logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2024
14m 16s

Valencia Robin — The Coup

ON BEING STUDIOS
About this episode
Valencia Robin’s poem portrays a tense relationship between mother and daughter; perhaps each resembling the other too much. In desperation — and shock — the daughter says the worst thing she can think of to her mother. What follows is like the fall of a dictator, a coup, an end, an opening. 
Up next
Mar 9
Poetry Unbound Bonus — Walter de la Mare
Host Pádraig Ó Tuama shares “The Listeners” by Walter de la Mare, a favorite childhood poem of his, and offers an audio postscript to Season 10 of Poetry Unbound. Later in 2026, he will bring us more Poetry Unbound to look forward to — find out what and when here. In the meantime ... Show More
9m 16s
Mar 6
Leonard Cohen — Book of Mercy “I,8”
Have you ever watched, in awe, as a skilled gymnast or skater lifts off and completes a dizzying number of revolutions in less than a second before landing safely back down? That’s how you may feel upon reading the great Leonard Cohen’s urgent, dreamlike poem “I, 8” from Book of ... Show More
16m 34s
Mar 2
Billy-Ray Belcourt — Subarctica
Will you leave this episode feeling uplifted, envious, curious, or something else entirely? Yes. Billy-Ray Belcourt’s poem “Subarctica” transports you to a vividly specific time — “the coldest December / on record, I haven’t left my mother’s / house in over a week” — where the pr ... Show More
17m 46s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2023
Tributaries: A Conversation with Robin Coste Lewis
<p>When the poet Robin Coste Lewis discovered a trove of photographs under her late grandmother’s bed, she recognized them not only as a document of her family’s history during the Great Migration, but also as a testament to Black intimacy and ingenuity across generations. From s ... Show More
44m 49s
Dec 2021
Valerie Mejer Caso : Edinburgh Notebook
Today’s guest, Mexican poet, painter, and translator Valerie Mejer Caso talks about her latest book, the bilingual publication of poetry, collage, and photography Edinburgh Notebook, translated by Michelle Gil-Montero for Action Books. What does it mean to write something both au ... Show More
1h 53m
Jun 2024
“The End of Poetry” by Ada Limón
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
1m 43s
Aug 2016
Magic Lessons Ep. 204: “Who Gets To Decide Whether You're A Legitimate Artist?" featuring Mark Nepo
This week on Magic Lessons, Elizabeth Gilbert talks with Cecilia, a young poet in Florida. Cecilia fell in love with poetry in college and applied to a dozen MFA programs. She got rejected from every one. Devastated by the rejection she fell into great despair and wondered if she ... Show More
1h 16m
Dec 2021
Discovering your superpower as an artist, with Venessa Scott
<p><a href="https://www.creativeboom.com/podcast/venessa-scott/" target="_blank">Venessa Scott</a> is a Manchester-based prolific artist and a specialist in creative education whose reputation and artistic practice have grown significantly in recent years, leading to two commissi ... Show More
1h 11m
Apr 2024
S7 Ep7: Bookshelfie: Elif Shafak
<div>Award-winning British-Turkish novelist and 2022 Women’s Prize for Fiction shortlisted author Elif Shafak reveals the five books that have shaped her life and career.<br> <br> Elif has published 19 books, 12 of which are novels, including <em>The Island of Missing Trees</em>, ... Show More
51m 30s