Poetry Unbound

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What's Poetry Unbound about?

Your new ritual: Immerse in a single poem, guided by Pádraig Ó Tuama. Short and unhurried; contemplative and energizing. Anchor your week by listening to the everyday poetry of your life, with new episodes on Monday and Friday.

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Christian Wiman — All My Fr...

12.18.2020

Who are the friends that, despite different paths chosen, have remained steadfast in your life? In this poem Christian Wiman recalls the changing beliefs of his friends; this one has a new diet, this one has a new relationship, this ...

Poetry Unbound episodes:

12.18.2020 Christian Wiman — All My Friends Are Finding New Beliefs Who are the friends that, despite different paths chosen, have remained steadfast in your life? In this poem Christian Wiman recalls the changing beliefs of his friends; this one has a new diet, this one has a new relationship, this ...
12.14.2020 Carlos Andrés Gómez — Father How has becoming a parent — or being a caregiver — changed you? This is a poem of two halves. In the first half, a man questions God — how could a loving Father allow suffering to happen? And in ...
12.11.2020 Ellen Bass — Bone of My Bone and Flesh of My Flesh What pet names have you been called? What are the circumstances and stories behind these pet names? In this poem, a woman considers the pet names to give her female partner; “My beloved” isn’t very convenient when you’re dropping off ...
12.07.2020 R.A. Villanueva — Life Drawing Who do you trust with your body? In this poem, a man writes about his wife’s life-drawing class. She’s been sketching a naked male model for weeks, and the poet worries, comparing himself, trying to figure out how he feels. ...
12.04.2020 Zaffar Kunial — The Word Have you ever projected your own awkwardness onto someone else? How did you do it? And how would you address them now? This poem recalls how, as a young adult, Zaffar Kunial judged his immigrant father’s way of speaking English. ...
11.30.2020 Dilruba Ahmed — Phase One What do you find hard to forgive in yourself? What might help? In this poem, the poet makes a list of all the things she holds against herself: opening fridge doors, fantasies, wilted seedlings, unkempt plants, lost bags, feeling awkward, ...
11.27.2020 Layli Long Soldier — WHEREAS my eyes land on the shoreline When you feel like crying, do you cry? Or do you stifle it? Why? The U.S. Congress 2009 “Joint resolution to acknowledge a long history of official depredations and ill-conceived policies by the Federal Government regarding Indian tribes” stated “Whereas ...
11.23.2020 Chen Chen — I Invite My Parents to a Dinner Party In this poem, a son writes to his parents and invites them to a meal, letting them know that his boyfriend will also be there. He gives instruction to his parents on how they should behave, parenting his parents. In ...
11.20.2020 Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill — Ceist na Teangan (The Language Issue) Are there languages that once were spoken in your family that are not anymore? What caused those changes? This poem considers the plight of a language, how it — like the child Moses in the biblical story of the Exodus ...
11.16.2020 Aracelis Girmay — Consider the Hands that Write this Letter When you’re writing by hand, where is your other hand? What story is the space between your two hands — your dominant hand and non-dominant hand — telling? This poem considers the posture of the body when writing: writing a ...
11.13.2020 Tayi Tibble — Our Nan Lets Us Smoke Inside Who is in your chosen family? This poem considers the lines of loyalty in families and how particular memories, like a grandmother keeping “wishbones from chicken carcasses / in an empty margarine container on top of the fridge,” can be ...
11.10.2020 Paul Tran — The Cave What have you had to explore on your own? What, or who, helped? This poem explores the archetype of the cave — a cave that calls, a cave that contains secrets and perhaps even information. “Someone standing at the mouth ...
11.06.2020 Philip Metres — One Tree What do you notice about how you behave in times of conflict? Do you tend toward avoidance? Or compromise? Or collaboration? Or competition? Or accommodation? This poem describes a conflict between neighbors: a tree hangs over a fence. The owners ...
11.02.2020 Roger Robinson — A Portable Paradise How do you hold onto hope? And who helped you find it? This poem is about holding onto paradise in the midst of an environment that seeks to steal or quash it. Roger Robinson praises his grandmother who told him ...
10.30.2020 Seán Hewitt — Suibhne is wounded, and confesses In times of isolation, what stories have you turned to for comfort? This poem is an exploration of isolation as seen through the mythical Irish character, Suibhne. Suibhne was cursed and lived a life on the move, a transitory isolation. ...
10.26.2020 Meleika Gesa-Fatafehi — Say My Name What is the story of your name? In this poem, the poet calls on place, ancestors, and history to bear witness to the dignity of their name. They recalls how their ancestors “acknowledged my roots grew in two / places” ...
10.23.2020 Lucille Clifton — song at midnight In strength and defiance, Lucille Clifton celebrates her Black body and her survival. When have you said or heard words like this? Calling herself “both nonwhite and woman,” Lucille Clifton glories in her shape and fact of her life in ...
10.19.2020 Chris Abani — The New Religion How do you speak of — and to — your body? This is a poem dedicated to the body. “The body is a nation I have never known,” Chris Abani writes. Throughout the 21 lines of this work, he describes ...
10.16.2020 Molly McCully Brown — Transubstantiation Are there places you've lived or visited that others would disregard? What do you see in them that others might miss?" This poem takes place at night, describing a scene from a town on the edge of a city. The ...
10.12.2020 Natalie Diaz — Of Course She Looked Back Is there a character (from history, politics, or literature) whose story you want to tell from a new perspective? This poem is told from the point of view of “Lot’s wife,” a biblical character who was turned into salt because ...
10.09.2020 Natasha Trethewey — Miscegenation Were you born during a time when laws were different? What impact did those laws have on you? In this poem, Natasha Trethewey recalls the story of how her parents crossed state lines to wed because Mississippi forbade interracial marriage ...
