On today’s podcast, we talk with Leslie Contreras Schwartz about how poetry may not be therapy but it is, thankfully, a form of connection in a sometimes lonely world. And even though you won’t hear Jess’s voice on today’s show, you will feel her influence as we discuss the fear and uncertainty implicit in engaging in art in the age of Trump. And get your pens ready, or your goodreads app open, as Leslie recommends a whole slew of new books that you’ll need on your bookshelf. But don’t ask to borrow them from Leslie.

Photo credit: The Shelby Studio

Other works by Contreras Schwartz:

• Fuego and Nightbloom and Cenote, available here by Saint Julian Press

• “When a Mysterious Illness Strikes” in Catapult

Also recommended:

• Sonia Huber’s “Pain Woman Takes Your Keys”

• Rachel McKibbens’ blud

• Triggering Town by Richard Hugo

• Best Words, Best Order by Stephen Dobyns

• Linda Gregg

• Louise Erdrich

• St. Julian Press mission statement

Follow Leslie Contreras Schwartz on Instagram here and be sure to check out her author page.