‘Goblin Market’ was the title poem of Christina Rossetti’s first collection, published in 1862, and while she disclaimed any allegorical purpose in it, modern readers have found it hard to resist political interpretations. The poem’s most obvious preoccupation seems to be the Victorian notion of the ‘fallen woman’. When she wrote it Rossetti was working at t ... Show More
Nov 17
Fiction and the Fantastic: Two Novels by Ursula K. Le Guin
When the polymorphous writer Ursula K. Le Guin died in 2018, she left behind novels, short stories, poetry, essays, manifestos and French and Chinese translations. The huge and loyal readership among children and older readers that she built during her lifetime has only grown sin ... Show More
14m 3s
Nov 2024
Conversations: How Women Became Poets, Gender History in Greek Literature w/ Emily Hauser
Liv speaks with author Emily Hauser about her book How Women Became Poets. They look at women in Greek myth, literature, etymology, and, very specifically, the long and arduous history of women 'poets' in Greek literature. Plus, a sneak peak at Emily's next work: Mythica/Penelope ... Show More
1h 51m
Jan 2025
Diannely Antigua — Another Poem about God, but Really It’s about Me
“You would’ve made a lousy nun.” The narrator of Diannely Antigua’s “Another Poem about God, but Really It’s about Me” overhears these words, and they jolt her into contrasting her life experience with the limited archetypes offered by her church — good daughter, good sister, hol ... Show More
16m 21s
Aug 2024
1179: Nude by James Kelly Quigley
<p>Today’s poem is Nude by James Kelly Quigley.</p><br/><p>The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “I long to write poems of a mystical nature, where the wisdom of the ages is carried forth in new forms and phrases. Today’s brief poem, in its asso ... Show More
4m 39s
Feb 2025
Porch Stories: Jewell Parker Rhodes on Ghosts, History, and Staying Open to Love
“For every child that thinks something is wrong with them, my books are saying, ‘be you, even if others can’t see you. The people who don’t see your beauty, see your glory–they have a problem. Something is wrong with their eyes, their soul.’” – Jewell Parker RhodesRaised mainly b ... Show More
48m 26s
May 2024
Constantine P. Cavafy — Poems as Teachers | Ep 3
We ask questions to find out the facts, but what if you can’t trust the answers, the questions, or the person who's asking the questions? In Constantine P. Cavafy’s “Waiting for the Barbarians,” translated by Evan Jones, leaders exercise a sinister kind of violence — they’ve take ... Show More
17m 23s
Aug 2024
1180: The Gardener 85 by Rabindranath Tagore
<p>Today’s poem is The Gardener 85 by Rabindranath Tagore.</p><br/><p>The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “Poetry has a way of collapsing time, and by working the senses, having us experience an era. In the blues rhythms of Langston Hughes’ po ... Show More
6m 17s
Apr 2025
Re-release: How to enrich your everyday life with poetry (w/ Sarah Kay)
<p>Roses are red, violets are blue, has poetry ever been intimidating for you? For many people, this art form can feel unapproachable, but poet and educator Sarah Kay, suggests that people who don’t like poetry just maybe haven’t found a poem that really speaks to them. Sarah pro ... Show More
31m 28s