Take this poem

(Archive) Episode 14: "These Days" by Sharon Olds

Wed, 13 May 2026 05:35:00 -0700

I'm digging this one back up out of the archives, because over the years a few folks have told me that they enjoyed it. No one has admitted this without their cheeks turning at least a little pink.

I like this one too! Enjoy.

What do you want?

It can be difficult to articulate an answer to that question, and even more difficult to find the courage to tell the truth about it to someone else. But Sharon Olds has the guts of ten regular people and the brilliant words to back them up. Enjoy the ride!

Episode 126: "A, a, a, Domine Deus"

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 11:14:19 -0700

A poem by David Jones, 20th century Welsh poet.

I've found all his other work unreadable thus far, but I'm not giving up.

Look at some of his paintings, if you can.

Color of Dust interview where I first heard this poem:

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/dir-zraw9-25684ab3

Two recitations of this poem for Poetry By Heart:

https://www.poetrybyheart.org.uk/poems/a-a-a-domine-deus

"...Last season's fruit is eaten

And the fullfed beast shall kick the empty pail.

For last year's words belong to last year's language

And next year's words await another voice."

TS Eliot "Little Gidding"

(Archive) Episode 3: My Mother's Body

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 12:00:00 -0700

Sometimes you're just minding your own business and a poem jumps out from the bushes and surprises you. In this episode I share a poem that did that to me: "My Mother's Body" by Marie Howe.

Episode 125: Worry

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 05:45:00 -0800

Keith Hansen returns to the show with two poems by Stephen Dunn (on a very human theme) and some questions to guide your listening.

"The Worrier"

"Worry"

Enjoy!

Episode 124: Two Snow Poems by Robert Frost

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 08:52:26 -0800

Is a solitary walk in the snow desolate or cheering? These poems offer the answer: yes.

"Desert Places"

"Dust of Snow"

Both by the national treasure, Robert Frost.

Episode 123: Little Gidding

Mon, 29 Dec 2025 12:50:56 -0800

I offer you “Little Gidding” by T.S. Eliot. This is far side of the deep end, dear listeners! Come on in.

The best part of creating this series was sitting down with others whose lives have been amended by going into that deep. Joining me at the mic for this last quartet is the generous, intuitive reader and friend Colleen Jeffrey.

The end is where we start from...

We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.

Episode 122: The Dry Salvages

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 05:01:00 -0800

I offer you "The Dry Salvages" by T.S. Eliot. This is deep ocean, dear listeners! Come on in.

The best part of creating this series was sitting down with others whose lives have been amended by going into that deep. Joining me at the mic this time is the convivial and keen-minded David Miller. Enjoy!

The bitter apple and the bite in the apple.

And the ragged rock in the restless waters,

Waves wash over it, fogs conceal it;

On a halcyon day it is merely a monument,

In navigable weather it is always a seamark

To lay a course by: but in the sombre season

Or the sudden fury, it is what it always was.

Episode 121: East Coker

Thu, 09 Oct 2025 05:34:00 -0700

I offer you "East Coker" by T.S. Eliot. This is the deep end, dear listeners! Come on in.

The best part of creating this series was sitting down with others whose lives have been amended by going into that deep. Joining me at the mic this time is the bright, adventuresome, insightful Anna Danese. Enjoy.

I said to my soul, be still, and let the dark come upon you
Which shall be the darkness of God. As, in a theatre,
The lights are extinguished, for the scene to be changed
With a hollow rumble of wings, with a movement of darkness on darkness,
And we know that the hills and the trees, the distant panorama
And the bold imposing façade are all being rolled away—

Episode 120: Burnt Norton

Thu, 18 Sep 2025 05:00:00 -0700

I offer you "Burnt Norton" by T.S. Eliot. This is the deep end, dear listeners. Come on in!

The best part of recording this series was sitting down with others whose lives have been amended by going into that deep. Joining me at the mic this time is the articulate, generous, and perceptive teacher and reader Eliot Reasoner. Enjoy.

Footfalls echo in the memory

Down the passage which we did not take

Towards the door we never opened

Into the rose-garden.

My words echo

Thus, in your mind.

