

The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily
American Public Media
Host Maggie Smith is your daily poetry companion. Poetry is one of the greatest tools we have to wield our own attention — to consider our own lives and the lives of others, to help us live creatively and compassionately, to use that attention to lean into wonder, and joy, and truth, and to find hope — to keep hoping. The Slowdown community knows that reflecting on a poem, every weekday, can connect us to our inner world and the world around us. Listen as you make your morning coffee, as you go on a walk in your neighborhood, as you pull away from the to-do list, as you resist the dismal, endless scroll to share five minutes of perspective through the lens of poetry, from poets old and new, well-loved and emerging onto the scene. Brought to you by American Public Media, in partnership with the Poetry Foundation.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 16, 2025 • 6min
1353: Alive at the End of the World by Saeed Jones
Today’s poem is Alive at the End of the World by Saeed Jones. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem invites us to look at ourselves at this moment of extreme, ongoing gun violence in America. And to think about our own responses, time after time after time.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Sep 15, 2025 • 6min
1352: Blue by Jodie Hollander
Today’s poem is Blue by Jodie Hollander.The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem speaks to how we all see the world—and our lives—with completely unique eyes. With a vision colored by our own experiences.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Sep 12, 2025 • 7min
1351: The Happy Middle by Hedgie Choi
Today’s poem is The Happy Middle by Hedgie Choi. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem walloped me with its authentic intelligence. Even in her grief, this poem’s speaker envisions her situation from a different perspective. This poem imagines so artfully, I think you’ll want to revisit it a second time, and then a third. That is the power of authentic intelligence.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Sep 11, 2025 • 6min
1350: Real Estate by Richard Siken
Today’s poem is Real Estate by Richard Siken. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem unpacks some of what happens when families change, because of death or divorce or other upheavals. I admire the way it looks not only at the variables—what must necessarily change—but also at the constants.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Sep 10, 2025 • 6min
1349: Sati by Vandana Khanna
Today’s poem is Sati by Vandana Khanna. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem is a persona poem from the point of view of a Hindu goddess, Sati. The practice of a widow throwing herself on her husband’s funeral pyre is named after Sati, who, in this poem, gets to speak. I think you’ll be moved by what she has to say.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Sep 9, 2025 • 6min
1348: Valentine for Ernest Mann by Naomi Shihab Nye
Explore the intricate world of gift-giving, where joy and anxiety collide. Discover how thoughtful gifts can strengthen bonds and reflect personal intentions. Dive into the beauty of perspective and appreciation, emphasizing that sometimes the simplest gestures hold the deepest meaning. This episode celebrates poetry as a unique gift, inviting listeners to embrace the love and care behind each offering. A touching reminder that perspective itself is a precious gift.

Sep 8, 2025 • 6min
1347: Animal Prudence by Kathy Fagan
Today’s poem is Animal Prudence by Kathy Fagan. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem is a favorite of mine for its associative leaps—the way it carries us from image to image, memory to memory. I admire the way it uses the language we encounter in our lives to make those leaps: road signs, the names of streets and flowers, the lists we find in our pockets.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Sep 5, 2025 • 7min
1346: The Difficult Countryside by John Gallaher
Today’s poem is The Difficult Countryside by John Gallaher. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Moving through the world with a personal soundtrack in my ears makes me feel somehow insulated from the world AND more a part of the world. Clouds, birds, buildings, people—I see all of them differently with my favorite songs as the backdrop.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Sep 4, 2025 • 6min
1345: Arrangements by Adrienne Chung
Today’s poem is Arrangements by Adrienne Chung. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem speaks to the things we are drawn to, and to the compromises that must happen when we share space with others, and when there just isn’t room for everything.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Sep 3, 2025 • 6min
1344: Cento Between the Ending and the End by Cameron Awkward-Rich
Today’s poem is Cento Between the Ending and the End by Cameron Awkward-Rich. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “In times that feel divisive and fragmented, today’s poem is a reminder of what we can do and BE together. It’s a reminder of the whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp