under 20 min
Two Poems
downloadShane Seely reads his poems "Just Now a Goose" and "Two Stories Up" and speaks with Poetry Editor Kirun Kapur about his process, his first favorite poem, and how he likes to write by "leaning out over his skis". (18:32)
DISPATCH: When Hobos Come Home
downloadEvery summer since 1900, the National Hobo Convention takes place in Britt, Iowa, a tiny town whose two train lines have made it the center of hobo memory for generations. Virginia Marshall's Dispatch from the Convention captures the voices of hobos gathered to name their king and queen, and speaks of the idea of freedom and the reality of borders as they define the hobo way of life. (14:43)
Not Your Usual Valentine's Love Poems
downloadFrederick Speers' poems "Deerskull," "Interlude Blues," and "Star Jasmine" are not your usual love poems. Featuring loss, death, and decay, they explore the darker side of love. In his interview with Kirun Kapur, Speers talks about how his work originates, about his relationship with love poetry, and about how his work fits or doesn't into the long tradition of poems about love. (28:00)
Two Poems and an Interview
download"XOX" begins with a fake-leather belt and concludes with thoughts on the sincerity of greetings and the limits of our reaching out to those in trouble. In both this poem and in "Teach Us to Number Our Days," Leslie Williams works within a surprising complexity to bring musicality and meaning together--topics she discusses in her interview with Poetry Editor Kirun Kapur. (15:31)
Death Fears Him
downloadMustang Wanted is one of a small group of young men who hang by their bare hands from the tops of skyscrapers. Without ropes. Laura Jones' essay "Death Fears Him" delves into this subculture, exploring the dangerous and fascinating intersection of risk and fame. (16:24)
Dear Deer
downloadA woman, her two sons, her ex, and a deer. Add to this the knife the ex is using to gut the animal and you have a family crisis of compelling drama. Cindy House's "Dear Deer" doesn't skimp on the suspense but finds humor too in this confrontation over much more than one hunted animal. (18:45)
