Take this poem

Episode 59: Two Caged Birds

Keith Hansen leads us through a closer reading of two rich poems.

"The Caged Skylark" by Gerard Manley Hopkins

"The Caged Goldfinch" by Thomas Hardy 

Episode 58: A Conversation: Wendell Berry’s Gentle Axe

I met Elizabeth Hance last June in the North Carolina mountains where we both attended a retreat focused on writings of Wendell Berry. She joins me in this episode to share her enthusiasm specifically for his poetry: how it saved her sanity at a crucial time, how it aids her quest for beauty, how it cuts in its gentle but unflinching way. 

 

Here is Elizabeth's blog http://www.findingeloquence.com/

And here are the two podcasts she mentions:

The Daily Poem https://shows.acast.com/the-daily-poem

Close Reads https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/close-reads/id1191909632

Episode 57: Epiphany

 "Epiphany Poem" by George Mackay Brown approaches the story of the three kings in a new and very old way.

 

I heard Heidi White read this poem on The Daily Poem podcast two years ago and it's been in my mulling pot ever since. https://shows.acast.com/the-daily-poem/episodes/george-mackay-browns-epiphany-poem

Episode 56: Shepherd‘s Song

What was it like to go back to the bleakness of a shepherd's night shift after that one spectacular night when the veil was lifted?

This week's poem is "Shepherd's Song" by Richard Baukham

Episode 55: Two Poems on the Incarnation

Poetry is so good for mysteries... for wondering about things that lie beyond the scope of arguments and thesis statements. This week's two poems take on a big one.

"Annunciation" by John Donne and "Mary's Song" by Luci Shaw.

Episode 54: Less Fretting, More Feasting

When Love has you over for dinner, just sit down and hush! And eat. 

Today's poem is "Love III" by George Herbert. What a pleasure to read; I had to stop myself at twice. 

 

 

Episode 53: Advent Darkness and Light

Cozy up by the tortoise stove for two poems to kick off our advent season! Keith Hansen shares  John Betjemen's "Advent 1955" and "Christmas". 

Episode 52: ”Perhaps the World Ends Here”

Happy Thanksgiving! This week's poem honors the world of the table and the table of the world. 

It's "Perhaps the World Ends Here" by Joy Harjo. 

Episode 51: ”In Westminster Abbey”

Keith Hansen is back, this time with a poem by John Betjeman: "In Westminster Abbey". It has a spirited rhyme scheme & meter, and a good dash of satire & snark. Enjoy! 

Episode 50: There‘s a Poem About That

This episode includes a poem about preferring pencils to pens, a poem about two people who never meet, and a poem about writing a poem. 

There's nothing too small or obscure to be pondered in poetry... and in the jeweler's glass of the poem small things aren't so small after all. 

"The Pencil" by AE Stallings https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/03/pencil/513860/

"On The Way to Work" by Stephen Dunn

https://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php%3Fdate=2004%252F06%252F24.html

"Who" by Jane Kenyon