logo
episode-header-image
May 2024
5m 23s

1111: The Nation by Roy Fisher

American Public Media
About this episode

Today’s poem is The Nation by Roy Fisher.


The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “It’s important for us to avoid what Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka once phrased as “saline consciousness,” that is, the belief that only what lies within our boundaries is worth noticing. We can roam beyond our familiar provinces. Today’s poem satirizes a vision of nationhood that only sees itself in relation to the known and all that has been sanctioned.”


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

Up next
Oct 10
1371: At Last the New Arriving by Gabrielle Calvocoressi
Today’s poem is At Last the New Arriving by Gabrielle Calvocoressi. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “I don’t know what might happen tomorrow, or the next day, or the next. I can’t know! That can be a source of stress, but it can also be a ... Show More
6m 21s
Oct 9
1370: Soot by Kaveh Akbar
Today’s poem is Soot by Kaveh Akbar. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “My friend, the poet Dana Levin, once said that my poems are “God Curious,” and I loved that description. Part of what I do in my poems is pose existential questions to ... Show More
5m 32s
Oct 8
1369: Six Hours Lost, Land Between the Lakes by Kathleen Driskell
Today’s poem is Six Hours Lost, Land Between the Lakes by Kathleen Driskell. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem tells a story about a tense encounter in the woods. I so admire how this poet unfolds the narrative, then leaves me ... Show More
5m 57s
Recommended Episodes
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
Mar 2023
The Art of Noticing – and Appreciating – Our Dizzying World
“Poetry is the attempt to understand fully what is real, what is present, what is imaginable, what is feelable, and how can I loosen the grip of what I already know to find some new, changed relationship,” the poet Jane Hirshfield tells me. Through poetry, she says, “I know somet ... Show More
1h 20m
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
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
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
Oct 2021
Poetry, the Language of Religion
To celebrate its 500th edition, Beyond Belief has recorded a special programme at the Contains Strong Language poetry festival in Coventry. From the stage of the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry to discuss the theme of ‘Poetry as the Language of Religion’, Ernie Rea is joined by a di ... Show More
39m 57s
Jul 2021
Poetry | A Blind Believer
Today’s poem is called A Blind Believer. I will start with some thoughts first and then you will enjoy the poem.Read the poem on https://englishpluspodcast.com/poetry-a-blind-believer/Subscribe to English Plus Podcast Premium on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channe ... Show More
3m 33s
Aug 2021
The Road Less Traveled
August 2, 1915. The poem appears in print for the first time this week, from Kentucky to Pennsylvania to Vermont. Every reader is transported to that same leafy path: “two roads diverged in a yellow wood.” The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost becomes an immediate hit and will go on ... Show More
27m 44s
Jul 2021
Poetry | The Snail
Today’s poem is called The Snail. I will start with some thoughts first and then you will enjoy the poem.Read the poem on https://englishpluspodcast.com/poetry-the-snail/Subscribe to English Plus Podcast Premium on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/english-plus ... Show More
3m 3s