Podcast Episodes

Layli Long Soldier — WHEREAS my eyes land on the shoreline

Season 2 Episode 18

When you feel like crying, do you cry? Or do you stifle it? Why? 

The U.S. Congress 2009 “Joint resolution to acknowledge a long history of official d…

5 years, 9 months ago

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Chen Chen — I Invite My Parents to a Dinner Party

Season 2 Episode 17

In this poem, a son writes to his parents and invites them to a meal, letting them know that his boyfriend will also be there. He gives instruction t…

5 years, 9 months ago

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Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill — Ceist na Teangan (The Language Issue)

Season 2 Episode 16

Are there languages that once were spoken in your family that are not anymore? What caused those changes? 

This poem considers the plight of a languag…

5 years, 9 months ago

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Aracelis Girmay — Consider the Hands that Write this Letter

Season 2 Episode 15

When you’re writing by hand, where is your other hand? What story is the space between your two hands — your dominant hand and non-dominant hand — te…

5 years, 10 months ago

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Tayi Tibble — Our Nan Lets Us Smoke Inside

Season 2 Episode 14

Who is in your chosen family? 

This poem considers the lines of loyalty in families and how particular memories, like a grandmother keeping “wishbones…

5 years, 10 months ago

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Paul Tran — The Cave

Season 2 Episode 13

What have you had to explore on your own? What, or who, helped? 

This poem explores the archetype of the cave — a cave that calls, a cave that contain…

5 years, 10 months ago

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Philip Metres — One Tree

Season 2 Episode 12

What do you notice about how you behave in times of conflict? Do you tend toward avoidance? Or compromise? Or collaboration? Or competition? Or accom…

5 years, 10 months ago

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Roger Robinson — A Portable Paradise

Season 2 Episode 11

How do you hold onto hope? And who helped you find it? 

This poem is about holding onto paradise in the midst of an environment that seeks to steal or…

5 years, 10 months ago

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Seán Hewitt — Suibhne is wounded, and confesses

Season 2 Episode 10

In times of isolation, what stories have you turned to for comfort?  

This poem is an exploration of isolation as seen through the mythical Irish char…

5 years, 10 months ago

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Meleika Gesa-Fatafehi — Say My Name

Season 2 Episode 9

What is the story of your name? 

In this poem, the poet calls on place, ancestors, and history to bear witness to the dignity of their name. They reca…

5 years, 10 months ago

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