The Talking Poem Podcast

I talk with Dr. Emily Jones about Sonnet 45 from Sir Philip Sidney's sequence Astrophil and Stella. We talk about Taylor Swift, sonnet sequences, and women poets, among other things. Afterward, we play a game about Shakespeare's sonnets. Episode brought to you by a major network comedy and a new chain of restaurants from Guy Fieri (not that one; the other one).

Also mentioned:

• Early modern scholar Melissa Sanchez
• Anne Locke's sonnet sequence, the first in English
• Poet Diane Seuss
• Poems by Queen Elizabeth I
• Mary Wroth, Sir Philip Sidney's niece

This week, Aaron Bushnell immolated himself to protest the ongoing genocide in Gaza. In tribute, I read Lord Byron's poem "Prometheus," which resonates with Bushnell's sacrifice.

I also refer to Vietnamese monk Thích Quảng Đức, who immolated himself in protest in 1963.

It was a rough week in the Podcast Casa (podcasa?) as my wife and I had to say goodbye unexpectedly to one of our cats and her uncle. So I talk about elegies--why I wanted a particular mood in reading them this week--and land on an excerpt from Kevin Young's The Book of Hours (no good link to the excerpt at the moment) and Edna St. Vincent Millay's "Ebb." Lavender and Jack, we miss you.

I talk with poet Diane Mehta (Tiny Extravaganzas) about Ciaran Carson's poem "John Constable, Study of Clouds, 1822." (Painting at the poem link; larger image here.) We talk about Constable and the view of the painting; death; music in Carson's poetry and others; Hamlet; why we're not fans of the last two lines. Afterward, Diane reads her fabulous poem "Extended Melodies." Then it's onto the game "The Undiscovered Country Puzzles the Will." Episode brought to you by The Poet's Atlas.

Additional reading:

• Howard Nemerov's "Because You Asked about the Line Between Prose and Poetry"
• Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
• Review of Crystal Bridges in The New York Times
• The Labor Action Tracker from Cornell's School of International Labor Relations and the University of Illinois' School of Labor and Employment Relations

I read and spend a few minutes talking about Franny Choi's poem "The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On." The poem is awesome in its use of anaphora and has a great turn at the end. I also make one very mild criticism of the poem, so if she listens to this, please understand I love the poem. Afterward, inspired by young Tiktokers, I read just-received response letters from literary magazines.

I talk with Patricia Spears Jones (The Beloved Community) about Lorenzo Thomas' poem "The Bathers." We discuss the Birmingham Children's Crusade; growing up in Arkansas; the Black Arts Movement and New York School; Egyptology; the legacy of Lorenzo Thomas; and more. Afterward Patricia reads her poem "Green Ribbons" about the Atlanta Child Murders. We cry, we laugh. I also help her learn some important celebrity trivia.

Topics include:

• Has anyone ever actually seen an engineer?

Just a little treat. Enjoy!

I talk with Nicky Beer (Real Phonies and Genuine Fakes) about torrin a. greathouse's poem "Abecedarian Requiring Further Examination Before a Diagnosis Can Be Made." We talk cripple-punk, bad doctors, abecedarians and formal choices, and a "transgender arm." Afterward, we play a game about beer (not Nicky).

Also mentioned:

• Natalie Diaz's "Abecedarian Requiring Further Examination of Anglikan Seraphym Subjugation of a Wild Indian Rezervation"
• The literary journal Copper Nickel
• Dolly Parton's "Jolene"
• Dolly Parton's "Jolene" slowed down

In this Short Form episode, I talk about the difficulty of depicting absence in a poem and how we need the contrast of presence and absence. I use William Matthews' "Men at My Father's Funeral" as the example.

I talk with Diné poet Kinsale Drake about Natalie Diaz's poem "They Don't Love You Like I Love You," when about Kinsale's poem "(Re)location." We talk about platonic love, Indigenous writing, line breaks, and scale. Afterward, Kinsale has the most positive response yet to learning what the game is. This episode is sponsored by an old man trying to sound young.

Also mentioned:

• Simon Ortiz
• Mary Oliver, “Wild Geese”
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs's "Maps"
• Beyoncé, "Hold Up"
• Father Knows Best
• A great tweet
• Natalie Diaz, “My Brother at 3 A.M.”
• Layli Long Soldier, “38” & Whereas
• Livvy Rizzed Up Baby Gronk, explained