Safiya Sinclair discusses Natalie Diaz's poem 'From the Desire Field' & her own 'Gospel of the Misunderstood' on the New Yorker Poetry Podcast. They explore magical imagery, themes of desire, and the influence of Jamaican heritage on poetry.

Award-winning poets Ada Limón and Natalie Diaz discuss their collaborative poetry project 'Envelopes of Air.' They explore the intimate process of exchanging poems through letters, focusing on shared themes, personal connections, cultural identity, and nature. The conversation highlights the organic collaboration in poetry and introduces the New Yorker's online poetry section.

Is there a character (from history, politics, or literature) whose story you want to tell from a new perspective? This poem is told from the point of view of “Lot’s wife,” a biblical character who was turned into salt because she looked back to see the burning of Sodom, her home city. The poet shows us what Lot’s wife sees: towers swaying, guitars popping, dogs weeping and roosters howling. By mixing the modern with the everlasting, Lot’s wife is humanized and justified.Natalie Diaz is Mojave and an enrolled member of the Gila River Indian Tribe. She was a 2018 MacArthur Foundation Fellow and has written two books of poetry, When My Brother Was an Aztec, and Postcolonial Love Poem. She teaches at the Arizona State University Creative Writing MFA program.Find the transcript for this show at onbeing.org.