Appalachia) Ohio – “Hank Williams’ Last Ride”
Jennifer Mackenzie, Melbourne, Australia – “Kalimantan”
Elizabeth S. Wolf, Merrimack Valley, Massachusetts – “I Am Not the Woman I Was In That House”
Joe Cottonwood, La Honda, California - “The Family Tree”
Alice B. Fogel, Walpole, New Hampshire - “Saturn”
Jared Smith, Colorado – “The Death Has Not Occurred”
LoriAnn Butler, West Virginia – “My Lost Queen”

Episode 124: Georgia Popoff

Poet/editor/educator Georgia Popoff from Syracuse, NY, reads from her new book Psychometry, from Tiger Park Press. She also discuses the deep research she did while writing, including into Mary Mallon, aka Typhoid Mary.

Episode 125: Open Mic of the Air #4

This is the fourth episode of the Open Mic of the Air featuring poets from across the United States - Oregon, Colorado, Illinois, and more - as well as work from Mexico. Give a listen and submit your work for the next episode!

Send a recording - 5 mins or shorter - of yourself reading one of your poems, including your name and location, to openmicoftheair@gmail.com.

For full submission guidelines, check out: www.poetryspokenhere.com/open-mic-of-the-air

This Week's Readers

Albert DeGenova, Chicago, Illinois – “The Cracked Mirror (A Charles Bukowski Cento)”
Paula J. Lambert, Columbus, Ohio – “Opossum: Diversion Strategy”
Marilyn Johnston, Salem, Oregon – “My Husband Talks about Covid-19 As If He’s Still on Patrol”
Jonah Bornstein, Denver, Colorado - "Raven Flight at the Grand Canyon."
Ken Salzmann, Central Mexico - "Another Gray Afternoon in Guernica"
Mike Jurkovic, Wallkill, New York - “The Irreversible Future”
Andrea Vallario, Massachusetts – “Other Than Love”
Richard Evans, Grand Prairie, Texas via Los Angeles, California – “Vexation in the Garden”
Cathryn Cofell, Appleton, Wisconsin – “The Day Her Speech Was Slurred”

Dottie Joslyn, Springfield, Missouri – “Isolation” & “Solitude”