logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2024
6m 25s

1157: from “Requiem 1935-1940” by Anna A...

American Public Media
About this episode

Today’s poem is from “Requiem 1935-1940” by Anna Akhmatova, translated by Stanley Kunitz and Max Hayward.


The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “What is the role of poetry during war? Does it have a function? Then and now, poets and readers of poetry see language as the terrain where we find ourselves heard and affirmed in our beliefs. Poets protest, bear witness, and mourn.”


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

Up next
Today
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
Yesterday
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
Oct 7
1368: Do You Consider Writing to be Therapeutic? by Andrew Grace
Today’s poem is Do You Consider Writing to be Therapeutic? by Andrew Grace. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “The next time I’m asked if writing is therapy, I may just respond by reading today’s poem. I think it answers the question with s ... Show More
5m 29s
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2023
Two Poems About Butter
Today we pay tribute, with poems by Andrea Cohen and Elizabeth Alexander, to the indispensable golden wonder. Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe 
4m 48s
Apr 2007
C.K. Williams
Collected Poems (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)C.K. Williams' Collected Poems covers a lifetime's concern with ethics and personal morality. As his work proceeds, he develops a quality of consciousness and empathy that some would describe as a soul. In this conversation, this accessibl ... Show More
29m 30s
Jul 2021
John Keats' "On the Grasshopper and the Cricket"
John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet prominent in the second generation of Romantic poets, with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, although his poems were in publication for only four years before he died of tuberculosis at the age of 25.[1] They ... Show More
7m 13s
Jan 2019
J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Road Goes Ever On and On" (plus some information on the next memory contest!)
Welcome to The Daily Poem. Today's poem is J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Road Goes Ever On and On." Plus we announce the next memorization contest for the young listeners! Remember: subscribe, rate, review. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Get full access to T ... Show More
6m 36s
Oct 2023
Episode 64: Rupert Recites from Rainer Maria Rilke’s Sonnets to Orpheus
In celebration of National Poetry Day in the UK, we invite you to enjoy Rupert’s recital of Austrian poet and novelist Rainer Maria Rilke. The spontaneous and joyful delivery comes in response to a request to comment on the topic of food. The poem is from Rilke’s collection ‘Sonn ... Show More
1m 31s
Mar 2019
T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"
Welcome back to Th Daily Poem. Today's poem is T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." Remember: subscribe, rate, review! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe 
8m 20s
Jul 2024
John Milton's "When I consider how my light is spent"
In today’s poem, also known as “Sonnet 19,” Milton offers a pious alternative to “raging” against the dying of the light. Happy reading. Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe 
12m 22s