The viral-poem deep dive continues—no coughing required, thanks to remote recording. Katie, Tim, and The Squad read the rest of the lineup and unpack what makes certain poems travel fast: voice, surprise, clarity, heat, and the exact kind of line you can’t help but send to someone. Featuring poems by Taylor Mali, Matthew Olzmann, Joseph Fasano, and Andrea Cohen.

At the table:

Katie Dozier

Timothy Green

Dick Westheimer

Joe Barca

Brian O'Sullivan

Fresh off a viral illness (the irony!), Katie, Tim, and The Squad dive into what it means for a poem to “go viral”—and why that metaphor matters. With Brian O’Sullivan, Dick Westheimer, and Joe Barca bringing standout picks, we read and talk craft, shareability, and that lightning-strike feeling when a poem suddenly belongs to everyone. We wrap Part 1 with Alison Luterman’s “Holding Vigil," after looking at "Good Bones" by Maggie Smith.At the table:

Katie Dozier

Timothy Green

Dick Westheimer

Joe Barca

Brian O'Sullivan

In episode #121 we bind you into a conversation about chapbooks—what they are, why they matter, and how we can bring them into the world together through self-publishing and small-press routes. We read from our own self-published haibun crown, Did You See the Moon Honey, and share what we learned about shaping a manuscript, editing, design, printing, and finding readers. If you’ve ever dreamed of holding your own chapbook in your hands, this episode is a friendly, practical guide to help you take the next step.

At the Table:

Katie Dozier

Timothy Green

In this episode, we talk with Jackdaw Review founding editor Anna DiMartino about how to start a lit mag from scratch. We dig into naming your literary magazine, defining a clear editorial mission, choosing platforms and submission policies, handling fees and unpaid labor, and building a sustainable readership without burning out. If you’ve ever dreamed of launching your own online poetry journal or print literary magazine, this episode is your practical guide to getting started.

At the Table:

Katie Dozier

Timothy Green

Anna DiMartino

Joe Barca

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