Be True: Life in Literature

John reads “Somehow I made it home okay,” a poem from his forthcoming book of story-poems and pictures, The Americans. John Tessitore has been a journalist and biographer. He has taught history and literature at colleges around Boston and directed national policy studies on education and civil justice. He serves as Co-Editor Across the Pond for  The Wee Sparrow Poetry Pres s. His poems have appear...

John reads an excerpt of his poem “Chromolodeon” from his chapbook Parchment: A Prayer Quintet. He also discusses joyful rebellion, the progressive tradition, his love of Walt Whitman, and a fighter’s hope. John Tessitore has been a journalist and biographer. He has taught history and literature at colleges around Boston and directed national policy studies on education and civil justice. He serve...

John reads “Shaken earth was not his enemy” from his chapbook My City of Yesterday. He also discusses suburban odysseys, living open to opportunity, and how the perfect book cover fell into his lap. John Tessitore has been a journalist and biographer. He has taught history and literature at colleges around Boston and directed national policy studies on education and civil justice. He serves as Co-...

John reads “Marching past the flags” from his chapbook, For a minute there… He also discusses colonialism, the price of “progress,” and an evening he spent with Yo Yo Ma. John Tessitore has been a journalist and biographer. He has taught history and literature at colleges around Boston and directed national policy studies on education and civil justice. He serves as Co-Editor Across the Pond for ...

John reads “Cycles,” a protest poem, without commentary. John Tessitore has been a journalist and biographer. He has taught history and literature at colleges around Boston and directed national policy studies on education and civil justice. He serves as Co-Editor Across the Pond for  The Wee Sparrow Poetry Pres s. His poems have appeared in a variety of journals. In each episode of  Be True , he...

John reads the opening sections of his chapbook I Sit At This Desk and Dream. He also discusses the value of Instagram, the power of creativity, and the genius of T.S. Eliot. John Tessitore has been a journalist and biographer. He has taught history and literature at colleges around Boston and directed national policy studies on education and civil justice. He serves as Co-Editor Across the Pond f...

John reads his poem, “There is no bruise without blood” from his chapbook Body Songs. He also discusses the radical potential of erotic love, the evils of repression, and why saints are nuts. John Tessitore has been a journalist and biographer. He has taught history and literature at colleges around Boston and directed national policy studies on education and civil justice. He serves as Co-Editor...

John reads “There was no perfection” from his chapbook For a minute there… He discusses the technologies of openness, U2’s extraordinary record, Achtung Baby, and the birth and death of the 90s dream. John Tessitore has been a journalist and biographer. He has taught history and literature at colleges around Boston and directed national policy studies on education and civil justice. He serves as C...

John reads his poem, “Easter 2020,” recently published in Boats Against the Current. He also discusses daffodils, New England’s stone walls, and life during the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown. John Tessitore has been a journalist and biographer. He has taught history and literature at colleges around Boston and directed national policy studies on education and civil justice. He serves as Co-Editor...

John reads his poem “The Narrow Gate” from his chapbook All the Lonely American Roads. He also discusses a-holes, driving on the Belt Parkway, and his father (not for the last time). John Tessitore has been a journalist and biographer. He has taught history and literature at colleges around Boston and directed national policy studies on education and civil justice. He serves as Co-Editor Across th...

John reads “Such bitterness is how we express our frailty” from his chapbook We Are Becoming Unbound. He also discusses crack-ups, albatrosses, and his Goth hero Charles Baudelaire. John Tessitore has been a journalist and biographer. He has taught history and literature at colleges around Boston and directed national policy studies on education and civil justice. He serves as Co-Editor Across the...

John reads “Blue and Brown,” his new protest poem, without commentary. John Tessitore has been a journalist and biographer. He has taught history and literature at colleges around Boston and directed national policy studies on education and civil justice. He serves as Co-Editor Across the Pond for The Wee Sparrow Poetry Pres s. His poems have appeared in a variety of journals. In each episode of B...

John reads “When you saw me the first time” from his chapbook My City of Yesterday. He discusses lyric poetry, private languages, and song writing (no spoilers!). John Tessitore has been a journalist and biographer. He has taught history and literature at colleges around Boston and directed national policy studies on education and civil justice. He serves as Co-Editor Across the Pond for The Wee S...

John reads “Sweating” from his chapbook Sometimes I Still Pray: A Family Album. He discusses response poems, his grandfather’s pride in plumbing, and the poetry of Seamus Heaney. John Tessitore has been a journalist and biographer. He has taught history and literature at colleges around Boston and directed national policy studies on education and civil justice. He serves as Co-Editor Across the Po...

John reads “It is easier to be earnest,” from his chapbook For a minute there... He discusses his inspiration in New York City in the 90s, the dangers of false optimism, and the poetry of Kurt Cobain. John Tessitore has been a journalist and biographer. He has taught history and literature at colleges around Boston and directed national policy studies on education and civil justice. He serves as C...

John reads “One hopes for age appropriate” from his little book, I Sit At This Desk and Dream. He discusses its inspiration in an Instagram post, the importance of erotica to a well-lived life, and the miracle of a good punch line. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit johntessitore.substack.com

John Tessitore reads “New Harmonic Canon” from his collection Parchment (available at johntessitore.com ). He discusses its relation to the life and work of Harry Partch, Walt Whitman, and the “old, weird America.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit johntessitore.substack.com

John reads “Dress Up,” from his new chapbook, Sometimes I Still Pray (available at johntessitore.com). He discusses the poem’s roots in childhood memory and its debt to the work of James Merrill. John Tessitore has been a journalist and biographer. He has taught history and literature at colleges around Boston and directed national policy studies on education and civil justice. He serves as Co-Edi...