The Troubadour Podcast

Send us a textHappy Easter! On Sunday Morning Poetry #3 I'm reading the poem "Sailing to Byzantium" by William Butler Yeats. This is a poem often thought to be about Yeats' views on life after death. But I believe it's about Art as a religion, and, specifically, about the idea of reincarnation or "resurrection in our natural lives."The coward dies many deaths, but the brave man dies but once." Julius Caesar.How can we worship reincarnation if we are an humanist atheist? How can we appreciate the death and rebirth of our own selves?Well listen in.I'll be discussion:The story of Easter according to Christianity (Christ's resurrection)The story of DemeterThe Rape of PersephoneThe story of Dionysus (Bacchus)The Eleusinian MythsCiceroThe Dionysian festivalAnd of course a converse with verse with Sailing to Byzantium.

Send us a textLast week we discussed Wallace Stevens poem "Sunday Morning," and how to create a secular "church." In his poem he rejects Christian Doctrine and celebrates the actualities of human life and the physical universe as fulfilling man's needs without any compensating hope of immortality.His solution is essentially to enjoy the sensual world and to live in harmony with nature. A good message for sure, but he neglects one critical component of the human condition: pain, suffering, misery, evil: CHAOS.Matthew Arnold in Dover Beach grapples with a similar theme to Stevens', which is the impossibility (in the eyes of the poet) of holding any religious faith. But Arnold loses his faith for a much different reason.

Send us a textPeterson's 2nd rule is "Treat Yourself Like Someone You are Responsible for Helping." What is it about people that makes many of us more likely to take care of our pets and less likely to take care of ourselves? Or why are so many of us willing to dole out sound advice but not take it? We tell our loved ones that it's important to exercise regularly, as we sit around eating burgers and failing to exercise. If we are to take care of any entity in the world, it seems we will do the worst job in taking care of ourselves. In this episode I discuss the relation to Peterson's profound rule by diving into The Myth of Prometheus and Pandora Ayn Rand's theory of Epistemology Leonard Peikoff's "Objectivism the Philosophy of Ayn Rand" Richard Mitchell's "The Gift of Fire," And T.S. Eliot's The Little Gidding poem I hope by the end of this you will respect Your Promethean gift.

Send us a textIn this inaugural episode of Sunday Morning Poetry I go through the poem "Sunday Morning" By Wallace Stevens. This humanist poem rejects Christian doctrine while celebrating spiritual values. How can an atheist pray? Poetically

An exploration of Walt Whitman's 'I Sing the Body Electric' with guest Alex Spenser, discussing the celebration of the body's beauty, the interconnectedness of body and soul, and the role of art in society. Topics also include myths in writing, loneliness in post-apocalyptic solitude, sensuality in literature, empowerment through truth with the MeToo movement, and redefining masculinity.

Delve into the surreal world of 'Kubla Khan' by Coleridge with guest Rhys Morgan. Explore opium influence, mystical imagery, cultural perceptions, and the impact of travel experiences. Unravel the poetry's complex imagery, discuss psychedelic influences, and share personal anecdotes on poetry's role in relationships.

Send us a textI had the pleasure of sitting down with local San Antonio poet, Rohn Bayes.We talked about Whitman's great, short poem "A Noiseless Patient Spider," and how its metaphor "takes you places."That, after all, is the etymology of metaphor--to take you some where. This particular metaphor is special to poets, writers, and creators of all sorts. Anyone who has every created "filament, filament, filament!" can sympathize with the meaning of this poem.Stay tuned till the end for a special performance of an unread poem by Rohn Bayes.

Send us a textEpithalamium is a song you would sing outside the doors of newlyweds - love poems.Today I discuss the nature of poetry, romantic relationships, cheating, and the secret life of Pablo Neruda with guest, Cristina Sanchez.She introduced me to this poem, and I really enjoyed it. If you haven't read Neruda before, it's worth your time.

Send us a textI believe that wisdom comes through suffering not smiles. Today I talk with the host of the TalentGrow Show, Halelly Azulay. Halelly is an author, speaker, facilitator, and leadership development strategist and an expert in communication skills and emotional intelligence.We talked quite a bit about emotional intelligence and how poetry could improve one in that area. We also delved into this wonderful poem by Henley.

Send us a textBuck up Buckaroo! I love Westerns. I often wonder if the death of the western has led to some of our confidence problems today. In this episode I compare Jordan Peterson's Rule Number 1 "Stand Up Straight WIth Your Shoulders Back" to the westerns of the 1939 to 1969 era as well as to the poem Horatius by Macaulay. I'll discuss Ayn Rand and the mind/body integration How the wester American hero illuminates Peterson's number one rule A full analysis of the rule with reference to movies like Rio Bravo, Red River, The Searchers, Hondo, True Grit, The Wild Bunch, Butch Cassidy And the Sundance Kid and why Clint Eastwood is a horrible human being for creating High Plains Drifter. The second half of the program is a reading of the poem Horatius followed by an in-depth converse with verse where I lay out the story and analyze it from a Petersonian perspective. Enjoy!