The Poetry Space_

"Live from the House of Blues" was not the way we ever thought we'd begin an episode of our poetry podcast, but thanks to our special guest Frank Turner, it became true with this episode. What followed backstage was a chance to explore songwriting as it relates to poetry, and even moreso, what makes art itself art? And have you heard the rumor that Frank wrote a poem? At the Table: K...

In this episode, we pick up where we left off, exploring "negative space," with Pedro Poitevin, who finishes his poem "Between Us." At the Table: Katie Dozier Timothy Green Pedro Poitevin Brian O'Sullivan Dick Westheimer Joe Barca

In this episode, we explore the concept of "negative space," a term of art usually reserved for non-typographic visual mediums. What is negative space as it relates to poetry? And how can we best utilize it to maximize the positive? Joined by Pedro Poitevin, we dive right in! At the Table: Katie Dozier Timothy Green Pedro Poitevin Brian O'Sullivan Dick Westheimer Joe Barca

Ding, ding! In this episode, we pit poems from issue #96 of Willow Springs up against issue #47.2 of Indiana Review. Which biannual lit mag will reign supreme? Tune in to the main event to find out! At the Table: Katie Dozier Timothy Green

In this episode, we explore self-portrait poems through the lens of visual art—from “plating poems” to Dante Di Stefano’s haunting idea of “ghost-ekphrasis.” Along the way, we dig into standout work by Hayden Saunier, Donald Hall, Seamus Heaney, Chen Chen, A.K. Ramanujan, Denise Duhamel, and Di Stefano himself—plus we paint an intense detour into Caravaggio. If you love ekphrastic poetry, craft ta...

In this episode, Katie reads from her new chapbook All That Glitter which was the 2025 Editor's Choice Winner for the Poetry Box's Chapbook Prize—as selected by Shawn Aveningo Sanders. The chapbook is available for pre-orders now, with an official release date of February 2nd, 2026 on ThePoetryBox.com. At the Table: Katie Dozier Timothy Green

More title nerdery, more poetic mischief! In this episode we keep digging into poem titles with Dante Di Stefano—how a title frames the reader, flips the meaning, or sets the trap door. We continue to unpack Dante’s  Poets & Writers  essay. Warning: you may immediately rename a draft of your own! At the table: Katie Dozier Timothy Green Dante Di Stefano Brian O'Sullivan Dick Westheimer

A perfect title can catapult a poem into greatness, while a one bad one can sabotage even an otherwise strong poem. In this episode, we return to titles (first tackled way back in Ep. 37) with special guest Dante Di Stefano. What makes a good title--and perhaps just as important--what makes for a weak title? At the table: Katie Dozier Timothy Green Dante Di Stefano Brian O'Sullivan Dick Westhe...

We kick off 2026 with a poetry magazine smackdown: American Poetry Review (APR) vs Beloit Poetry Journal (BPJ). We read three random poems from each journal head-to-head to crown a champion—with craft talk, close reads, and a little friendly literary trash talk along the way. At the Table: Katie Dozier Timothy Green

The viral-poem deep dive continues—no coughing required, thanks to remote recording. Katie, Tim, and The Squad read the rest of the lineup and unpack what makes certain poems travel fast: voice, surprise, clarity, heat, and the exact kind of line you can’t help but send to someone. Featuring poems by Taylor Mali, Matthew Olzmann, Joseph Fasano, and Andrea Cohen. At the table: Katie Dozier Timothy...

Fresh off a viral illness (the irony!), Katie, Tim, and The Squad dive into what it means for a poem to “go viral”—and why that metaphor matters. With Brian O’Sullivan, Dick Westheimer, and Joe Barca bringing standout picks, we read and talk craft, shareability, and that lightning-strike feeling when a poem suddenly belongs to everyone. We wrap Part 1 with Alison Luterman’s “Holding Vigil," a...

In episode #121 we bind you into a conversation about chapbooks—what they are, why they matter, and how we can bring them into the world together through self-publishing and small-press routes. We read from our own self-published haibun crown, Did You See the Moon Honey, and share what we learned about shaping a manuscript, editing, design, printing, and finding readers. If you’ve ever dreamed of...

In this episode, we talk with Jackdaw Review founding editor Anna DiMartino about how to start a lit mag from scratch. We dig into naming your literary magazine, defining a clear editorial mission, choosing platforms and submission policies, handling fees and unpaid labor, and building a sustainable readership without burning out. If you’ve ever dreamed of launching your own online poetry journal...

