Take this poem

You know by now that poets can turn their eyes and pens to the ordinary as well as the sublime... but how many poems have you read about WORK? Keith Hansen brings us three of those today.

I'm a little jealous that Keith beat me to sharing "What Work Is" by Philip Levine. That one's a mysterious gem. 

 

Clemens Starck "Slab on Grade"

Philip Levine "What Work Is"

Marge Piercy "To Be Of Use" 

 

I can't believe I didn't share this poem with you last year. Sorry about that! But here it is, before winter officially ends. 

The link to the audio poetry collection I mention: https://www.powells.com/book/-9780738934433/

And here is a recording of Robert Hayden reading his own poem:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmJYs6PQKVc

Do the inscrutable troubles of the future add to your pleasure now?

These two poems were on my mind as I revived from the stupor of illness. 

"True Love" by Sharon Olds

"Otherwise" by Jane Kenyon 

Keith Hansen is saving Take This Poem's proverbial bacon lately! I haven't been well enough to drag myself to the mic these last few weeks... and yet thanks to Keith here we are with a Valentine's Day treat.

He shares three poems about three different chapters of love. 

"How It Will End" by Denise Duhamel

"After the Argument" by Stephen Dunn

"The Wild Rose" by Wendell Berry 

If this episode leaves you hungry for more, you might enjoy revisiting one of these deep cuts:

Two Love Poems from the Middle 

https://takethispoem.podbean.com/e/episode-13-two-love-poems-from-the-middle/

Let's Get Romantic

https://takethispoem.podbean.com/e/episode-39-let-s-get-romantic/

Lost Love in Medieval Ireland

https://takethispoem.podbean.com/e/episode-7-lost-love-in-medieval-ireland/

 

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 

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

 "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

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

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.

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".