This episode was recorded in December 2020, before the events of early 2021 in the United States. Those events offer a clear example of the problem of spin and how words can be used to heal or to harm. All insurrections begin with words. All reconciliations start with the hopeful language of healing.

It was a tremendous privilege to speak with Pádraig Ó Tuama. We spoke about words and language and religion. Padraig read a couple of his poems for us and reminded us of the redemptive and reconciling possibility in words. Religious language can be edifying or destructive. Too often words within religious circles have divided people from one another rather than bringing them together. Hope can come in a poem. A small, but powerful refrain can change your day or your life.

Pádraig Ó Tuama is a poet and theologian. He is the host of Poetry Unbound, part of the On Being Project, author of Daily Prayer with the Corrymeela Community.

If you're interested in starting to read poetry but don't know where to start Pádraig suggests beginning with the following anthologies from Bloodaxe Books: Being Alive, Staying Alive, and Staying Human. 

Episode Terminology:

Pedagogy – referring to method or means of teaching, communicating knowledge.