Poetry Spoken Here

Alifair Skebe from Albany, New York, explains the subtleties of elliptical poetry and provides a few examples from her just-published book, "Thin Matter." In the second part of the show, host Charlie Rossiter discusses former poet laureate Rita Dove's recently published, "Complete Poems: 1974-2004."

Poetry Spoken Here officially has a sister podcast! After months of planning, Poetry Spoken Here producer and technical director, Jack Rossiter-Munley and his dear friend (and MFA candidate in poetry) Connor Stratton have launched Close Talking. Usually they take one work and dig deep discussing for 20-30 minutes. In light of Tuesday's election, they decided to scarp their pre-recorded first episode and instead recorded this honest discussion about their reactions to the results and what literary works were connecting with them. Be sure to check it out! New episodes of Close Talking will post every 2nd and 4th Friday. Any week there isn't a new episode of Poetry Spoken Here, there will be a new episode of Close Talking. High quality poetry content coming to your podcast feed every week. How great is that!?! You can like Close Talking on facebook at facebook.com/closetalking, or follow on twitter at twitter.com/closetalking. If you want to contact Jack and Connor, send them an e-mail at closetalkingpoetry@g

Pleased to announce Poetry Spoken Here's sister podcast: Close Talking. Close Talking is a podcast hosted by good friends Connor Stratton and Jack Rossiter-Munley. New episodes will come out the 2nd and 4th Friday of every month. FIRST EPISODE COMING 11/11! Co-Hosts Connor and Jack take a different poem in each episode and dig deep into its literary, cultural, and historical components. They laugh, they joke, they try to attain a deeper level of emotional and intellectual understanding. All in about 20-30 minutes!

Virginia poet John Berry, author of "Wobbly Man," reads his work and tells the story of how poetry saved his life. In the second part of the episode, Host Charlie Rossiter explores how poetry helped connect two friends, one in the advanced stages of dementia.

Tom Nicotera of Bloomfield, CT reads poems accompanied by bodhran and blues harmonica. Host Charlie Rossiter re-visits a piece of feminist literary history, the anthology Psyche: The Feminine Poetic Consciousness.

Craig Czury reads and discusses poems from his new book "Thumb Notes Almanac: Hitchhiking the Marcellus Shale" which chronicles his time traveling Northeastern Pennsylvania's coal/fracking country. In the second part of the show, host Charlie Rossiter reviews former U.S. Poet Laureate Philip Levine’s just-published posthumous collection, "The Last Shift."

New York poet Anthony Bernini from Brunswick, NY shares poems and talks about his life as a poet outside the system. Host Charlie Rossiter reviews W.S. Merwin’s latest book, "Garden Times," just out from Copper Canyon Press.

Michigan poet, David Cope, talks about his long-time friendship and correspondence with Allen Ginsberg and reads poems, including two elegies for Allen in a special extended-length interview.

Texas poet Melissa Studdard is featured. She reads from her new book "I Ate the Cosmos for Breakfast" and discusses her creative process. In the second part of the show, host Charlie Rossiter considers the implications of Maya Angelou's poem "The Human Family" being used by Apple in an ad during the Rio Olympics.

New York poet Amy King, winner of the 2015 Women’s National Book Association Award Winner, reads from "The Missing Museum." Then host Charlie Rossiter introduces the work of Nevada poet, Kirk Robertson.

Michael Czarnecki, poet and founding publisher of FootHills Publishing is interviewed. He reads from his work and discusses his influences including Frost, Jeffers, Snyder and ancient Chinese poets. Host, Charlie Rossiter, explains how to support the non-profit of your choice when you shop online.

Part two of Producer Jack Rossiter-Munley's interview with Sam Grayck about the poetry and poets of WWI. In this part of the interview they discuss specific poets and their poems. Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen, and Edmund Blunden are discussed among others. Poems analyzed include "Anthem for Doomed Youth", "Dulce et Decorum Est", "The Redeemer" and more.

Somali-American poet, Ladan Osman is featured. She reads her poetry and discusses how she used Wordle to edit her book. In the second part of the show, The Book Thing, a free book warehouse in Baltimore, Maryland going through a hard time is highlighted.

Mong-Lan, a poet, writer, multi-instumentalist, dancer, and visual artist is featured. She was born in Saigon and left with her family in 1975. She has published many works of poetry and continually explores new realms of creative expression. On the podcast, she reads poems from her latest collection and discusses her many sources of creative inspiration In the second part of the show, host Charlie Rossiter discusses smashwords.com a website that facilitates free self publishing.

Karen Holmes of Atlanta, GA, reads from her book of divorce and relationship poems, "Untying the Knot." Eliot Katz's "The Poetry and Politics of Allan Ginsberg" is reviewed. Katz's book is the first in-depth critical analysis of politics in Ginsberg's work.

Producer Jack Rossiter-Munley talks with Sam Gayck about the the social, political, and cultural impact of WWI. The state of poetry and literature before and after the war, and the differing impact of the war in the various countries involved is also discussed. NEXT WEEK: The Poets and Poems of WWI

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT! To celebrate Poetry Month, during April, there will be a new Poetry Spoken Here episode every Friday. All four episodes will focus on the theme of poetry and war. Through conversations with scholars, poets, activists, and veterans, we examine the tangled history of poetry and war. First episode comes out next week on 4/8/16.

Massachusetts poet Lori Desrosiers reads from her new book, "Sometimes I Hear the Clock Speak." Sarah Browning, Executive Director of Split This Rock talks about the D.C. organization and a festival that focuses on poetry that bears witness and provokes social change. Special music provided by Chicago-based harpist Yomi.

Bunkong Tuon reads poems from his new book "Gruel" and talks about how the poetry of Charles Bukowski helped turn a community college drop-out from Cambodia into a professor of English. In the second part of the show, "I Just Hope It’s Lethal," an anthology of poems about depression, is reviewed.

Kristin LaTour reads from her new book "What Will Keep Us Alive" and talks about what inspires her to write. Wess Mongo Jolley discusses the Performance Poetry Preservation Project, an initiative dedicated to creating an online archive of recordings documenting the history of the poetry slam movement.