Harmony Holiday selects poems that shed the skin of nostalgia, testing the boundaries of cruelty as they push toward clarity. She introduces Robert Hass accepting moments of error (“A Story About the Body”), Ai recognizing the humanity of the evil-doer (“Salome”), and Allen Ginsberg acknowledging his mother’s scars as he grieves (“Kaddish”). Holiday closes with her poem “Tale of the Sudden Sweetness of the Dictator,” which refuses sentimentality by telling a story in sharp detail.

Listen to the full recordings of Hass, Ai, and Ginsberg reading for the Poetry Center on Voca:

Robert Hass (September 12, 1984)
Ai (March 6, 1985)
Allen Ginsberg (April 30, 1969)

Check out Holiday’s Substack Black Music and Black Muses.

Full transcripts of every episode are available on Buzzsprout. Look for the transcript tab under each episode.

Voca is now fully captioned, with interactive transcripts and captions available for all readings! Read more about the project here, or try out this new feature by visiting Voca.