November 28, 2024

#40: All Those Yesterdays: a lifelong conversation with poet-philosopher John Koethe

1 hour 4 minutes

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Frank O'Hara, John Ashbery, Ludwig Wittgenstein, dualism, physics, and more.
"John Koethe was born on December 25, 1945. He began writing poetry in 1964 during his undergraduate years at Princeton University and went on to receive a PhD in philosophy from Harvard University.

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Koethe’s Ninety-fifth Street (Harper Perennial, 2009) won the 2010 Lenore Marshall Prize from the Academy of American Poets. He has published numerous other books of poetry, including Cemeteries and Galaxies (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2025); Walking Backwards: Poems 1966–2016 (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2018); The Swimmer (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2016); North Point North: New and Selected Poems (Harper Perennial, 2003), which was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize; The Constructor (Harper Perennial, 1999); Falling Water (Harper Perennial, 1997), which won the Kingsley Tufts Award; Domes (Columbia University Press, 1974), which won the Frank O’Hara Award for Poetry; and Blue Vents (Audit/Poetry, 1968)."

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/john-koethe
https://poets.org/poet/john-koethe

Exploring the Intersection of Poetry and Philosophy with John Koethe
In this episode of 'Love and Philosophy,' host Andrea interviews renowned poet and philosopher John Koethe. They discuss the concept of the oscillating self as a bridge between dichotomies, particularly within the realms of poetry and philosophy. John shares his journey from being a young poet influenced by figures like John Ashbury and Frank O'Hara, to earning a PhD in philosophy and balancing both disciplines throughout his career. They explore the themes of self-conversation in poetry, the intersection of scientific and artistic pursuits, and the enduring sense of awe in consciousness. The conversation also touches on the emotional landscapes of Koethe's poetry, including themes of nostalgia and the sublime. The episode concludes with a reading from Koethe's book 'Falling Water.'

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00:00 Introduction to John Koethe
00:31 John Koethe's Background and Achievements
01:06 Balancing Poetry and Philosophy
03:45 Early Influences and Religious Upbringing
06:31 Transition to Literature and Philosophy
08:43 Discovering Modern Poetry
12:52 Meeting Influential Poets
21:23 Romanticism and Modernism in Poetry
23:46 Philosophical Dualism and the Mind-Body Problem
30:18 Modernism in Art, Literature, and Physics
33:27 Foundations of Quantum Me