LATEST EPISODE
Show 191: Laura Budofsky Wisniewski Reads from Sanctuary, Vermont
Vermont poet Laura Budofsky Wisniewski reads from her new collection Sanctuary, Vermont. The book explores the history (and pre-history) of a fictional Vermont town. Hear more in this interview about the inspiration behind the collection and the exhaustive research - often into hidden, challenging histories - that went into the poems.
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Show 176: Tomás Morín on Poetry, Narrative, and His New Collection Machete
Tomás Morín reads from his new collection Machete and discusses poetry's relationship to narrative. He also goes in-depth on the creative process behind some of his poems and explains why one of them several years to finish.
Show: 177 Jenny Qi on Her New Book Focal Point
Jenny Qi shares poems from her new book "Focal Point" just out from Steel Toe Books (and winner of the Steel Toe Book Poetry Award). She also talks about growing up in Las Vegas, translating her mother's writing, and how being a scientist influences her poetry.
Show 178: David Watts on Writing, Consciousness, and the Health Benefits of Poetry
David Watts, poet, commentator, and professor of medicine, shares his poetry and describes how his writing process has changed over time. He began writing linear poems, then experimented with writing while half-awake to add what he calls "wildness" to his work. He and host Charlie Rossiter also discuss James Pennebaker's research into the health benefits of a reflective writing practice.
Show 179: Sheila Maldonado Reading at the Unamuno Author Festival
Maldonado is the author of the 2011 book "one-bedroom solo" and of "that’s what you get" which came out earlier this year from Brooklyn Arts Press. She grew up in New York City and her family hails from Honduras. During the reading she mentions one of her long-term projects: an ongoing work growing out of what she refers to on her website as “a lifelong obsession with the ancient Maya.”
Show 180: 2021 - The Poetry Spoken Here Retrospective
In 2021 Poetry Spoken Here reached tens of thousands of listeners around the world. We also featured poets from around the world - both on regular episodes and as part of our ongoing series The Open Mic of the Air, and posted more readings recorded at the Unamuno Author Festival in Madrid, Spain in 2019. The eight poets featured on this episode are just a sampling of the over 30 episodes we produced in 2021. Check out these poets full episodes (linked below) and all the other wonderful writers we've had on!
In order of appearance in the review:
Episode 166: Propaganda
Episode 167: Freesia McKee
Episode 156: Chun Yu
Episode 163: Khalisa Rae
Episode 171: Janet Marie Rogers
Episode 154: Patience Gumbo (Open Mic of the Air 10)
Episode 179: Sheila Maldonado
Episode 178: David Watts
Show 181: Ashley M. Jones - Poet Laureate of Alabama
Newly appointed Alabama Poet Laureate, Ashley M. Jones discusses taking complicated inspiration from James Brown, contrapuntal poems, and her plans for poetry in Alabama. She also reads from her new book "Reparations Now!" Jones is the first Black poet laureate in Alabama's history.
Learn more about Ashley M. Jones on her website: ashleymjonespoetry.com/
Get a copy of Reparations Now! here: www.hubcity.org/books/poetry/reparations-now
Show 182: Jonathan Mayers, Poet Laureate of Baton Rouge, on Writing in English and Kouri-Vini
Jonathan Mayers, poet laureate of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, shares poetry in English and Kouri-Vini, the endangered Louisiana Creole language. Mayers is involved with efforts to keep Kouri-Vini alive. He also discusses some of the work he has planned during his time as poet laureate, including editing a collection of poems in Kouri-Vini.
Lean more about Jonathan, his work, and Kouri-Vini on his website: jonathanmayers.com/home.html
Show 183: Christian J. Collier Talks Writing Process and Reads from The Gleaming of the Blade
Christian J. Collier shares poetry from his new collection "The Gleaming of the Blade" and shares details about his creative process which includes blowing apart early drafts of poems so they can be totally reformed.
Learn even more about Christian on his website: www.christianjcollier.com/news
Order a copy of The Gleaming of the Blade, here: bullcitypress.com/product/the-glea…stian-j-collier/
Show 184: Devon Bohm Reads from Careful Cartography
Devon Bohm reads from her new book Careful Cartography published in November of 2021 from Cornerstone Press. She also discusses writing advice that has stuck with her, ways she's broadening her reading, and talks about where the title or the collection originated.
