democracyroad

democracyroad

By John CaseSociety & Culture
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democracyroad episodes

  • The Poetry Show: Oct 1
    Enlighten Radio Presents

     

    Happiness

     

     

     

     

    Gemini's vision of Jane Kenyon's famous poem

     

    The poetry of Happiness. Jane Kenyon, Naomi Shihab Nye, Peter Cooley, Nomi Stone, Nathalie Handal, Jack Hirschman
    Broadcast Wednesdays, 10 AM on player.enlightenradio.org
    Hosts: Janet Harrison, John Case
    This Episode Recorded 09/30/2026

    Happiness


    Jane Kenyon
    1947 – 1995
    There's just no accounting for happiness,
    or the way it turns up like a prodigal
    who comes back to the dust at your feet
    having squandered a fortune far away.
    And how can you not forgive?
    You make a feast in honor of what
    was lost, and take from its place the finest
    garment, which you saved for an occasion
    you could not imagine, and you weep night and day
    to know that you were not abandoned,
    that happiness saved its most extreme form
    for you alone.
    No, happiness is the uncle you never
    knew about, who flies a single-engine plane
    onto the grassy landing strip, hitchhikes
    into town, and inquires at every door
    until he finds you asleep midafternoon
    as you so often are during the unmerciful
    hours of your despair.
    It comes to the monk in his cell.
    It comes to the woman sweeping the street
    with a birch broom, to the child
    whose mother has passed out from drink.
    It comes to the lover, to the dog chewing
    a sock, to the pusher, to the basketmaker,
    and to the clerk stacking cans of carrots
    in the night.
    It even comes to the boulder
    in the perpetual shade of pine barrens,
    to rain falling on the open sea,
    to the wineglass, weary of holding wine.

     

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    39 min
  • The Last Stop Cafe: Three Women
    Enlighten Radio Presents
    The Last Stop Cafe: Three Women
    Hello Dolly!

     

     

    Broadcast Wednesdays, 6 PM eastern time, player.enlightenradio.org
    Hosts: KarenValentine, James Boyd John Case, Erik Janus , JB, Sara Thomsen
    The Cafe celebrates three larger than life Women who passed away in the past week. Dolly Parton, Gloria Steinem and Cassandra Wilson
    This Episode Recorded 9/9/2026 at the Red Caboose Studio, Harpers Ferry, WV

     

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    40 min
  • The Poetry Show: Labor Day 2026
    Enlighten Radio Presents

     

    Lay Down the Hammer -- Grab a Partner

     

     

    Naomi Shihab Nye, Dorianne Laux, Philip Levine, Carol Lynn White, Sandra McPherson
    Broadcast Wednesdays, 10 AM on player.enlightenradio.org
    Hosts: Janet Harrison, John Case
    This Episode Recorded 9/8/2026

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    Many Asked Me Not to Forget Them

    by Naomi Shihab Nye


    Where do you keep all these people?
    The shoemaker with his rumpled cough.
    The man who twisted straws into brooms.
    My teacher, oh my teacher. I will always cry
    when I think of my teacher.
    The olive farmer who lost every inch of ground,
    every tree,
    who sat with head in his hands
    in his son's living room for years after.
    I tucked them into my drawer with cuff links and bow ties.
    Touched them each evening before I slept.
    Wished them happiness and peace.
    Peace in the heart. No wonder we all got heart trouble.
    But justice never smiled on us. Why didn't it?
    I tried to get Americans to think of them.
    But they were too involved with their own affairs
    to imagine ours. And you can't blame them, really.
    How much do I think of Africa? I always did feel sad
    in the back of my mind for places I didn't
    have enough energy to worry about.

     

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    36 min
  • The Last Stop Cafe: A Mountain Party Woman Stands for Delegate
    Enlighten Radio Presents
    The Last Stop Cafe: A Mountain Party Woman Stands for Delegate
    Freesom: if you do not defend it -- they will take it from you

     

     

    Broadcast Thrsdays 6PM" player.enlightenradio.org
    Hosts: KarenValentine, James Boyd, John Case, Erik Janus

     

    Paige Reiring
    Paige Rearing joins us from the other side of the Mountains in Morgantown. Is it time for Independence?
    This Episode Recorded 8/20/2026 at the Red Caboose Studio, Harpers Ferry, WV

     

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    37 min

About democracyroad

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travels to the Mountain, and the Dark Tower, on EnlightenRadio.org