"We were doing all of this for people we did not know and could not imagine. And as is the case, too, like, when you're planting trees, you hope that they're gonna outlive you. And the trees that were planted have outlived some of the people who are deeply involved in that project. Which is, you know…it's both this sorrow and it's a gratitude. We were addressing our needs. And our needs were actually to care for one another, and to join each other, and to love each other and to come to love to love each other, by making this thing for people who we did not know who may or may not be us." So many of us have found pleasure and solace — and joy — in The Book of Delights by Ross Gay. He's back with a new variation on that riff, Inciting Joy, and he joins us on the show to talk about variations on gardening, the connection between sorrow and joy, cover songs, football and footnotes, community, the pleasures of not doing anything, what's he's been reading and much more with Poured Over's host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Madyson.

Featured Books (Episode):

Inciting Joy by Ross Gay

Catalogue of Unabashed Gratitude by Ross Gay

The Bluest Nude by Ama Codjoe

Or, On Being the Other Woman by Simone White

Under the Sign of Saturn by Susan Sontag

Notes on Sontag by Philip Lopate

War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning by Chris Hedges

Featured Books (TBR Topoff):

How to Love the World by James Crews

Film for Her by Orion Carloto

Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).