Ep 81: Best of Vinyasa in Verse : We hold Each Other's Dreams and Sorrows with Ross Gay

In this week's Best of Vinyasa in Verse, I had a talk with one of my favorite people and oldest friends, Ross Gay, award-winner poet, professor at Indiana University, baller, gardener, and all-around big-hearted human. We were poetry babies together in college with Lee Upton, poet and professor extraordinaire, as our poetry mama (Ross mentions her here). We talk about the practice of poetry and presence, about being part of a collective (both physically as people and spiritually), and how to “unfix” a poem. We also explore how we hold each other’s memories and minds, that what constitutes our minds are held, not just by us, but also by others (enter the story of Negative Nelly and Positive Polly - haha!). People, this conversation was so much fun! You GOTTA listen! (We might even do a Part 2!) Also, he mentions a few folks I’d like to identify: Pat is NJ-based poet, Patrick Rosal. Nora is a CA-based writer and editor, Nora Issacs.

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Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:

“That tree we planted” by Hafiz

The Wisdom of No Escape (book) by Pema Chodron

“To the Young Who Wants to Die” by Gwendolyn Brooks