But to what purpose

Disturbing the dust on a bowl of rose-leaves

I do not know.
Other echoes

Inhabit the garden. Shall we follow?

Episode 119: Housekeeping, an Announcement, and a Great Fall Poem by Hopkins

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 11:28:22 -0700

I give thanks and make a request.

I give a teaser about a momentous thing coming up on TTP.

I read "Spring and Fall" by Gerard Manley Hopkins.

It's a big 13 minutes!

Episode 118: Anna Reads Yeats and Stevens

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 05:21:00 -0700

This one is a gift from Anna Natzke-- my former student, a church friend, and a bright and lovely young writer.

I could not stop smiling when I listened to the file she sent! It's only a few minutes long, but you'll get a good idea of why it was such a joy to have a couple years in the classroom with her.

Anna reads and reflects on poems of peace and yearning:

"The House Was Quiet and the World Was Calm" by Wallace Stevens

"Lake Isle of Innisfree" by W.B. Yeats

Enjoy!

DELIGHTFUL FACT: When this TTP project was newborn, Anna's mama Amy came on (episode #35) to share the work of Ruth Pitter, a British poet who was a contemporary of CS Lewis and much admired by him.

https://takethispoem.podbean.com/e/episode-35-take-this-poet-ruth-pitter/

Episode 117: Mules of Love

Wed, 30 Jul 2025 14:18:22 -0700

Summer in our family is a time of many birth days. This poem is beautiful and sore, just like the real thing.

"To My Daughter on Her 21st Birthday" by Ellen Bass

Do let me know where YOU would place the emphasis in that line I puzzle over.

(Archive) Episode 54: Less Fretting, More Feasting

Mon, 21 Jul 2025 05:00:00 -0700

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 116: Look Upon the Ground With Listening Eyes-- Poems by Marie Burdett

Thu, 26 Jun 2025 05:00:00 -0700

Marie Burdett reads five of her wonderful poems for the TTP audience. This just might be the best 8 minutes of your day!

They are: "Hindsight," "The Gravedigger," "The Gardener's Prayer," "Bluebell Valley," and "Mountain Fog."

If you want to re-listen, Marie's reading begins at 5:40.

..............................................................................................................................................................

If you'd like to see more of what Marie is up to, here are links to some of her work and accomplishments!

Her Instagram https://www.instagram.com/marieburdettpoet/

A poem in Light Verse: https://lightpoetrymagazine.com/marie-burdett-winter-25/ A poem in Lucky Jefferson: https://luckyjefferson.com/april/ Indigenous Writer in Residency at Cranberry Lake: https://www.esf.edu/clbs/iwr.php Honorable Mention Deep Wild Journal: https://deepwildjournal.com/2025/04/23/our-2025-student-writing-contest-winners/ 2nd place Porter Fleming Literary Competition https://www.themorris.org/porter-fleming-literary-competition/winners/ Blackberry Bramble 1st place https://www.orlando.gov/Our-Government/Mayor-City-Council/Buddy-Dyer/City-of-Orlando-Poet-Laureate/Words-and-Wonders-Winners/Words-and-Wonders-City-Life-vs.-Country-Life-Winners/First-Place-Blackberry-Bramble-by-Marie-Burdett The Nature of Our Times https://natureofourtimes.poetsforscience.org/pay-attention-to-the-pond/ https://natureofourtimes.poetsforscience.org/i-touched-a-cloud-on-mt-rainier/ https://natureofourtimes.poetsforscience.org/wekiwa/

(Archive) Episode 15: What Does a Six Year Old Love?

Fri, 13 Jun 2025 06:39:00 -0700

Another one I'm dusting off for young listeners. Enjoy!

Eleanor finally entered the Closet Of Poetry with me and shared a few of her favorites. All the poems she says in this episode are from memory, which helps explain the adorable botched limerick she busts out with at the end. Get the kids gathered 'round for this one!

(Archive) Episode 6: "If it ain't a pleasure it ain't a poem" Animal Poetry

Mon, 09 Jun 2025 06:00:00 -0700

I wanted to re-release this old episode for any new young listeners. It's one of my favorites. The nine-year-old interviewed here is now taller than I am. <3

My daughter Vivian shares some of her favorite funny poems from The National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry, which is a favorite around our household.

