
Living Poetry
Authentic, inspiring conversations about what draws us to become more human and live more poetically. Therapist Susan Haroutunian Cunningham welcomes guests to bring a favorite poem into discussion about relationships, art, and God.
Latest episodes

Apr 15, 2025 • 35min
Face the Wind- Lisa Sharon Harper
Lisa Sharon Harper - Face the Wind Episode 18 Show Notes: Beyoncé, "AMERIICAN REQUIEM, Cowboy Carter (2024) Lyrics read at 13:32 “AMERIICAN REQUIEM” Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/track/6K2Iut8nSQigP83yvbiqi8?si=b9111b62b53145e0 https://lisasharonharper.com/ Instagram: @lisasharonharper @freedomroad.us Freedom Road podcast Fortune (2022) The Very Good Gospel (2016) An’ Push Da Wind Down: A Play in Two Acts (1998)

Apr 8, 2025 • 43min
Poetry as Memorial - Edward Hirsch
Edward Hirsch - Poetry as Memorial Episode 17 “Cotton Candy” read at 9:15 “Cotton Candy”, The Living Fire (2010) https://poets.org/poem/cotton-candy Excerpts from “Gabriel” p.13, read at 25:38 (Issa, The world of dew) p.73, read at 31:56 (The work of mourning) Gabriel: A Poem (2014) https://www.edwardhirsch.com/gabriel-a-poem-2/ Kobayashi Issa, Japanese poet 1763-1828 https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/kobayashi-issa Greek myth of Sisyphus: eternally pushes a boulder uphill only for it to roll back down as he reaches the top. https://www.edwardhirsch.com/ https://www.gf.org/ John Șimon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry (1999) 100 Poems to Break Your Heart (2021)

Apr 1, 2025 • 2min
Season 2: Living Poetry
Season 2 of Living Poetry is on the way! We had so much fun during Season 1 where my guests brought favorite poems, song lyrics, and passages as a portal into conversations about what moves them in this life and what it means to them and to us to be more human. We’re back for more starting April 8!

Dec 31, 2024 • 40min
Slow Down - Mary Ellen Owen
Living Poetry Show Notes: Episode 16 Slow Down with Mary Ellen Owen “You wake the dead to life” by Rumi Poem read at 12:42 “Gold” by Haleh Liza Gafori, New York Review of Books, 2022 Poetry Unbound with Pádraig Ó Tuama, Dec. 12, 2022 https://onbeing.org/programs/rumi-you-wake-the-dead-to-life/ https://theallendercenter.org/about/team/mary-ellen-owen/ Helena Bonham Carter reads “Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DB3obZhi8ZR/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D Ecstasy of Saint Teresa sculpture by Lorenzo Bernini: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecstasy_of_Saint_Teresa https://www.estherperel.com/?categories=Eroticism Ireland’s Holy Wells: https://www.irelands-hidden-gems.com/irelands-holy-wells.html John14:6, Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life … ”

Dec 24, 2024 • 35min
Study Beauty - John Cunningham
Living Poetry Show Notes: Episode 15 Study Beauty with John Cunningham “The Power of Taste” by Zbigniew Herbert https://allpoetry.com/poem/14330389-The-Power-Of-Taste-by-Zbigniew-Herbert Poem read at 15:23 Czeslaw Milosz, Polish poet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czesław_Miłosz “My Back Pages” by Bob Dylan: https://www.bobdylan.com/songs/my-back-pages/ “The Prayer of the Traveler Mr.Cogito” by Zbigniew Herbert http://only-the-imagination.blogspot.com/2012/06/prayer-of-traveler-mr-cogito.html “Ode on a Grecian Urn” by John Keats, English poet, literary style: Romanticism Symposium A dialogue by Plato c.385-370 BC. "O Come O Come Emmanuel” sung by Evan Cunningham, Reindeer Tribe, Feliz Navidad, 2024 https://open.spotify.com/track/3r8wseOEz5bjSjxO0En2sY?si=37ca6e077a2045ca IG @johncunninghamclay https://www.cunninghamclay.com

Dec 17, 2024 • 36min
Go to the Heart - Becky Allender
Hidden in Plain Sight by Becky Allender “Oh, Had I A Golden Thread” lyrics by Pete Seeger, 1962 Lyrics at 10:55 “Oh, Had I A Golden Thread” from Songbird by Eva Cassidy, 1998 “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” by Pete Seeger, 1955 https://theallendercenter.org/offerings/trainings https://theallendercenter.org/marriage

Dec 10, 2024 • 40min
No Map for Grief - Vicki Gilliam
No Map for Grief with Vicki Gilliam Just Be Held song by Casting Crowns https://open.spotify.com/track/5t35FJYwzRt9MG3ae2O41L?si=qE9TI16rTV25J9ol1oNjkg&nd=1&dlsi=50aba2c1faa54e45 Serge|Grace at the Fray https://give.serge.org/s/donate/a1eRb000000nRGZIA2/51263-worker Some Books for Care in Grief: Notes on Grief by Chimamanda by Ngozi Adichie Daring to Breathe by Armen Bacon Grieving A Beginners Guide by Jereusha Hull McCormack Every Moment Holy, Volume II by Douglas McKelvey As Long as You Need by J.S. Park The Cure for Sorrow by Jan Richardson A Grace Disguised Revised and Expanded by Jerry Sittser The Wild Edge of Sorrow by Francis Weller

Dec 3, 2024 • 36min
Hear Music - Denise Gentilini
Hear Music with Denise Gentilini Anguish as a Second Language by Denise Gentilini Lyric read at 14:43 Anguish as a Second Language https://www.denisegentilini.com https://www.youtube.com/dgentilini A Road Less Traveled: The Handjian Story by Denise Gentilini https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hckg0XIpQQg&list=OLAK5uy_kRjlYDdv3sp7M4u6dk_6sbPlOe3rLCUFY&index=2 I AM ALIVE - a new musical IG:@denisegentilini

Nov 26, 2024 • 41min
Ride Out - Al Andrews
Riding Out at Evening by Linda McCarriston, Talking Soft Dutch, Texas Tech University Press. Thank you to Linda McCarriston and Texas Tech University Press for kind permission and encouragement. Riding Out at Evening read at 18:30 https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/browse?volume=140&issue=3&page=33 The Beatitudes: Jesus taught a series of blessings in the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew in the Bible. IG: @itsalandrews https://www.porterscall.com

Nov 19, 2024 • 41min
Full Circle - Jen Oyama Murphy
"Warning" and "Sphere" from Full Circle: New and Selected Poems by Mitsuye Yamada, 2019 "Warning" read at 25:25 "Sphere" read at 34:52 Used with kind permission from the poet. Paper Crane Coaching
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