CONTENT WARNING: Abortion

Today I'll be addressing a heavy but beautiful poem by Gwendolyn Brooks, "the mother." Some say it's a pro-, some say it's an anti-abortion poem. It's actually neither -- rather, it's a good example of what the role of the poet is in the middle of controversy, hatred, judgment, peril, and political divide.

Used/Reprinted by Consent of Brooks Permissions

Producer Gustav Worm-Leth

Outro Yentl Tijssens

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I will have the immense pleasure of introducing you to one of my all-time favorite poets, Gwendolyn Brooks. We'll be talking about "THE CANON" and how we can look to poets like Gwendolyn Brooks to know where the limits of our reverence for tradition should lie -- with a really cool, short, jazzy poem, "We Real Cool."

Used/Reprinted By Consent of Brooks Permissions.

-----

Outro Yentl Tijssens

Producer Gustav Worm-Leth

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I'll be rapid-firing haiku! We'll talk about the history of Haiku (Hoku + Haikai) and how to read them! If you wanna check out more on Haiku, check out this great youtube video by Kent Morita and Takahiro Dunn.

Guest starring: a teacher in Ibaraki Prefecture in Japan!

Production Gustav Leth

Outro Yentl Tijssens

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this two-part miniseries about two poets' takes on Pieter Bruegel's The Fall of Icarus (c. 1560), I'll be looking at William Carlos Williams' sober take in his Landscape with the Fall of Icarus.

Intro: Johnny Loves Me

Production Gustav Worm-Leth

Outro Yentl Tijssens

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this two-part mini-series on Ekphrastic poems, we'll be looking at the first of two poets to write ekphrastic poems about Pieter Bruegel's The Fall of Icarus (c. 1560), starting with WH Auden's Musee des Beaux Arts.

Producer: Gustav Worm-Leth

Outro: Yentl Tijssens

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've got a very special episode today by living poet Dr. Donald Platt (Purdue Univ.). We'll be discussing Ekphrastic poems, which are poems written about a work of art. Today's poem, called Cloud Study after John Constable's 1820s Study of Clouds, will be read by the poet himself!

You can purchase Platt's Swansdown from the publisher, Grid Books here!

Audio and Poem used by Author's permission.

Production Gustav Worm-Leth

Outro Yentl Tijssens

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I'll be revisiting my grand idea that poetic form follows function. We'll be looking at Edwin Arlington Robinson's great loser, Miniver Cheevy, to address how he uses a system of sound in poetry called prosody to make his point. By the end of this episode, you should have a clearer idea of how I think the form of a poem out to match the content, even enhance it!

NOTE: This episode was recorded on different equipment than usual. Let me know if you love it or hate it.

Production Gustav Worm-Leth

Outro Yentl Tijssens

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We'll be looking at a poem I revisit often. It has stuck with me through the years, and still to this day delivers. I quote it all the time. It's a poem that will enrich your life -- but poetically speaking, it's a good introduction to poetic form(s) because many of Hopkins' works have a kind of congruence and synchronicity between the content and the form. It's My Own Heart Let Me More Have Pity On.

NOTE: This episode was recorded on different equipment than usual. Let me know if you love it or hate it.

Production Gustav Worm-Leth

Outro Yentl Tijssens

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.