Find out more about Devon at her website: www.devonbohm.com/
Order a copy of Careful Cartography, here: www.devonbohm.com/careful-cartography.html
Show 185: Mark Doty Reading at the Unamuno Author Festival
Mark Doty reading at the Unamuno Author Festival. The festival took place in May of 2019 in Madrid, Spain. This reading was recorded at Desperate Literature, an independent bookstore in Madrid.
Doty has won the National Book Award for his 2008 collection "Fire to Fire: New and Collected Poems." He was also the first American poet to win the T.S. Elliot prize. In addition to his poems, Doty has written several glowingly reviewed and much-awarded memoirs including "Heaven’s Coast" and "Firebird" and the NYTimes best seller, "Dog Years."
This reading was recorded almost one year to the day before the killing of George Floyd, and ends with a poem Doty wrote reflecting on the death of Tamir Rice, a twelve year old black boy shot and killed by the police while paying with a toy gun. You’ll hear the rawness of the emotion behind the poem in his reading.
Show 186: Monica Prince on Choreopoems and Her Journey to Poetry
Monica Prince, author of the award-winning collection "Instructions for Temporary Survival" and the choreopoem "How to Exterminate the Black Woman," reads from her work and discusses choreopoems, a blend of poetry and theater.
Find out more about Prince and choreopoems on her website: monicaprince.com/
Show 187: Jose Angel Araguz on Latinx Poetics and His New Book Rotura
Jose Angel Araguz discusses his new collection "Rotura" from Black Lawrence Press, which former U.S. Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera called, "A moving book where the voice undulates dark and soul-filled along cracked borders, rising boundaries and worn “brown gods” along the routes, grasping at fading shimmers of truth, family, longings and stark existence."
Order your copy of "Rotura" here: blacklawrencepress.com/books/rotura/
Show 188: James Crews on The Path to Kindness
Vermont poet James Crews discusses and reads from the new collection he edited, "The Path to Kindness" a follow up to the 2021 anthology he curated, "How to Love the World." In his new book, Crews brings together poetry from dozens of well-known writers and from lesser known poets. The result is over 100 pieces, all of which speak to the human condition.
Order your copy of "The Path to Kindness" here: www.workman.com/products/the-path…indness/paperback
Learn more about James and all of his work on his website here: jamescrews.net/
Show 189: Open Mic of the Air 11
The Open Mic of the Air is a project from Poetry Spoken Here that began just over two years ago. When in-person poetry events were suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Open Mic of the Air was created as a way for poets from around the world to connect and have a creative outlet. Now, over 100 poets have been featured and we look forward to many, many more!
This is the eleventh episode of the Open Mic of the Air featuring poets from around the world - Munich and Nottingham - as well as from across the United States. Give a listen and submit your work for the next episode!
Send a recording - 5 mins or less - 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
Wendy Hind, Lincoln Nebraska - “Short Poem Medicine for the Soul”
Alina Gales, Munich Germany - “The Duke”
Jeri Frederickson, Chicago, Illinois - “The Moving Shelter”
JAK, Chicagoland - "Reaggae Tribute"
Guy Jones, Nottingham, England - “A Night on the Tarn”
Susan Moorhead, New Rochelle, NY - “Peach”
Holly Richards - “Resurgance”
Tara Al Rehani, California - “October ‘Chills’”
Jesica Lovelace, Orlando, Florida - “Upendo”
Joel Peckham, Huntington, West Virginia - “The Lost 25”
Show 190: Teresa Dzieglewicz on Teaching at Standing Rock
Award-winning poet, Teresa Dzieglewicz, reads poems inspired by her time teaching at the Standing Rock Reservation where she spent time working alongside water protectors. She also discusses her work as the Chicago Poetry Center's poet-in-residence. She also encourages listeners to find writing from native voices about Standing Rock, calling attention especially to Orion Magazine's "Women and Standing Rock."
To lear more about Teresa, check out her website: www.teresadzieglewicz.com/
Find Orion Magazine's Women and Standing Rock, here: orionmagazine.org/article/women-standing-rock/