Preston's Poetry Podcast

In this episode of Preston's Poetry Podcast ----- I'm wasting your time with a rant about why I (usually) hate couplets. It's also another "screw you" to some 19th-century poets, which is always nice. I'll be comparing the great couplet use of Robert Frost with Robert Louis Stevenson -- "Nothing Gold Can Stay" and "The Land of Nod" (respectively, the latter I hate.) Plus a cameo appearance of one of my favorites, "Briggflatts" by Basil Bunting.Producer Gustav Worm-LethOutro Yentl Tijssens

We’ve also previously been talking about this dynamic interchange – what Hopkins calls counterpoint — between Form and Function, how truly great poems take on a form not because the form is important in itself but because the structure of the poem somehow reflects the subject matter. So, what about free verse? Today’s poem is a good example about how free verse itself can serve a function. Join me for "Small Kindnesses" by Danusha Lameris!Used with consent from the author.Production Gustav Worm-LethOutro Yentl Tijssens

CONTENT WARNING: AbortionToday I'll be addressing a heavy but beautiful poem by Gwendolyn Brooks, "the mother." Some say it's a pro-, some say it's an anti-abortion poem. It's actually neither -- rather, it's a good example of what the role of the poet is in the middle of controversy, hatred, judgment, peril, and political divide.Used/Reprinted by Consent of Brooks PermissionsProducer Gustav Worm-LethOutro Yentl Tijssens

In this episode, I will have the immense pleasure of introducing you to one of my all-time favorite poets, Gwendolyn Brooks. We'll be talking about "THE CANON" and how we can look to poets like Gwendolyn Brooks to know where the limits of our reverence for tradition should lie -- with a really cool, short, jazzy poem, "We Real Cool."Used/Reprinted By Consent of Brooks Permissions.-----Outro Yentl TijssensProducer Gustav Worm-Leth

I'll be rapid-firing haiku! We'll talk about the history of Haiku (Hoku + Haikai) and how to read them! If you wanna check out more on Haiku, check out this great youtube video by Kent Morita and Takahiro Dunn.Guest starring: a teacher in Ibaraki Prefecture in Japan!Production Gustav LethOutro Yentl Tijssens

In this two-part miniseries about two poets' takes on Pieter Bruegel's The Fall of Icarus (c. 1560), I'll be looking at William Carlos Williams' sober take in his Landscape with the Fall of Icarus.Intro: Johnny Loves MeProduction Gustav Worm-LethOutro Yentl Tijssens

We've got a very special episode today by living poet Dr. Donald Platt (Purdue Univ.). We'll be discussing Ekphrastic poems, which are poems written about a work of art. Today's poem, called Cloud Study after John Constable's 1820s Study of Clouds, will be read by the poet himself!You can purchase Platt's Swansdown from the publisher, Grid Books here!Audio and Poem used by Author's permission.Production Gustav Worm-LethOutro Yentl Tijssens

In this episode, I'll be revisiting my grand idea that poetic form follows function. We'll be looking at Edwin Arlington Robinson's great loser, Miniver Cheevy, to address how he uses a system of sound in poetry called prosody to make his point. By the end of this episode, you should have a clearer idea of how I think the form of a poem out to match the content, even enhance it!NOTE: This episode was recorded on different equipment than usual. Let me know if you love it or hate it.Production Gustav Worm-LethOutro Yentl Tijssens