(Archive) Episode 1: Let Evening Come

Wed, 04 Jun 2025 07:50:00 -0700

How it all began. This is the first and most downloaded recording of TTP.

This pilot episode includes stories of how "Let Evening Come" by Jane Kenyon has been passed around like a gift in my life and how the poem derives its simplicity and rootedness from material nouns that have been in our language from the very beginning.

Collected Poems of Jane Kenyon

Episode 115: Hard Hopes for a Young Writer

Sun, 01 Jun 2025 15:42:16 -0700

As my end-of-school-year poem I bring you "The Writer" by Richard Wilbur

Episode 114: Manual Labor

Fri, 07 Mar 2025 05:56:00 -0800

I have a thing for poems about work. Poets seem to have a thing for writing about work. I share that thing with you. In Episode 63, Episode 80, and today.

"Digging" by Seamus Heaney

"Labor" by Jericho Brown

Episode 113: Batter My Heart, Three-Person'd God, For You

Wed, 05 Mar 2025 06:01:00 -0800

A poem that peers into the wrestling of a conflicted human heart.

Holy Sonnet XIV by John Donne.

Episode 112: If Ever We See Those Gardens Again, The Summer Will Be Gone

Fri, 28 Feb 2025 06:01:00 -0800

Nothing ends more endingly than a "summer" together.

"Lost Garden" by Dana Gioia

Episode 111: Rain Poems to Say to a Child

Tue, 25 Feb 2025 06:01:00 -0800

Even if that child is just yourself.

"Rain" by Robert Lewis Stevenson

"Drippy Weather" by Aileen Fisher

"Spring Rain" by Marchette Chute

I first encountered these in Poems to Read to the Very Young edited by Josette Frank, illustrated by Eloise Wilkin

Bonus: "April Rain Song" by Langston Hughes

Episode 110: Oregon Winter

Sun, 23 Feb 2025 16:15:39 -0800

I give you a poem I recently received: "Oregon Winter" by Jeanne McGahey. From the collection Winter Poems selected by Barbara Rogasky

Episode 109: Death, Be Not Proud

Sun, 10 Nov 2024 16:08:10 -0800

Take This Poem wakes up from a nap long enough to share "Holy Sonnet X" by John Donne. When despair and triumph live side by side in 14 lines, heat ensues, as well as iridescence.

Episode 108: "Brother" by Keith Hansen

Tue, 16 Jul 2024 08:10:00 -0700

This one is not just read but also written by Keith Hansen...a reflection on a fraternal tussle that has now come to an end.

Episode 107: The Ballad of Orange and Grape

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 08:27:00 -0700

I hope you'll listen to Muriel Rukeyser read her own poem! It's weird, funny, scary, true.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN-NaxSRN4E

Episode 106: Bearing Witness, Making Confession

Mon, 08 Jul 2024 08:21:00 -0700

In this episode I read three poems from The Art of Losing, an anthology edited by Kevin Young.

"The Wake" by Rita Dove

"The Shout" by Simon Armitage

"Remember Me" by Hal Sirowitz

Episode 105: Michael Chitwood "Search and Rescue"

Mon, 08 Apr 2024 06:30:00 -0700

Keith Hansen brings us five poems from Michael Chitwood, whose work explores the Appalachian landscape of his youth.

"Want"

"Catalytic Converter"

"Chicken"

"Lakeside"

"Search and Rescue"

Episode 104: "You are not alone", the poem said, in the dark tunnel.

Sun, 03 Mar 2024 11:57:08 -0800

I wrestled with this poem for a long time. I thought I would run out of winter before I was satisfied with a recording.

But then it snowed here these last couple days, and it encouraged me to fix up the most recent attempt and just get it out to you.

Here you go: "October" by Louise Gluck.

..................................................................................................

I heard Gluck read this poem at the end of this interview:

https://yalepodcasts.blubrry.net/2021/03/09/nobel-laureate-louise-gluck-on-teaching-and-poetry/

It's the last ten minutes. However, the whole thing is excellent! This poet won almost every literary prize imaginable, including the Nobel Prize. Along with that, she taught poetry for many decades, and she considered her teaching to have fueled and inspired her work rather than draining it. She was greatly loved by students, and known for her passion, candor, and crankiness. She HATES poetry read aloud! Oopsies.

