logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2024
5m 11s

1244: Poem by Frank O'Hara

American Public Media
About this episode

Today’s poem is Poem (“Instant coffee with…”) by Frank O'Hara. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual.


In this episode, guest host Myka Kielbon writes… “Loren was the person I knew in New York who was the same kind of lost as me. There is a magic to how we find each other when we need each other. It seems like our souls sort of… orbit until they reach out. They land. They find ground and we find a friend, even if it’s temporary.”


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

Up next
Mar 27
[encore] 1381: What Is This Air Changing, This Warm Aura, These Threads of Air Vibrating Rows of People by Ariel Yelen
Today’s poem is What Is This Air Changing, This Warm Aura, These Threads of Air Vibrating Rows of People by Ariel Yelen. The Slowdown is taking a week to return to some of our favorite episodes from Maggie’s tenure so far. We’ll be back on Monday, March 30 with new episodes. Toda ... Show More
6m 38s
Mar 26
[encore] 1460: Poem to Remind Myself of the Natural Order of Things by Donika Kelly
Today’s poem is Poem to Remind Myself of the Natural Order of Things by Donika Kelly. The Slowdown is taking a week to return to some of our favorite episodes from Maggie’s tenure so far. We’ll be back on Monday, March 30 with new episodes. Today’s episode was originally released ... Show More
5m 43s
Mar 25
[encore] 1429: Midlife Crisis by Jane Zwart
The Slowdown is taking a week to return to some of our favorite episodes from Maggie’s tenure so far. Today’s poem is Midlife Crisis by Jane Zwart. We’ll be back on Monday, March 30 with new episodes. Today’s episode was originally released on January 7, 2026. In this episode, Ma ... Show More
5m 40s
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2023
Two Poems About Butter
<p>Today we pay tribute, with poems by Andrea Cohen and Elizabeth Alexander, to the indispensable golden wonder.</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://dailypoempod.subst ... Show More
4m 48s
Mar 2021
[Unedited] Naomi Shihab Nye with Krista Tippett
It’s pretty intriguing to follow poet Naomi Shihab Nye’s idea that most of us actually “think in poems” whether we know it or not. Rarely, as she points out, do you hear anyone say they feel worse after writing things down. That, she says, can be a tool to survive in hard times l ... Show More
1h 34m
Oct 2014
Becca J.R. Lachman, “A Ritual to Read Together: Poems in Conversation with William Stafford” (Woodley Press, 2013)
About twenty years ago, I heard William Stafford read his poetry for about twenty minutes. For a young aspiring writer like I was then, he was mesmerizing, a mix of poetic energy and grandfatherly wisdom, with a high-spirited charm. I think it was the first poetry reading that I ... Show More
37m 36s
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
Aug 2023
No Compromise #58: Edgar Allan Poe’s Lost Love
<p>Jenny and I are lovers of great literature.</p> <p>We hope you enjoy our weaving together of three great poems by Edgar Allan Poe - "The Raven," "Annabel Lee" and "The Bells." Our production has been a three-day whirlwind of activity - late nights and early mornings. Hopefully ... Show More
27m 27s