Amanda Gorman Reads Tracy K. Smith

Bruce Smith joins Kevin Young to read “Open Letter To My Ancestors” by Mary Ruefle, and his own poem “The Game.” Smith, the author of eight poetry collections, including the forthcoming “Hungry Ghost,” has received awards from the Academy of American Poets and the American Academ ... Show More

Garrett Hongo joins Kevin Young to read “T’ang Notebook” by Charles Wright, and his own poem “On Emptiness.” Garrett Hongo is the author of several books of poetry and nonfiction, including “Ocean of Clouds” and “The Perfect Sound: A Memoir in Stereo.” He's received fellowships f ... Show More

Sasha Debevec-McKenney joins Kevin Young to read “Hammond B3 Organ Cistern,” by Gabrielle Calvocoressi, and her own poem “Kaepernick.” Debevec-McKenney is the author of the new poetry collection “Joy Is My Middle Name.” She was a Jay C. and Ruth Halls Poetry Fellow at the Univers ... Show More

Toni Morrison's literary and academic career was honoured with a Pulitzer Prize, Nobel Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Her writing explored, celebrated, questioned and critiqued the space of black lives in America, up until her death on Monday at the age of 88. Today ... Show More

The Pulitzer Prize is one of the most prestigious awards in the country for writers... and last year's winners were just announced this week. So today, we're looking back at two nonfiction authors whose books won the accolade. First, journalist Andrea Elliot speaks to Jane Clyson ... Show More

An impassioned plea, a yearning for connection — the poem U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón wrote when she says all language failed her. Take in Ada's reading of her piece, “The End of Poetry” — and hear her read more of her work in the On Being episode, “To Be Made Whole.”Ada Limón i ... Show More

Hillary opens this season of You and Me Both with something we could all use right about now: hope. Joining her is Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman, who inspired so many people with her stirring poem, The Hill We Climb, on Inauguration Day. Amanda talks with Hillary about what i ... Show More

Kevin Barry joins Deborah Treisman to read and discuss “A Family Man,” by V. S. Pritchett, which was published in The New Yorker in 1977. Barry is a winner of the International Dublin Literary Award and the author of six books of fiction, most recently the story collection “That ... Show More

Poet Laureate Joy Harjo says she loved poetry as a kid, but didn't feel like it belonged to her. "It wasn't until I heard Native poets," she tells NPR's Michel Martin, "that I realized that, wow, this is a powerful tool of understanding and affirmation. And I don't know, I just s ... Show More

Even in the most uneventful of human lives, uncertainty and doubts will inevitably intrude. When faced with those, what can you do to steady yourself? One suggestion: Turn to the poem “When in Doubt” by Sandra Cisneros, where she generously shares some of the wisdom that she’s gl ... Show More

In a poem about how a small moment can help you make a wise decision, Eugenia Leigh finds the strength to go back home after storming out. No self-pity in the poem, just humor and brilliance. She had every reason to leave, and finds every reason to return. Eugenia Leigh is a Kore ... Show More