Jane Hirshfield returns to continue our assay of assays, and to talk about poetry's smallest forms—her pebbles and haiku. Jane's poetry provides proof that a few words can hold whole worlds, and that brevity itself may be one of the deepest forms of generosity.

At the table:

Jane Hirshfield

Katie Dozier

Timothy Green

Dick Westheimer

Brian O'Sullivan

Poet, Zen practitioner, and word-miner Jane Hirshfield joins us to talk about her signature form—the assay. We hear the fascinating story of how she created assays, and why curiosity might just be poetry’s truest form.

At the table:

Jane Hirshfield

Katie Dozier

Timothy Green

Dick Westheimer

Brian O'Sullivan

Continuing on in our series of checking out current lit mags, we were excited to look at these two with a lot in common. Both The Mississippi Review and The Florida Review were founded in 1972 and affiliated with universities. Will one of these two journals reign supreme in our battle of cold-read poems?

At the Table:

Katie Dozier

Timothy Green

What makes a poetry event truly work? From open-mic chaos to moments of real poetic hospitality, we're joined by Rick Lupert to explore the art of hosting. We trade stories, share practical tips, and share a few poems to explore how a good host creates space for both laughter and vulnerability.

At the Table:

Katie Dozier

Timothy Green

Rick Lupert

Dick Westheimer 

In the second half of our series with Gregory Orr, the conversation turns to grief, tenderness, and the healing power of the lyric. We talk about Emily Dickinson’s role and the role of the lyric in contemporary poetry. If part one asks what the lyric is, part two asks what it’s for—and how it helps us endure what can’t be said any other way.

At the Table:

Gregory Orr

Katie Dozier

Timothy Green

Dick Westheimer

Brian O'Sullivan

Joe Barca

What does it mean to write the kind of poem that saves your life? In the first half of our two-part conversation on lyric poetry, we're joined by Gregory Orr to explore that urge to capture private emotion in a single, shining moment. We read and unpack Orr’s poems and look to the past to tracing how feeling becomes a form in itself. Join us as we ask what lyric poetry can do in a noisy world—and why it keeps calling us back. Inevitably, Katie brings up haiku again!

At the Table:

Gregory Orr

Katie Dozier

Timothy Green

Dick Westheimer

Brian O'Sullivan

Joe Barca

Katie and Tim crack open their college-era poems—complete with awkward workshop moments, zany titles, and even Tim’s hilarious old pseudonym. From Katie's days at Florida State University with tutelage from Barbara Hamby and David Kirby, to Tim stumbling into an "Intro to Poetry" course with James Longenbach, this episode is fueled by memories. We rip apart our regretful diction, and explore just how far our poetry has come. Or at least, how far we hope it has!

At the Table:

Katie Dozier

Katie, Tim and the Squad continue exploring persona poems with Suji Kwock Kim’s "Monologue for an Onion," Ai’s "The Kid." They also share their own work—Dick Westheimer’s "Eve Corrects the Record" and Eve’s "First Bite," Brian O’Sullivan’s "No! In Thunder," Joe Barca’s "Abraham Lincoln Talks to His Therapist," Timothy Green’s "Sirhan Sirhan Under Hypnosis" and Katie Dozier’s "Teddy Bear Arithmetic." Together, we investigate how persona lets poets slip into other voices, from biblical figures to assassins to household objects, and what writing in persona truly means. 

At the Table:

Katie Dozier

Timothy Green

Joe Barca

Dick Westheimer

Brian O’Sullivan 

In this episode of The Poetry Space_, we explore the power of persona poems. We dive into Robert Browning’s "My Last Duchess," William Blake’s "The Chimney Sweeper," Nikky Finney’s "Red Velvet," Margaret Atwood’s "Pig Song," and James Tate’s "The Motorcyclists." What happens when poets speak through masks, giving voice to dukes, children, pigs, and even storms? Join us as we unpack how persona reveals hidden truths, sparks empathy, and complicates the line between poet and speaker.

At the Table:

Katie Dozier

Timothy Green

Joe Barca

Dick Westheimer

Brian O’Sullivan 

In the second half of our visit with Billy Collins, the door stays wide open. We talk dogs, humor, memory, and the surprising turns that make his poems feel like they’ve been waiting for us all along. If the first episode was the invitation, this one’s the living room conversation you never want to leave.

At the Table:

Katie Dozier

Timothy Green

Billy Collins

Dick Westhiemer

Joe Barca

Nate Jacob

Brian O'Sullivan