What makes a life meaningful? Can a meaningful death transform an otherwise meaningless life into a meaningful one?

These are just a few of the many ideas touched on in this week's episode, an interview with poet and author Kaveh Akbar. He joins us this week to discuss his new book, Martyr!, released in January 2024 and already a New York Times bestseller. This story follows a "newly sober, orphaned son of Iranian immigrants, guided by the voices of artists, poets, and kings, who embarks on a remarkable search for a family secret that leads him to a terminally ill painter living out her final days in the Brooklyn Museum."

Listen in on this thought-provoking conversation, which explores so many interesting topics, including the difference between collective trauma and individual grief, how discovering his calling as a poet was, in his younger years, what he stayed alive for, and how a morning of writing can be as powerful as a hit of narcotics.

We also continue our exploration of the limitations of languages that was kicked off on last week's episode (which was inspired by a line Katy read in this very book!).

You can find Kaveh on his website or on Instagram. Martyr! is available on Amazon or where ever you buy books.

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