10.05.2020 James Wright — A Blessing Is there a moment of beauty you can recall that’s like a blessing for you? This poem takes place at twilight in a field just off the highway to Rochester, Minnesota, where the poet and a friend encounter two ponies ...
10.02.2020 Gregory Pardlo — Wishing Well What’s a chance encounter in a city that’s never left you? In this poem the speaker is asked a question by a stranger while standing near the water outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. “Pardon me ...
09.28.2020 Ada Limón — Wonder Woman What stories or myths bring you strength? This poem tells the story of a person living with invisible chronic pain who finds unexpected fortitude from a girl dressed as a superhero. Their encounter, “at the swell of the muddy Mississippi,” ...
09.14.2020 Poetry Unbound — Season 2 Trailer Poetry Unbound with host Pádraig Ó Tuama is back on Monday, Sept. 28. Featured poets in this season include Lucille Clifton, James Wright, Natasha Trethewey, Christian Wiman, Layli Long Soldier and more. New episodes released every Monday and Friday through ...
04.03.2020 A Poem in Gratitude for Health Care Workers In Leanne O’Sullivan’s poem “Leaving Early,” the poet writes to her ill husband, entrusting him into the care of a nurse named Fionnuala. As the novel coronavirus sweeps the globe, many of us can’t physically be there for loved ones ...
03.23.2020 Help Shape the Next Season of Poetry Unbound Poetry Unbound will be back with new episodes this fall. We’re so grateful to those who welcomed the podcast into their lives, and we’d love to hear more about your listening experience. What did you love? What can we improve? ...
03.20.2020 A Poem for How Friendship Endures Emily Dickinson’s poem “1383” honors the friendships that endure across time, circumstance, and even misunderstanding. Akin to fire, the connections in these friendships may be strong enough to burn or hurt us, but Dickinson acknowledges that their light continues to ...
03.16.2020 A Poem About When We’re Disbelieved Raymond Antrobus’s poem “Miami Airport” bears witness to the disempowerment that comes when you’re not believed. The voice of the poet is absent, and all we hear is an interrogator seeking to disrupt and displace. This space of suspicion creates ...
03.13.2020 A Poem About the Beauty of Home Patrick Kavanagh’s poem “The One” is about seeing beauty in the ordinary places of home. One of Ireland’s most famous poets, Kavanagh grew up in rural County Monaghan and moved to Dublin as a young man. This poem revisits the ...
03.09.2020 A Poem for Keeping Memory Alive Ali Cobby Eckermann’s poem “Kulila” insists on remembering as a moral act. Through the poem, the Aboriginal poet mourns the loss of Indigenous cultures in Australia and how they have been damaged and changed by colonization. Cobby Eckermann calls her ...
03.06.2020 A Poem for Letting Yourself Be Kei Miller’s poem “Book of Genesis” asks us to imagine a God who makes things spring into life specifically for us. Just as the poet of Genesis proclaims, “Let there be,” Miller wonders what freedom and flourishing we’d find in ...
03.02.2020 A Poem to See What's Overlooked Lemn Sissay’s poem “Some Things I Like” celebrates what we might consider discardable — like cold tea, ash trays, and even people. Raising a joyous toast to the forgotten and the forgettable, Sissay recognizes the power we give to what ...
02.28.2020 A Poem for All That Life Brings Joy Harjo’s poem “Praise the Rain” makes space to appreciate all the nuances of our lives. Echoing Rumi’s poem “The Guest House,” she asks us to be present to this moment — the crazy or the sad, the beginning or ...
02.24.2020 A Poem to Notice Openings and Closings Ross Gay’s poem “Ode to Buttoning and Unbuttoning My Shirt” uses an everyday task to examine what is made and unmade in small moments. He imagines his fingers opening and closing things, like buttons, the eyes of a dead person, ...
02.21.2020 A Poem for Complicated Stories of Love Allison Funk’s poem “The Prodigal’s Mother Speaks to God” tells the age-old story of The Prodigal Son through a new voice: the unnamed woman of the parable. This woman is truthful, wise, and loving. She knows the dedications and limitations ...
02.17.2020 A Poem on the Importance of Names Jane Mead’s “Substance Abuse Trial” is set in a courtroom where a daughter hears her father’s name mispronounced at his trial. As she watches this, she wishes that the court could see the fullness of her father and his story ...
02.14.2020 A Poem for Tenderness in the Face of Violence Ocean Vuong’s poem “Seventh Circle of Earth” is an homage to the love and intimacy shared by Michael Humphrey and Clayton Capshaw, a gay couple who were murdered in their home in Dallas, Texas. In the midst of recognizing the ...
02.10.2020 A Poem for the Space Between Us Tracy K. Smith’s poem “Song” is filled with observations of a loved person: their habits, the things they do when they think nobody is watching. Love is shown and celebrated in observing the small practices of another. A question to ...
02.07.2020 A Poem for What Comes with Age Marie Howe’s poem “My Mother’s Body” is wise about age. In the poem, Marie’s mother is young enough to be Marie’s own daughter, and in this imagination there is wonder, understanding, and even forgiveness. A question to reflect on after ...
02.03.2020 A Poem for Ritual and Reset Faisal Mohyuddin’s poem “Prayer” describes a practice of devotion. It’s a spacious and hospitable poem, filled with references to ritual and the body, and an invitation to share in the warm light of a household lamp. A question to reflect ...
01.31.2020 A Poem About What Grounds You Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s poem “On Listening to Your Teacher Take Attendance” offers a way to ground yourself during vulnerable moments. The poet gathers strength from being loved, which helps her in times of displacement. A question to reflect on after you ...
01.27.2020 A Poem for What You Learn Alone Brad Aaron Modlin’s poem “What You Missed That Day You Were Absent from Fourth Grade” speaks of learning to grow up by yourself. The poet wonders what life lessons would look like if they could be taught by a teacher; ...
12.23.2019 Welcome to Poetry Unbound Poetry Unbound features an immersive exploration of a single poem, guided by Pádraig Ó Tuama. Short and unhurried; contemplative and energizing. Anchor your week with new episodes on Monday and Friday, beginning January 27. Season one features poetry from a ...