Episode 103: The Risk of Birth

Wed, 03 Jan 2024 06:00:00 -0800

Happy New Year! I'm re-gifting this poem.

Thank you for bringing it to my attention, Anna!

"The Risk of Birth, Christmas 1973" by Madeline L'Engle

Episode 102: ”I stare and stare. It seems I was called for this...”

Wed, 06 Dec 2023 07:00:00 -0800

Keith Hansen brings us poems by two Polish poets who lived upfront with human suffering and political upheaval. What will their poetic "stare" find to praise?

Adam Zagajewski's "Try to Praise the Mutilated World" and "Boogie-Woogie"

Czeslaw Milosz's "The Blacksmith Shop"

Episode 101: The Second Half of a Chocolate Cake

Tue, 21 Nov 2023 12:21:42 -0800

I haven't finished part one to my satisfaction, but I'll serve you part two anyway. Rather like having dessert first, which I hear is possible if you're feeling unruly.

"In Memoriam A. H. H. OBIIT MDCCCXXXIII:54"

"In Memoriam A. H. H. OBIIT MDCCCXXXIII:55"

by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Episode 100!!!

Wed, 08 Nov 2023 06:45:00 -0800

100 Episodes! We've been through a lot together.

To celebrate, I compiled some audio mail I've received into another poetry reading episode. If you enjoy it, send me a poem why dontcha!

Pamela reads "Crooked" by G.K. Chesterton

Carrie reads "She Walks in Beauty" by Lord Byron

Melinda reads "Doors opening, closing on us" by Marge Piercy

Thank you to all who have listened and contributed to this poetry endeavor!

Episode 99: Poem

Thu, 02 Nov 2023 06:22:00 -0700

Does this poem stir around in your heart and mind a little bit?

Keith Hansen brings "Poem" by North Dakota poet and screenwriter Thomas McGrath.

Episode 98: Two Poems About Marriage

Tue, 24 Oct 2023 06:36:00 -0700

The other Giudice takes the mic again! <3 <3 <3

"A Romance" by Stephen Dunn

"The Country of Marriage" by Wendell Berry

Episode 97: Not I, Not I, But The Wind That Blows Through Me!

Thu, 19 Oct 2023 06:54:00 -0700

Another Lawrence poem! Unfortunately, there's no fruit-throwing in this one. But there is ecstatic inspiration, a creepy knock on the door, and angels. So that's pretty good.

"Song of a Man Who Has Come Through" by D.H. Lawrence

The "Word on Fire" podcast episode that I mention:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wof-392-poetry-beauty-and-the-shock-of-grace-w/id1065019039?i=1000618329473

Episode 96: Here, Take All That’s Left of My Peach

Mon, 16 Oct 2023 07:10:10 -0700

I bring you "Peach" by D.H. Lawrence. This guy gets it.

Episode 95: Two Poems for Our Current Predicament

Thu, 21 Sep 2023 06:00:00 -0700

A super special guest--Ben Giudice--brings us two poems that run headlong into the human task of reconciling bad and good, despair and hope.

"As the World Population Surpasses 8 Billion, I Purposely Misremember a Line from Anne Carson's Sappho and Hear in Its Utterance the Song of the Humpback Whale" by Dante Di Stephano

"Good Bones" by Maggie Smith

Episode 94: Eternity by Jason Shinder

Mon, 18 Sep 2023 06:02:00 -0700

Two minds--divided by millennia--come together in the spaces between words...

Or, if that sounds too cosmic and far-fetched, you can call it by its other name: "reading a poem in the kitchen".

Episode 93: Hair

Tue, 05 Sep 2023 06:00:00 -0700

Today's two poems--brought to us by Keith Hansen--take us to the beauty salon and the barber chair. Are these places ordinary or sacred? Maybe we don't have to choose.