Jane Hirshfield returns to continue our assay of assays, and to talk about poetry's smallest forms—her pebbles and haiku .  Jane's poetry provides proof that a few words can hold whole worlds, and that brevity itself may be one of the deepest forms of generosity. At the table: Jane Hirshfield Katie Dozier Timothy Green Dick Westheimer Brian O'Sullivan

Poet, Zen practitioner, and word-miner Jane Hirshfield joins us to talk about her signature form—the  assay.  We hear the fascinating story of how she created assays, and why curiosity might just be poetry’s truest form. At the table: Jane Hirshfield Katie Dozier Timothy Green Dick Westheimer Brian O'Sullivan

Continuing on in our series of checking out current lit mags, we were excited to look at these two with a lot in common. Both  The Mississippi Review  and  The Florida Review  were founded in 1972 and affiliated with universities. Will one of these two journals reign supreme in our battle of cold-read poems? At the Table: Katie Dozier Timothy Green

What makes a poetry event truly work? From open-mic chaos to moments of real poetic hospitality, we're joined by Rick Lupert to explore the art of hosting. We trade stories, share practical tips, and share a few poems to explore how a good host creates space for both laughter and vulnerability. At the Table: Katie Dozier Timothy Green Rick Lupert Dick Westheimer 

In the second half of our series with Gregory Orr, the conversation turns to grief, tenderness, and the healing power of the lyric. We talk about Emily Dickinson’s role and the role of the lyric in contemporary poetry. If part one asks what the lyric is, part two asks what it’s  for —and how it helps us endure what can’t be said any other way. At the Table: Gregory Orr Katie Dozier Timothy Green D...

What does it mean to write the kind of poem that saves your life? In the first half of our two-part conversation on lyric poetry, we're joined by Gregory Orr to explore that urge to capture private emotion in a single, shining moment. We read and unpack Orr’s poems and look to the past to tracing how feeling becomes a form in itself. Join us as we ask what lyric poetry can do in a noisy world—and...

Katie and Tim crack open their college-era poems—complete with awkward workshop moments, zany titles, and even Tim’s hilarious old pseudonym. From Katie's days at Florida State University with tutelage from Barbara Hamby and David Kirby, to Tim stumbling into an "Intro to Poetry" course with James Longenbach, this episode is fueled by memories. We rip apart our regretful diction, and...

Katie, Tim and the Squad continue exploring persona poems with Suji Kwock Kim’s "Monologue for an Onion," Ai’s "The Kid." They also share their own work—Dick Westheimer’s "Eve Corrects the Record" and Eve’s "First Bite," Brian O’Sullivan’s "No! In Thunder," Joe Barca’s "Abraham Lincoln Talks to His Therapist," Timothy Green’s "Sirhan...

In this episode of The Poetry Space_, we explore the power of persona poems. We dive into Robert Browning’s "My Last Duchess," William Blake’s "The Chimney Sweeper," Nikky Finney’s "Red Velvet," Margaret Atwood’s "Pig Song," and James Tate’s "The Motorcyclists." What happens when poets speak through masks, giving voice to dukes, children, pigs, and...

In the second half of our visit with Billy Collins, the door stays wide open. We talk dogs, humor, memory, and the surprising turns that make his poems feel like they’ve been waiting for us all along. If the first episode was the invitation, this one’s the living room conversation you never want to leave. At the Table: Katie Dozier Timothy Green Billy Collins Dick Westhiemer Joe Barca Nate Jacob B...

Billy Collins joins Katie and Tim for a conversation that we hope feels like one of his poems: open-armed, slyly funny, and disarming in the best way. We dive into the idea of  poetic hospitality —how a poem welcomes its reader in—and explore how Billy pulls off that rare trick of being both approachable and profound. At the Table: Katie Dozier Timothy Green Billy Collins Dick Westhiemer Joe Barca...

The first episode that falls under the new “current state of lit mags” banner, Katie, Tim and the Squad examine the New Yorker which has been in print for 100 years. Will the institution’s high profile equate to a consistently high caliber of poems? Listen in as we discuss recent poems to appear in the New Yorker by Maya C. Popa, Jericho Brown, Ocean Vuong, and Bob Hicok. At the Table: Katie Dozie...