Poetry Unbound

What's Poetry Unbound about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Poetry Unbound episodes:

Christian Wiman — All My Friends Are Finding New Beliefs

Carlos Andrés Gómez — Father

Ellen Bass — Bone of My Bone and Flesh of My Flesh

R.A. Villanueva — Life Drawing

Zaffar Kunial — The Word

Dilruba Ahmed — Phase One

Layli Long Soldier — WHEREAS my eyes land on the shoreline

Chen Chen — I Invite My Parents to a Dinner Party

Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill — Ceist na Teangan (The Language Issue)

Aracelis Girmay — Consider the Hands that Write this Letter

Tayi Tibble — Our Nan Lets Us Smoke Inside

Paul Tran — The Cave

Philip Metres — One Tree

Roger Robinson — A Portable Paradise

Seán Hewitt — Suibhne is wounded, and confesses

Meleika Gesa-Fatafehi — Say My Name

Lucille Clifton — song at midnight

Chris Abani — The New Religion

Molly McCully Brown — Transubstantiation

Natalie Diaz — Of Course She Looked Back

Natasha Trethewey — Miscegenation

James Wright — A Blessing

Gregory Pardlo — Wishing Well

Ada Limón — Wonder Woman

Poetry Unbound — Season 2 Trailer

A Poem in Gratitude for Health Care Workers

Help Shape the Next Season of Poetry Unbound

A Poem for How Friendship Endures

A Poem About When We’re Disbelieved

A Poem About the Beauty of Home

A Poem for Keeping Memory Alive

A Poem for Letting Yourself Be

A Poem to See What's Overlooked

A Poem for All That Life Brings

A Poem to Notice Openings and Closings

A Poem for Complicated Stories of Love

A Poem on the Importance of Names

A Poem for Tenderness in the Face of Violence

A Poem for the Space Between Us

A Poem for What Comes with Age

A Poem for Ritual and Reset

A Poem About What Grounds You

A Poem for What You Learn Alone

Welcome to Poetry Unbound

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