"Wayne's College of Beauty, Santa Cruz" by David Swanger

"Hair" by BH Fairchild

Episode 92: Summer, It’s Getting Late

Fri, 25 Aug 2023 06:00:00 -0700

Why is late summer such a gut-puncher? If anyone can get at the heart of this mystery, it's these two:

"Summer Has Two Beginnings" by Emily Dickinson

"Three Songs at the End of Summer" by Jane Kenyon

Episode 91: Going bye-bye

Fri, 18 Aug 2023 05:05:00 -0700

Late summer is peak bye-bye season! These three poems fit perfectly in your suitcase or moving box.

"The Summer Camp Bus Pulls Away From the Curb" by Sharon Olds

"Leaving Town" by Jane Kenyon

[i carry your heart with me(i carry it in] by ee cummings

Episode 90: Don Thompson: Poems From a Dry Valley

Mon, 14 Aug 2023 06:00:00 -0700

Listen to what can happen when a poet keeps a sustained gaze on the desolate place that has always been his home.

Keith Hansen comes back to the mic to read six poems by Don Thompson.

"Flat Earth"

"Water"

"Egret I"

"Buena Vista Slough II"

"October"

"December"

Episode 89: Three Blackberries

Wed, 09 Aug 2023 06:00:00 -0700

Part 3 of the summer poems series is JUICY!

"Blackberry-Picking" by Seamus Heaney

"An Invitation" by Clemens Starck

"Meditation at Lagunitas" by Robert Hass

Episode 88: Summer in the Garden

Fri, 04 Aug 2023 06:00:00 -0700

Here's part 2 of the "summer poems" series! This one's for you, Farmer Ben.

"Putting in the Seed" by Robert Frost

"Cutting the Grass" by Clemens Starck

"In Defense of Our Overgrown Garden" by Matthea Harvey

Episode 87: Summer Moods

Tue, 01 Aug 2023 06:00:00 -0700

It's AUGUST!

I had a request for some summer poems and got a little carried away. I hope you like sunshine, blackberries, nostalgia, and love, because this is just the beginning of a 4 part summer poem series.

We kick off with

"Summer Moods" by John Clare

"The Summer Day" by Mary Oliver

"Mossbawn: Sunlight" by Seamus Heaney

"Lying in a Hammock at William Duffy's Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota" by James Wright

Episode 86: Four Walls and a Blackboard

Mon, 05 Jun 2023 00:00:00 -0700

3 school poems to kick off summer break!

"Night" by Jill Osier

"M. Degas Teaches Art & Science at Durfee Intermediate School" by Philip Levine

"Mrs. Smith 1959" by Kim Stafford

Episode 85: Every Time I Say ”I” It Refers To You

Mon, 20 Mar 2023 04:56:00 -0700

A snowy night, phone calls from beyond the grave... this poem has a lot to recommend it.

"Visitors From Abroad" by Louise GlÜck

Episode 84: Prose Poems From The Garden

Fri, 17 Mar 2023 04:23:00 -0700

Let me read to you-- a handful of poems that take us through the year of a gardener/prose poet who is paying attention.

The book I read from is Going to Seed: Dispatches From the Garden by Charles Goodrich

Episode 83: ”I’ve Been Sitting Here Thinking Back Over My Life”

Wed, 18 Jan 2023 04:44:00 -0800

Sometimes I take on the humbling challenge of talking about a poem that enthralls me but I don't fully understand it, and some of what I understand I don't like, and I can't talk about it without talking about myself...

Those episodes often end up in the burn pile, but this time I offer it to you.

"I've Been Sitting Here Thinking Back Over My Life" by Charles Wright

Episode 82: Bernini’s Bees

Wed, 11 Jan 2023 04:44:00 -0800

How does she do it? Linda Bierds' best poems about historical figures--inventors, scientists, artists--hold an uncanny sense of discovery and inspiration so strong that I find myself holding my breath while reading.

Today's poem takes us back in time to the studio of the brilliant Italian sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

"Stroke" by Linda Bierds from her book First Hand

Episode 81: Daniel Boone And His Wife Rebecca

Wed, 04 Jan 2023 04:44:00 -0800

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

Thu, 29 Dec 2022 04:30:00 -0800

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

Mon, 26 Dec 2022 04:30:00 -0800

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

Tue, 11 Oct 2022 05:00:00 -0700

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

Tue, 04 Oct 2022 05:00:00 -0700

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

Tue, 13 Sep 2022 05:01:00 -0700

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

Tue, 06 Sep 2022 04:44:00 -0700

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?

