Words in the Air

Read by Marcus Kirwan

Production and Sound Design by Kevin Seaman

Read by Terry Casburn

Production and Sound Design by Kevin Seaman

Read by Juliet Prew

Production and Sound Design by Kevin Seaman

Read by Marcus Kirwan

Production and Sound Design by Kevin Seaman

Read by Terry Casburn

'Thanks' by W. S. Merwin, explores expressions of gratitude in various challenging circumstances including aftermaths of hospitals, funerals, muggings, wars and amidst the ongoing environmental degradation. Even in the face of adversity and indifference, the recurring theme is a resilient and constant expression of thankfulness.

Production and Sound Design by Kevin Seaman

Read by Terry Casburn

In 'Beaches,' David St. John takes listeners on a meditative walk through a forest providing rich, atmospheric imagery of the beech trees and their environment. Throughout the journey, he contemplates the nature of peace, nostalgia, loss, and gratitude. The forest becomes symbolic, serving as the Sanctuary of Ghosts, just as the rhythm of walking becomes a rhythm of transcendence.

Production and Sound Design by Kevin Seaman

Read by Marcus Kerwin

Production and Sound Design by Kevin Seaman

Read by Terry Casburn

'Happiness' by Raymond Carver, depicts an early morning observation of two young boys delivering newspapers. Despite the early hour and their task at hand, their camaraderie and joy in their shared task radiates. The observer considers the honest, unadulterated happiness in childhood, a happiness that's unmarred by the complexities of adult emotions such as death, ambition or even love. This moment of simple beauty against the backdrop of an early morning leaves a lasting impact.

Production and Sound Design by Kevin Seaman

Read by Gary Muller

"A Bird in Bishopswood" is a short, 41-line poem written in Middle English alliterative verse in the late fourteenth century.
The poem was written in 1395 by English poet John Tickhill, who was a rent collector at St. Paul's Cathedral.

The poem is about a narrator who finds himself out of tune with the season of "the merry month of May". The narrator has spent Lent in melancholia and also shares their observations and interpretations of the bird's actions, the changing nature and how it makes them feel. Also, there is an expression of longing towards the bird, expressed through a desire to keep it caged until winter, a possible metaphor for wanting to hold onto the beauty and vitality of spring as long as possible.

Production and Sound Design by Kevin Seaman

Read by Terry Casburn

"Bone-Flower Elegy" by Robert Hayden

The poem describes a dream journey through different vast and intimidating locations, where erotic and violent scenes unfold on a stage. The speaker also encounters a haunting funeral chamber with a dancing naked corpse and comes upon groves of enormous, bone-like flowers in a desert, embodying both terrifying and tantalizing imagery. The poem concludes with a dichotomous creature, 'beast angel/angel beast', which embodies both violence and tranquility. According to the poem, the battle between what is right or what is wrong, between grotesque and beauty, may end on earth but it continues in death, it continues in the ideas of the living.

Production and Sound Design by Kevin Seaman