A narrative prose poem about two brothers — one on a visit home from college — who are turning to face east in their small shared room. With seven years between them, one is a young man and the other, the poet, is nearing his teens. Their prayer is interrupted by a sudden surprising noise, and the sound of this makes them fall over each other in laughing. Th ... Show More
Oct 5
Poetry Unbound in Conversation — Martín Espada
“Politics by themselves are necessary but not sufficient … [and] poetry by itself is necessary but not sufficient. We must find a way to bring them together,” says Martín Espada, a poet and professor. With crystalline language, an all-seeing gaze, and innate musicality, he writes ... Show More
55m 40s
Sep 18
Poetry Unbound in Conversation — Amanda Quaid
After actor, dialect coach, and teacher Amanda Quaid was diagnosed with a serious illness in 2021, she responded by trying something new — she wrote poetry. She says, “I was looking for an art form that allowed me to be with uncertainty in a beautiful way.” The result is a captiv ... Show More
51m 38s
Sep 4
Poetry Unbound in Conversation — Haleh Liza Gafori
Poet, translator, and musician Haleh Liza Gafori describes the revered 13th-century Persian poet Rumi as “a good pal to humanity”. As she puts it, “He's rooting for our liberation.” In this exuberant conversation recorded for the 2025 Greenbelt Festival, she reads some of her tra ... Show More
57m 32s
Jan 2024
Kaveh Akbar's novel 'Martyr!' is a journey of identity, addiction and poetry
Halfway through today's episode, author Kaveh Akbar tells NPR's Scott Simon that his life is a summation of "private joys amidst collective grief and private grief amidst collective joy." It's a contrast that contextualizes his emotionally dark yet deeply funny debut novel, Marty ... Show More
8m 22s
Jan 2024
Kaveh Akbar Finds Meaning in Martyrdom
Kaveh Akbar weighs every word that he writes. An accomplished and published poet, any reader can tell that he understands the undeniable power of language with his first novel, called Martyr! Engaging, funny, fascinating and downright beautiful, Martyr! grabs your attention by th ... Show More
38m 17s
Apr 2024
Two Brothers
<p>The Kabsa Boys sit down and discuss surviving Eid events, the two ruling brothers, being local and international, Israel and Iran doing a dance, the end of glocalization, J. Cole apologizes for some reason, and much more.</p>
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<p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/P ... Show More
1h 7m
Oct 2024
Interview | Kaveh Akbar on Martyr!, Trauma, and Collateral Damage
<p>Kaveh Akbar is the Iranian-American author of the critically acclaimed and heavily lauded novel <em>Martyr!</em> In our long-awaited conversation we dive deep into the themes of his powerful book, <em>Martyr</em>, which explores the human cost of so-called “collateral damage” ... Show More
1h 24m
<p>The Kabsa Boys sit down and discuss feeding your soul, is passion a luxury, broke or rich depressed, Arabs staring at each other, interpreting art, and much more.
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<p><a href="https://youtu.be/bTvcIaU0PJU">Video Episode</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/PassThe ... Show More