Sun, 04 Sep 2022 15:02:18 -0700

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

Tue, 12 Jul 2022 05:00:00 -0700

"Finding a Teacher" by W.S. Merwin

Episode 72: Bonus! ”The Smile”

Tue, 05 Jul 2022 12:00:00 -0700

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

Episode 71: Three More by Charles Wright

Mon, 04 Jul 2022 15:09:51 -0700

Apparently I'm not done reading Charles Wright poems to you! I've got a fever and the only cure is another dive into the bright, dark, poetic, folksy, scary, exhilarating pool of his book "Caribou". In this episode I share

"Chinoiserie II"

"Heaven's Eel"

"Life Lines"

Episode 70: ”History is a Burning Chariot” by Charles Wright

Tue, 07 Jun 2022 07:40:59 -0700

Today's episode is dedicated to Keith Hansen, who made an ambivalent comment about this poem that I'm crazy about. I try to explain my enthrallment with this poem and Wright's latest work in general. Was it a success or

"a raid on the inarticulate With shabby equipment always deteriorating" ?
(T.S. Eliot)

Who knows? But it was worth a try.

Episode 69: Four Poems About Family by George Bilgere

Tue, 31 May 2022 05:01:00 -0700

Sit yourself down at Uncle Keith's knee; he's got some poems to read to you...about fambly.

Episode 68: In the Waiting Room

Tue, 24 May 2022 09:09:08 -0700

"But I felt: you are an I,
you are an Elizabeth,
you are one of them."

This poem is a story...in which a hot waiting room and a National Geographic magazine provoke a little girl's painful recognition of herself.

"In The Waiting Room" by Elizabeth Bishop

Episode 67: Lake, Mountain, Moon

Tue, 03 May 2022 05:03:00 -0700

Keith Hansen brings us Denise Levertov's grouping of poems titled "Lake, Mountain, Moon." These are lush, grand, and worth listening to with closed eyes and a still body...if you can pull that off.

Episode 66: Caterpillars & Geckos

Tue, 19 Apr 2022 05:00:00 -0700

You know what's adorable? Hearing your dear ol' college roommate's voice echo in the voices of her two young sons... and to hear those voices saying poems. Lincoln (8) shares a poem by Rosetti, and Will (10) shares a poem of his very own. He said his favorite thing about poetry is that there is a poem for everything... and ain't that the truth.

Caterpillar

by Christina Rosetti

Brown and furry
Caterpillar in a hurry,
Take your walk
To the shady leaf, or stalk,
Or what not,
Which may be the chosen spot.
No toad spy you,
Hovering bird of prey pass by you;
Spin and die,
To live again a butterfly.

Episode 65: ”Miracle On St. David’s Day”

Tue, 12 Apr 2022 05:00:00 -0700

I hope my Welsh listeners won't give me too much trouble over the fact that St. David's Day is long past... better late, eh?

This is a rich episode from Keith Hansen! He brings us "Miracle On St. David's Day" by Gillian Clarke, which beautifully reflects on the power of memorized poetry. Keith also shares Malcome Guite's remarks on the poem, and throws in Wordsworth's dreamy "Daffodils" as a bonus! ENJOY!

Gillian Clarke's Poem

https://www.poetrybyheart.org.uk/poems/miracle-on-st-davids-day/

Wordsworth's poem:

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45521/i-wandered-lonely-as-a-cloud

Episode 64: Do Horses Love Us?

Tue, 05 Apr 2022 05:00:00 -0700

Humans and horses: a mythic combination. These two poems dig around in that a little bit, helping me ponder what people are really talking about when they talk about horses.

