A new anthology of poems, including one that reflects on the weight of a whale, gathers voices from science, the arts, and Indigenous communities to create a portrait of nature in America. Former Virginia Poet Laureate Luisa A. Igloria (Old Dominion University) is co-editor of The Nature of Our Times: Poems on America’s Lands, Waters, Wildlife, and Other Natural Wonders. Plus: Ana Lang (Washington and Lee and Central Virginia Community College) is the first ever student Poet Laureate of Virginia Community College System. She is torn between her Cambodian family’s expectations of her and her desire to be a free and independent woman.

Later in the show: The editor of a new online poetry journal, Steve Knepper (Virginia Military Institute) loves highlighting new lyric and narrative poetry.