logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2024
5m 10s

1090: My Life by Water by Lorine Niedeck...

American Public Media
About this episode

Today’s poem is My Life by Water by Lorine Niedecker.


The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, guest host Victoria Chang writes… "I admit, I spent much of my childhood imagining my future away from Michigan. But now, I only have positive memories of my childhood landscape. The Michigan landscape is my country. We are all always living and writing from somewhere, and thus we are being defined by our landscapes. We wouldn’t be someone without a somewhere."


Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Up next
Today
[encore] 1174: Separation Wall by Naomi Shihab Nye
Today’s poem is Separation Wall by Naomi Shihab Nye.Last spring, we asked our community to submit poems that have helped you slow down in your lives. This week we’re revisiting these selections. Today’s selection was submitted by Meital from Washington, D.C. In this episode, Majo ... Show More
7m 4s
Yesterday
[encore] 1173: Sono by Suji Kwock Kim
Today’s poem is Sono by Suji Kwock Kim. The Slowdown is currently taking a break. Last spring, we asked our community to submit poems that have helped you slow down in your lives. This week we’re revisiting these selections. In this episode, Major writes… “Today’s poem coordinate ... Show More
6m 45s
Jul 8
[encore] 1172: From Blossoms by Li-Young Lee
Today’s poem is From Blossoms by Li-Young Lee. Last spring, we asked our community to submit poems that have helped you slow down in your lives. This week we’re revisiting these selections. Today’s selection was submitted by Candace from North Carolina. This week we’re featuring ... Show More
6m 48s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2024
#22 Mon fils ! Tu seras Châtaignier - Ray
Châtaignier ! Être Châtaignier de père en fils ;Et pourtant casser les traditions pour devenir soi-même ;C’est ça d’avoir un papa rock ! Créer ses propres feux d’artifice !Mesdames et Messieurs Ray est tout un poème… Lis Tes RaturesLe Podcast Poésie. Aujourd’hui encore, qui sont ... Show More
1h 31m
Jun 2024
#30 Petite bourgeoisie abidjanaise et prolétariat le plus bas - Lisko
Lunettes de soleil, voix grave, suave et feutrée ;Lisko nous raconte son parcours de blédard ;Le rap et journalisme qu'il aime à faire jongler ;Dans une langue et phrasé qu'il érige au rang d'art...Lis Tes Ratures // Le Podcast PoésieAujourd’hui encore, qui sont les gens qui font ... Show More
1h 55m
Jun 2022
418 "Because I could not stop for Death" by Emily Dickinson
Because Jacke could not stop for the scheduled episode topics, a certain poem kindly stopped for him. Luckily it's one of the greatest poems of all time! It's by the 19th-century American genius Emily Dickinson, and it packs into seven short stanzas a journey through life, death, ... Show More
57m 4s
Jul 2023
#14 Face au Chaos, restons lucide, baisons - Yas
Du Chaos naissent les plus belles fleurs ;De ses voyages, elle a fait force ;Mesdames et messieurs Yas est d'une fureur ;Dont les mots brûlent d'un feu féroce... Lis Tes Ratures, Le Podcast Poésie. Aujourd’hui encore, qui sont les gens qui font vivre la Poésie ?Lis Tes Ra ... Show More
57m 57s
Nov 2021
In a powerful memoir, poet Joy Harjo talks about finding her voice and using it
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
8m 41s
Jun 2024
Horror Poetry to Soothe You
Let's read some horror poetry.To watch the video click hereTo read along:A Child's Nightmare by Robert Graves: https://www.bartleby.com/120/35.htmlThe Shadow on the Stone by Thomas Hardy: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem...Because I Could Not Stop for Death (479) by Emily Di ... Show More
12m 49s
Apr 2022
Poet Ocean Vuong shares his grief in 'Time Is A Mother'
April is National Poetry Month, so to celebrate we are bringing you a conversation with poet Ocean Vuong. His new collection, Time Is A Mother, is about his grief after losing family members. Vuong told Morning Edition's Rachel Martin that time is different now that he has lost h ... Show More
8m 16s
Oct 2019
"Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep" by Mary Elizabeth Frye
Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep by Mary Elizabeth FryeDo not stand at my grave and weepI am not there; I do not sleep.I am a thousand winds that blow,I am the diamond glints on snow,I am the sun on ripened grain,I am the gentle autumn rain.When you awaken in the morning's hushI ... Show More
3m 46s
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 2022
Poems in Practice and in Theory
Elisa Gabbert, the Book Review's On Poetry columnist, visits the podcast this week to discuss writing about poetry and her own forthcoming collection of poems, her fourth, “Normal Distance.”“When I’m writing what I would call nonfiction or an essay or just pure prose, I’m really ... Show More
43m 26s