"Of Unsent Letters, One" by Jill Ossier, from her collection The Solace is Not the Lullaby

"A Blessing" by James Wright

Episode 63: Work, And What It Is

Tue, 22 Mar 2022 05:00:00 -0700

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"

Episode 62: ”Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden

Tue, 08 Mar 2022 05:00:00 -0800

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

Episode 61: It Could Be Otherwise

Tue, 22 Feb 2022 05:00:00 -0800

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

Episode 60: Happy Valentine’s Day

Mon, 14 Feb 2022 05:00:00 -0800

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/

Episode 59: Two Caged Birds

Mon, 24 Jan 2022 14:19:41 -0800

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

Tue, 11 Jan 2022 05:06:00 -0800

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

Tue, 28 Dec 2021 05:00:00 -0800

"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

Tue, 21 Dec 2021 06:26:16 -0800

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

Tue, 14 Dec 2021 08:53:01 -0800

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 53: Advent Darkness and Light

Tue, 30 Nov 2021 05:05:00 -0800

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”

Tue, 23 Nov 2021 05:01:00 -0800

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”

Tue, 16 Nov 2021 05:00:00 -0800

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

Tue, 09 Nov 2021 05:00:00 -0800

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

Episode 49: Three by Jane Kenyon

Tue, 02 Nov 2021 08:29:44 -0700

It's as simple as it sounds. I read three small but substantial poems by Jane Kenyon.

Episode 48: ”Klipsan Stallions”

Tue, 26 Oct 2021 05:00:00 -0700

Linda Bierds writes poems thick with beautiful language, historical drama, and an uncanny sense of discovery. In today's poem, "Klipsan Stallions," she applies her genius to a true story of a shipwreck and the horses who swam out to save sailors' lives.

Episode 47: Larry Woiwode‘s ”Venerable Elm” and ”Horses”

Tue, 19 Oct 2021 05:05:00 -0700

Keith Hansen brings us two poems by North Dakota's poet laureate Larry Woiwode. It's hard to top trees and horses among nature's beauties...this will be ten minutes well spent.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Woiwode

Episode 46: But I Am Done With Apple Picking Now

Tue, 12 Oct 2021 05:00:00 -0700

"After Apple Picking" by Robert Frost is a dreamy, drowsy autumn poem that retains its fresh mysteriousness through many readings and many, many years.

You can find the poem here if you'd like to read it for yourself:

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44259/after-apple-picking

Episode 45: God, Truck, Nature: Interview With Dave Mehler

Tue, 05 Oct 2021 05:00:00 -0700

Another conversation with local poet Dave Mehler, another record set for longest episode!

This time I have a chance to pelt Dave with questions about reading & writing, to hear his story of being a truck driver poet, and to hear him read from his book Roadworthy. Grab some whittling or knitting and enjoy: this is a sweeping episode that includes some good poems and leisurely conversation.

I edited this one all by myself, so if the volume levels are eclectic don't blame Ben.

Check out Dave's book here:

https://bookshop.org/books?keywords=Roadworthy

Episode 44: Autumn Poetry to Memorize: Bonus Episode!

Mon, 04 Oct 2021 20:37:46 -0700

"They’s something kindo’ harty-like about the atmusfere When the heat of summer’s over and the coolin’ fall is here—" I humbly exhort you to take one of these poems and carry around in your heart's pocket this fall. "Something Told the Wild Geese" by Rachel Fields "The Morns Are Meeker Than They Were" by Emily Dickinson "When the Frost is on the Punkin" by James Whitcomb Riley

Episode 43: Mail from the Midwest

Tue, 28 Sep 2021 05:00:00 -0700

In the course of a week I received two poetry gifts from friends afar. And not just plain poems-- poems with reflections! My catnip.

I decided to put the poems together and make it a party. Tom Clark reads "We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks and Melinda Westervelt reads "A Little Lesson in How To Be" by Kathryn Nuernberger. Brooks is a jewel in American poetry, and the ending of Nuernberger's poem gave me goosebumps. ENJOY!

Episode 42: ”To Autumn”

Tue, 21 Sep 2021 05:00:00 -0700

You're in for a treat! In this episode Keith Hansen offers an autumnal poem by John Keats.

My mind seemed to pick up very little listening to the first reading of the poem, but mental pathways must have been etched...on my second hearing, understanding and enjoyment of the poem flooded in. A fascinating experience.

Thank you, Keith, for sharing your thoughts on this exquisite poem!

Episode 41: End of Summer

Tue, 14 Sep 2021 05:00:00 -0700

Can't get enough of the agitation, perturbation, and talking worms in this most wonderful early autumn poem.

