The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily

Today’s poem is Some Madness There by Charlotte Pence. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. We're currently taking a break and will be back soon with new episodes. This week, we’re revisiting some favorites from Major’s time as host. Today’s episode was originally released on March 31, 2023.In this episode, Major writes… “When I arrived in Eugene, Oregon after an arduous yet stunning road trip of camping and driving through the midwest, the Rockies, the Arches National Park, Death Valley, and up California’s Route 101, I felt oddly reborn into an existence and landscape that felt like it was always a part of me. Today’s illuminating poem contends with that normal yet emotional experience of children leaving home, and posits that this wanderlust is maybe, genetically encoded in our natal spirit of adventure and discovery.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Today’s poem is The Party is Downstairs by Didi Jackson.The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Today’s poem honors the family dog whose imperfections are all the more reason to love. The Slowdown was more than a labor of love. Each episode was an invitation to dream how we might come to love our imperfect world.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Today’s poem is Playback by Lauren Camp. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “I used to believe great art emerged from intense passion, a committed discipline driven by a purity of purpose. Of late, I use the word hunger as a measure of art, as an aesthetic value. Hunger as that inexplicable quality that conveys the artist’s works as their unique form of living, how they breathe where creation is existence.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Today’s poem is Mantle by Kevin Young. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Today’s minimalist poem makes a poignant observation about the images of those who silently populate our homes, offices, museums, and walls. Their presence is our eventual destination.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Today’s poem is Forge by Ethel Rackin. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Today’s poem reminds me, in the midst of rapid changes and the assault on freedoms, that we must find ways to protect our health and each other, to harness our capacity for joy, to shore up our hearts, minds, and bodies.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Today’s poem is Gertrude: In the Rooms by Kate Daniels. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Given the challenges we face on the daily, it is human for us to seek out those who seem to have it figured out, be they mentors or people who we think of in the face of some crisis. When faced with any crucial decision, my friend Salvatore frequently utters, ‘What would such and such do?’ However, what happens when even our role models lose clarity, when the world is bereft of understanding?” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Today’s episode was recorded live onstage at The Crawford in Pasadena, in partnership with our friends at LAist. Listen to hear conversation, poems, and some fun and games with our host Major Jackson and our guests Pádraig ÓTuama, Samiya Bashir, and Jason Schneiderman. The full episode transcript is available on our website at slowdownshow.org. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Today’s poem is Flame by C.D. Wright. Last week, our team attended the 2025 AWP Conference in Los Angeles. AWP is the Association of Writers and Writing Programs — the conference is an annual moment to gather together colleagues across the writer world. This week’s episodes include audio we recorded onsite, bringing together many voices, Slowdown style. Today’s poem catalogs the chaos of disaster, forming a portrait of the speaker’s experience, minute observation by minute observation. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Today’s poem is Why I Write Poetry by Major Jackson. In this episode, Major shares an important announcement. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Today’s poem is The Ways of Remembering Women by Lynne Thompson. Last week, our team attended the 2025 AWP Conference in Los Angeles. AWP is the Association of Writers and Writing Programs — the conference is an annual moment to gather together colleagues across the writer world. This week’s episodes include audio we recorded onsite, bringing together many voices, Slowdown style. Today’s poem, by Los Angeles’ most recent poet laureate, begins with one of the city's most famous mysteries — and goes on to consider reclaiming the stories of women in this land of reinvention.The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp