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John Donne's "The Relic"
John Donne muses on the ineffability of a chaste love and devises a brilliant (or, at any rate, novel) scheme for reuniting with his loved one in the…
11 months ago
J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Last of the Old Gods"
Tolkien was no believer in the power of geo-political solutions to better the state of man, convinced that his duty was to fight “the long defeat” wh…
11 months, 1 week ago
Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Fable"
Emerson spent a lot of time observing the natural world. In today’s poem, he couples that pastime with an art form that specializes in human nature. …
11 months, 1 week ago
Geoffrey Hill's "Genesis"
In today’s poem, a young Geoffrey Hill is looking for a story to believe in. Happy reading.
Known as one of the greatest poets of his generation writi…
11 months, 1 week ago
Prince Hal's soliloquy from Henry IV, pt.1 ("herein will I imitate the sun")
In today’s poem, Shakespeare puts the theatre in political theater via a candid moment with the future King Henry V in Henry IV pt. 1, Act 1, Scene 2…
11 months, 2 weeks ago
Phineas Fletcher's "A Litany"
Today’s poem is a short meditation on grief made enduringly-famous after Orlando Gibbons set it to music. You can hear an arrangement of that piece h…
11 months, 2 weeks ago
Richard Wilbur's "The Writer"
Today’s poem goes out to 6-year-od girls and their dads. Happy reading!
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscriber…
11 months, 2 weeks ago
Alfred Tennyson's "In Memoriam..." 1-3
In today’s poem, a young Tennyson begins the long wrestling with grief.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscriber…
11 months, 3 weeks ago
Kenn Nesbitt's "Our Teacher's Not a Zombie"
Today’s poem may or may not be based on actual events. Happy reading!
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers …
11 months, 3 weeks ago
Donald Hall's "An Old Life"
In the latter years of his career and life, Donald Hall became something of an expert on growing old (his essay collections Essays After Eighty and A…
11 months, 3 weeks ago