Music works a kind of poetry in us. This poem is like a mix-tape of Hanif Abdurraqib’s memories, complete with a soundtrack that’s as roaring as it is tender. An adult now, he remembers moments of grief and growth in the adults of his childhood, and how Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’,” opens up more than just those memories. In a poem that you can almost da ... 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
Mar 2022
Episode 481: Hanif Abdurraqib
Hanif Abdurraqib is a poet, essayist, and critic whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine and many other publications. His new book is A Little Devil in America: In Praise of Black Performance. “I learn from hearing my elders tell stories. There’s an ... Show More
52m 53s
Apr 2022
Hanif Abdurraqib with Nihal Arthanayake
<p>This week on the Penguin Podcast, Nihal Arthanayake is joined by award-winning writer and poet, Hanif Abdurraqib</p><br><p>Hanif speaks to Nihal about his most recent work of nonfiction, <em>A little Devil in America</em>, which won the 2021 Gorden Burn Prize. They also discus ... Show More
34m 14s
Aug 2024
Hanif Abdurraqib on what it means to “make it”
For our season premiere, we’re sharing a conversation with one of our favorite writers, Hanif Abdurraqib. He joins Reema for a wide-ranging conversation about the moral judgments we’re quick to make about people’s financial circumstances, notions of success and legacy, and what i ... Show More
35m 40s
Nov 2022
Two poetry collections find beauty in unexpected places
Poet Franny Choi knows that marginalized communities have been facing apocalypses forever. But in her new book, The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On, she uses their survival as a way to look forward. In this episode, she tells NPR's Leila Fadel how understanding that pai ... Show More
20m 21s
Mar 2018
Naomi Shihab Nye — Your Life Is a Poem
“When you’re in a very quiet place, when you’re remembering, when you’re savoring an image, when you’re allowing your mind calmly to leap from one thought to another, that’s a poem.” Naomi Shihab Nye’s poem “Kindness” has traveled around the world. She grew up between Ferguson, M ... Show More
51m 55s