Episode 40: A Poem Found, Lost, and Found

Tue, 07 Sep 2021 05:00:00 -0700

Story time! I read poet Denise Duhamel's tale of a poem that ambushed her, dwelt with her, was stolen, and... you'll see.

The poem is "Modifications" by Ron Koertge and I read from the anthology Dark Horses: Poets on Overlooked Poems.

Episode 39: Let‘s Get Romantic

Tue, 31 Aug 2021 08:24:07 -0700

Do you remember reading the Romantics in high school English class? My friend Carrie Adams joins me to read poems by Wordsworth, Byron, and Keats and to talk a bit about her experience teaching these poems to teenagers.

Spoiler alert: old-fashioned Romantic ideas endure in the zeitgeist today... we just don't speak of them as prettily any more.

Episode 38: The Tables Have Turned

Tue, 24 Aug 2021 05:00:00 -0700

I find what it's like on the other side of the mic as a guest host steps in to conduct the interview.

Although I have misgivings about the title "poet" as applied to me, I couldn't resist Keith Hansen's offer to narrate two of my poems for the podcast. So this turned out to be quite a collaborative episode.

Here is the Radiolab episode that inspired my poems

https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/segments/121385-bus-nowhere

Here's issue #25 of Triggerfish Critical Review

https://triggerfishcriticalreview.com/issue-25/

Episode 37: "The Toll of Time"

Tue, 17 Aug 2021 08:04:44 -0700

My son Luke joins me at the mic to read a poem that he wrote this year. He shares a little about his writing process, and I just generally enjoy having a mini poetry chat with him.

Episode 36: Poems For Little Ones To Memorize

Sat, 14 Aug 2021 09:17:30 -0700

As I gather new poems for my students to memorize I enjoy looking through the stack of review poems from yesteryear. I also love the word yesteryear.

In this episode I choose three favorites from our review pile. And as a special bonus we'll hear two pint-sized listeners share poems from their own little memories!

Here is the poem that 3-year-old Judah says.

Singing-Time By Rose Fyleman I wake in the morning early And always, the very first thing, I poke out my head and I sit up in bed And I sing and I sing and I sing.

Episode 35: Take this Poet (Ruth Pitter)

Tue, 10 Aug 2021 07:22:30 -0700

My friend Amy gives us all a gift in this episode: an introduction to Ruth Pitter.

Pitter was a poet and artist who lived for almost 100 years and corresponded by letters with many of her century's literary luminaries. (Hilaire Belloc, John Masefield, and Walter de la Mare are three of her pen pals whose poetry has appeared on this podcast so far!) She and C.S. Lewis had a friendship of deep mutual admiration and respect for each others' work.

Most importantly for our context, she wrote wise, beautiful poetry at a time that the world was reeling from war and meaning was sometimes difficult to find.

Amy introduces her eloquently and reads many of her poems, so I'll let her take it away.

Amy's email address

aenatzke@gmail.com

Episode 34: Exultation Is The Going

Tue, 03 Aug 2021 18:40:30 -0700

Here's a small but juicy Emily Dickinson poem for you.

Why aren't there more poems about swimming? If you know of a good one, please let me know.

Episode 33: Interview with Craig Goodworth

Tue, 27 Jul 2021 05:00:00 -0700

This episode is for the long commutes or jumbo laundry piles!

Artist, poet, and friend Craig Goodworth joined me at my table to talk about art&theology, beauty, the joys&challenges of in-person poetry, reading The Odyssey to kids, and the fact that some days you see a deer and some days you don't. With lots in between. There are some good poems in this one!

I like that the mic picked up the clinking of ice in our glasses. We had fun chatting and sharing poems, and I hope you have a little fun listening.

http://craiggoodworthart.squarespace.com/

Episode 32: "For Molly"

Fri, 23 Jul 2021 18:32:42 -0700

When my friend and listener Kelly has time home alone she does wild things like sending poems to me. And I couldn't be happier. In this episode I pair her poem "To Molly" with Kay Ryan's poem "Masterworks of Ming".

Kelly's musings on writing can be found at writing-life.blog