Last month, poet Martín Espada won a 2021 National Book Award for his collection Floaters.

According to the judges, “These poems remind us of the power of observation, of seeing everything—what’s in front of us, what’s behind us both in memory and in heritage, and what we can only imagine—believing all are worthy of song, all are worthy of taking seriously within our song. This is a collection that is vital for our times and will be vital for those in the future, trying to make sense of today.”

On today’s show, Martín Espada joins Thursday host Allen Ruff for an hour of poetry about politics, history, and, of course, love.

Martín Espada is professor of English at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He has published more than twenty books as a poet, essayist, and translator. His most recent collection is Floaters, which won the 2021 National Book Award for Poetry.

Cover photo: “Martín Espada, Mesilla Cultural Center, Mesilla, New Mexico, 2011” by Martín Espada, shared under CC BY-SA 3.0

 

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