Morning Poems Podcast S1, E7: Navigating Poetry, Gender, and Humor In this episode of the Morning Poems podcast, host and poet Tess McCarthy sinks into a June 2015 poem from her previously published poetry collection, sharing insights into her creative process and personal experiences. Tess talks about her future plans for digitizing her poetry collection, her fascination with Emily Dickinson, and the influence of her own gender identity in the autobiographical poem “I Didn’t Like Going to Mass,” where she talks about wanting to dress up as a tomboy when forced to wear dresses all the time along with their childhood experiences with gender expectations and sensory sensitivities, Tess emphasizes the blend of humor and seriousness in the MorningPoems Podcast aiming to bring levity into the listeners' lives. Stay tuned for more insights and poetry in this engaging episode.

00:00 Introduction 01:20 Podcast Recap and New Formats 02:08 Exploring AI and Voice Recording 05:05 The Importance of Humor in Life 06:38 Emily Dickinson: A Lifelong Fascination 08:47 Analyzing Poetic Form and Medium 10:08 Introducing the Poem: 'I Didn't Like Going to Mass' 11:15 Themes of Gender and Acceptance 15:01 Reading the Poem: 'I Didn't Like Going to Mass' 17:57 Conclusion and Future Plans

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