The Gray Area with Sean Illing

Poetry as religion

Mar 13, 2023

Jennifer Michael Hecht, a poet and historian known for her book 'The Wonder Paradox,' delves into the intersection of poetry and spirituality without traditional religious frameworks. She discusses how poetry can fulfill the human need for meaning, serving as a secular ritual that articulates deep emotions. Hecht shares insights on navigating existential questions and the communal bonds fostered through shared poetic experiences, all while exploring how secular practices can provide emotional fulfillment and moral frameworks.

56:48

Episode guests

Jennifer Michael Hecht

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Episode notes

Intro

3min

Rituals Beyond Belief

16min

The Power of Rituals: Faith and Culture Intertwined

7min

The Poetry of Humanity

8min

Exploring Prayer and Social Justice Advocacy

3min

Exploring Spirituality Through Poetry and Prayer

17min

Exploring Poetry and Spirituality

3min

Sean Illing speaks with poet and historian Jennifer Michael Hecht, whose new book The Wonder Paradox asks: if we don't have God or religion, what — if anything — do we lose? They discuss how religion accesses meaning — through things like prayer, ceremony, and ritual — and Jennifer speaks on the ways that poetry can play similar roles in a secular way. They also discuss some of the "tricks" that poets use, share favorite poems, and explore what it would mean to "live the questions" — and even learn to love them — without having the answers.

Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area

Guest: Jennifer Michael Hecht (@Freudeinstein), poet, historian; author

References:

The Wonder Paradox: Embracing the Weirdness of Existence and the Poetry of Our Lives by Jennifer Michael Hecht (FSG; 2023)
Doubt: A History by Jennifer Michael Hecht (HarperOne; 2004)
Rainer Maria Rilke, from a 1903 letter to Franz Kappus, published in Letters to a Young Poet (pub. 1929)
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman (1855)
"Why do parrots live so long?" by Charles Q. Choi (LiveScience; May 23, 2022)
"The survival of poetry depends on the failure of language," from The Tree of Meaning: Language, Mind, and Ecology by Robert Bringhurst (Counterpoint; 2009)
"Traveler, There Is No Road" ("Caminante, no hay camino") by Antonio Machado (1917)
"A Free Man's Worship" by Bertrand Russell (1903)
Totality and Infinity: An Essay on Exteriority by Emmanuel Levinas (1961)

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This episode was made by:

Producer: Erikk Geannikis
Engineer: Patrick Boyd
Editorial Director, Vox Talk: A.M. Hall

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