Take this poem

Episode 81: Daniel Boone And His Wife Rebecca

A good poet applying his pen and imagination to the inner life of historical figures...this is the human version of catnip for me. In his book A Companion for Owls, Kentucky poet Maurice Manning writes about the frontier life of Daniel and Rebecca Boone. The two poems in this episode are "Born Again" and "A Wife's Tale."

 

Back in episode 17 I shared and discussed "The Pupil" by Maurice Manning

Episode 80: Love and Work and Love

Yes, one of these poems has already been featured on this podcast... but it's absolutely worth hearing again. And this time I got to yak about it a bunch. And read it again. And read a love poem. Enjoy! 

 

"What Work Is" by Philip Levine

Keith Hansen reads it wonderfully in Episode 63 https://takethispoem.podbean.com/e/episode-63-work-and-what-it-is/

"What I Didn't Know Before" by Ada Limon 

Episode 79: Two Winter Nights

I had breath to spare and used it for poetry. And oh man, these are two good ones. 

"Winter Night" by Tomas Transtromer 

"Gnosis" by Eireann Lorsung

Episode 78: Elk: Three Poems from Dave Mehler

These poems, like elk, have some muscle and mystery to them. The trio is brought to us by Dave Mehler:

"Elk in the Field" by Michael McGriff

"Bull Elk in October River" by Chris Dombrowski

"Pat Describes an Elk Bugling" by Dave Mehler

 

Dave's poem that he reads was published (along with two others he wrote) in  The Red Wheelbarrow Anthology #15 

https://redwheelbarrowpoets.org/2022/10/09/the-red-wheelbarrow-15-is-ready-to-order-online/

 

Episode 77: Eels and Jerky

These two poems by George Bilgere made me snicker. Doesn't eel jerky sound kinda good? I'd try it. 

 

"Facetime in Covidtime"

"Mystery of Jerky" 

Episode 76: Tom Clark reads Scott Cairns

I was delighted to receive this recording from a college classmate of yore who has since gone on to become the kind of math professor who starts his classes with passages of TS Eliot.  

Tom Clark reads and reflects on Scott Cairn's poem "Possible Answers to Prayer". 

Episode 75: Dave Mehler reads Chris Dombrowski

Dave Mehler-- the local poet and friend I interviewed in episodes 12 and 45-- takes the mic today to read from Chris Dombrowski's book "Ragged Anthem". 

Dombrowski is a northwesterner, outdoorsman, and teacher as well as poet, and his slim book is one that you might need to add to your library. 

 

 

 

 

Episode 74: What Did I Miss?

I'm back after summer break for a little chat, a promise of what's to come, and of course a poem.

By the Well of Living and Seeing, Part II, Section 28: “During the Second World War"  by Charles Reznikoff

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/55500/during-the-second-world-war-

Episode 73: Teacher, Fisher, King

"Finding a Teacher" by W.S. Merwin

Episode 72: Bonus! ”The Smile”

In this mini episode, my nephew reads a poem he wrote for his baby sister. Buckle your seat belt; it's dangerously adorable!