Poetry For All

In this episode, we provide a close reading of William Shakespeare's Sonnet 116, which allows us to consider the poem's definition of a love that is enduring. In addition, though, we consider a reading of the poem which foregrounds a disappointed poetic speaker who can see the love's transience, too. For the text of this poem, click here. Colin Burrow and Stephen Booth's editions of Shakespeare's sonnets are essential reading for anyone who wants to know more about this amazing sonnet sequence. During the pandemic, Sir Patrick Stewart has read one Shakespeare sonnet each day and share it on YouTube. To hear him read Sonnet 116 and so many others, click here.

This week, Rafia Zafar joins us to discuss "We Wear the Mask" by the great poet and writer Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906). Rafia leads us in a discussion of Dunbar's fame and influence while opening up broader themes of African American history and literature. We Wear the Mask BY PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR We wear the mask that grins and lies, It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,— This debt we pay to human guile; With torn and bleeding hearts we smile, And mouth with myriad subtleties. Why should the world be over-wise, In counting all our tears and sighs? Nay, let them only see us, while We wear the mask. We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries To thee from tortured souls arise. We sing, but oh the clay is vile Beneath our feet, and long the mile; But let the world dream otherwise, We wear the mask! For more on Paul Laurence Dunbar, visit The Poetry Foundation. For more on Rafia Zafar, see her personal website at Washington University in St. Louis. Youtube has a brief clip from the Library of America hosting Kevin Young's discussion of "We Wear the Mask." Elizabeth Alexander also discusses this poem for the Library of America. For more on the poetic form of the rondeau, see the Academy of American Poets.Links:Paul Laurence Dunbar | Poetry FoundationRafia Zafar | Arts & SciencesHome | Rafia Zafar | Washington University in St. LouisKevin Young Discusses "We Wear the Mask" by Paul Laurence Dunbar - YouTubeElizabeth Alexander Comments on "We Wear the Mask" by Paul Laurence Dunbar - YouTubeRondeau | Academy of American Poets

In this episode, our guest Laura Van Prooyen reads "Elegy for My Mother's Mind," a poem that navigates the complexities of memory, loss, and familial relationships. Laura's poem gives us an opportunity to think about the deep sources of poetic inspiration, the revision process, and the power of metaphor. To learn more about Laura's work, check her website. Click here to see the version of the poem that appeared in Prairie Schooner. Our two favorite books on elegy are Jahan Ramazani's Poetry of Mourning: The Modern Elegy from Hardy to Heaney and Peter Sacks's The English Elegy: Studies in the Genre from Spenser to Yeats.

Joanne and Abram launch the fourth season of Poetry For All with a short discussion about what this podcast is all about and how it relates to all the other great poetry podcasts in the world. This conversation is an excerpt from our virtual visit with the students in Grace Talusan's creative writing workshop at Brandeis University. Grace uses our podcast in her course, and her students have gone on to create their own podcasts that focus on close readings of poems. If you want more information on how to use our podcast in the classroom, please reach out to us via Facebook, Twitter, or our gmail account (poetryforall2020). For more on Grace Talusan and her excellent work, please see here.Links:Writer | Grace Talusan

In this episode, we discuss Denise Levertov's powerful meditation on the horrors of the twentieth century, and how the mystery of the incarnation might provide humanity with some hope. Our close reading of this poem is informed by Eavan Boland's Preface and Anne Dewey and Paul A. Lacey's Afterword in The Collected Poems of Denise Levertov (New Directions, 2013). To read "On the Mystery of the Incarnation," click here. To read Levertov's essay "Some Notes on Organic Form," click here. ''On the Mystery of the Incarnation'' by Denise Levertov comes from her book A DOOR IN THE HIVE, copyright ©1989 by Denise Levertov. Used by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp. Photo of Denise Levertov © David Geier. For more information see National Portrait Gallery at The Smithsonian Institution: https://npg.si.edu/object/npg_NPG.2011.103

In this episode, we discuss the way in which Matthew Zapruder attends to vivid, specific details to create a sense of wonder, connection, and surprise. To read "Poem for Wisconsin," click here. "Poem for Wisconsin" originally appeared in the collection Sun Bear. Thanks to Copper Canyon Press for granting us permission to read this poem on the podcast. For a glimpse of the "Bronze Fonz," click here. To see how the Milwaukee Art Museum opens its wings, watch this time-lapse video. For a sense of the "many moods" of Lake Michigan, see the photography of the wonderful Jin Lee.

In this episode, we discuss erasure poetry and its power to reveal hidden histories and redacted stories through Tracy K. Smith's erasure of the Declaration of Independence. For the poem (including a reading and discussion of the poem by Tracy Smith), see the Poetry Foundation. For Solmaz Sharif's discussion of the political implications of erasure poetry, see "The Near Transitive Properties of the Political and Poetical: Erasure": https://thevolta.org/ewc28-ssharif-p1.html See also "Erasure in Three Acts" by Muriel Leung. For more on Tracy K. Smith, see The Library of Congress. For a look at the various drafts of the Declaration of Independence, visit this page on the Library of Congress website: https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/jefferson/jeffdec.html Thanks to Graywolf Press for granting us permission to read this poem, which appears in Wade in the Water (2018). Thanks to Harvard University and photographer Stephanie Mitchell for granting us permission to reproduce Tracy Smith's photo.Links:Declaration by Tracy K. Smith | Poetry FoundationTracy K. Smith | Library of CongressLook | Graywolf PressErasure in Three Acts: An Essay by Muriel Leung | Poetry Foundation

This week, the poet and scholar Stephanie Burt joins us to discuss the extraordinary power of Adrienne Rich. We think through how the spacing and stanzas of a poem can draw out denials and divulgences, while also exploring the life and writing of Rich. Stephanie Burt's excellent book Don't Read Poetry ends with an examination of this poem by Adrienne Rich. The book, which can be found at the link, offers an introduction to reading poems and different ways of approaching them. For the text of the poem, see here. For more on Adrienne Rich, please see the Poetry Foundation. For more on Stephanie Burt, please see the Poetry Foundation. Photograph of Adrienne Rich by Robert Giard.Links:Power by Adrienne Rich - Famous poems, famous poets. - All PoetryAdrienne Rich | Poetry FoundationStephanie Burt | Poetry Foundation

In this episode, poet Rick Barot guides us in our reading of his poem "Cascades 501" from The Galleons, his most recent collection. Rick's insights into how poets engage with place, create juxtapositions, and arrive at insights taught us so much about how poets create their best work. To learn more about Rick Barot, you can visit his website: https://www.rickbarot.com/about/ To learn more about The Galleons, you can visit the Milkweed Editions website: https://milkweed.org/book/the-galleons To read "Cascade 501," visit the Academy of American Poets website: https://poets.org/poem/cascades-501

This week we take a closer look at another autumn poem, this one by Jane Kenyon from her wonderful book Otherwise: New and Selected Poems. Kenyon builds from and transforms the same tradition of the autumn ode we examined last week with John Keats. Thank you to Graywolf Press for permission to read this poem from Otherwise: New and Selected Poems by Jane Kenyon. Click here for the full text of Twilight: After Haying. See the Poetry Foundation for more on Jane Kenyon.Links:Twilight: After Haying by Jane Kenyon - Poems | poets.orgOtherwise | Graywolf PressJane Kenyon | Poetry Foundation