Close Talking: A Poetry Podcast

Connor and Jack look at a poem by the great, late Lucille Clifton. They discuss the human capacity for violence, roaches in the big apple, dual voicings of memory, and the poem's incredible last sentence. More on Clifton here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/lucille-clifton Check out her Collected Poems here: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/12/books/the-collected-poems-of-lucille-clifton-19...

Connor and Jack look at a poem with a long title (too long to fit in the title of this podcast!). They discuss climate change, neoliberalism, the dark heart of the human character, and the way the poem builds to its conclusion. Find us on Facebook at: facebook.com/closetalking 
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Connor and Jack scour the gently unsettling poem "Gesture with Both Hands Tied" by Marcelo Hernandez Castillo. They discuss the poem's challenging lack of a stable speaker, negations of contradictions of negations, and a hypothetical play involving a character mostly not getting up from their chair. You can find Marcelo Hernandez Castillo's work here: https://www.marcelohernandezcastillo.com/ Find...

Connor and Jack dive into a funny poem with serious depths, Kathy Fagan's Ontology and the Platypus. They discuss the evolutionary wonder that is the platypus, taking humor seriously, Yeats' wild theories about history, and much more! You can find Kathy Fagan's latest book, Sycamore, here: https://milkweed.org/book/sycamore Find us on Facebook at: facebook.com/closetalking 
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Connor and Jack delve into the poem "Clear Night" by the titan Charles Wright. They discuss the poem's intensity of emotion, the English Renaissance poet John Donne, Connor's hypothetical moody high school journals, and Star Wars Ring Theory. Learn more about Wright here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/charles-wright Find us on Facebook at: facebook.com/closetalking 
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Connor and Jack had so much to say about Toni Morrison's "Someone Leans Near" that it didn't all fit in one show! In this week's extra episode, they discuss the ending of the poem in depth as well as the idea of endings, especially those that subvert expectations. They also contemplate Morrison's incalculable contribution to literary life and her vibrant legacy. Check out Episode #075 for a full c...

Connor and Jack explore the poem "Tenebris" by the great Harlem Renaissance writer Angelina Weld Grimké. They discuss the poem's powerful meanings on white supremacy during Jim Crowe, the poem's haunting final question, and the relationship between audience and ambiguity. Learn more about Grimké here: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Angelina-Weld-Grimke Find us on Facebook at: facebook.com/cl...

This last week, the world mourned the passing of literary titan Toni Morrison. Morrison famously said, "I don't like to have someone call my books 'poetic' because it has the connotation of luxuriating richness. I wanted to restore the language black people spoke to its original power." Morrison did, however, write 5 poems. Connor and Jack Discuss one of them, "Someone Leans Near." Read all five o...

REBROADCAST in honor of Joy Harjo's appointment as US Poet Laureate! Connor and Jack discuss Joy Harjo's "An American Sunrise. Along the way Jack recommends a documentary, Connor gives his current hot take on form in poetry, and both think about the origins of blues, jazz, and rock and roll. Check out Joy Harjo's latest book here: http://joyharjo.com/book/conflict-resolution-for-holy-beings/ Find...

Connor and Jack dig into The Condoleezza Suite [Excerpt] Concerto No. 7 Condoleezza {working out} at the Watergate by the incredible Nikky Finney. They discuss signs and signifiers, the legacy of the George W. Bush administration, the fallacies of respectability politics and much more. Learn more about Nikky Finney: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/nikky-finney Buy Head Off and Split here: h...

Connor and Jack explore Jenny Xie's poem "Private Property" from her National Book Award finalist collection, Eye Level. They cram into the poem's crammed subway car—probably the 4 uptown—and think through how it engages with bodies, beautiful "r" sounds, and of course, late capitalism. Learn more about Xie here: http://www.jennymxie.com/ Order her book here: https://www.graywolfpress.org/books/ey...

Connor and Jack discuss Kamala Surayya's haunting poem, My Grandmother's House. Memory and nostalgia, the use of houses in poetry and song, and even a reference to Mad Men: this episode has it all. Find us on Facebook at: facebook.com/closetalking 
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Connor and Jack discuss the poignant, quiet poem "Child Holding Potato" by Rick Barot. They consider, in Barot's own words, the "limits of art to console," time's relentless march, and the power of stressed syllables. Jack may or may not muse about the one and only Bruce, and Connor may or may not rant about the state of iambic pentameter education. Learn more about Barot, here: https://www.poetry...

Connor and Jack reach back to 1937 and discuss this unsettling, icy gem from Russian poet and essayist Osip Mandelstam. They talk embedded metaphors (embedaphors), possible political readings, and the value of treating a poem like this one as an experience rather than a puzzle. Learn more about Mandelstam, here: https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/osip-mandelstam Read John High's translators' note...

In this thrilling conclusion to haiku week Connor and Jack explore haiku that deal with more than nature and the natural world. They also look at forms like the haibun that incorporate the haiku but expand beyond it. Episode 1: https://soundcloud.com/close-talking/episode-062-renga-haiku-week-ep-1 Episode 2: https://soundcloud.com/close-talking/episode-63-syllables-haiku-week-ep-2 Episode 3: https...

Translation is such a huge topic in haiku we decided it needed two episodes! Connor and Jack continue their discussion of Basho's famous haiku and add context about its origins. You can find the book that Connor mentions here: www.ndbooks.com/book/on-haiku/ Episode 1: https://soundcloud.com/close-talking/episode-062-renga-haiku-week-ep-1 Episode 2: https://soundcloud.com/close-talking/episode-63-s...

Most classic haiku come to English speakers through translation. Connor and Jack use one of Basho's most famous haiku as a way into the thorny question of what translation means to the form. You can find the book that Connor mentions here: www.ndbooks.com/book/on-haiku/ Episode 1: https://soundcloud.com/close-talking/episode-062-renga-haiku-week-ep-1 Episode 2: https://soundcloud.com/close-talking...

Do haiku need to be 3 lines? How does lineation work in haiku anyway? Connor and Jack dig into these questions with reference to works by Hashimoto Takako, Mayuzumi Madoka, and Basho. You can find the book that Connor mentions here: www.ndbooks.com/book/on-haiku/ Episode 1: https://soundcloud.com/close-talking/episode-062-renga-haiku-week-ep-1 Episode 2: https://soundcloud.com/close-talking/episod...

Since Connor and Jack decided during episode 2 of haiku week that the 5-7-5 syllable rule does not define what makes a haiku, they explore the question: how do you know you are writing/reading a haiku? In the third episode of haiku week, they discuss the concept of the break or turn in a haiku. You can find the book that Connor mentions here: https://www.ndbooks.com/book/on-haiku/ Episode 1: https...

If you've heard of haiku, you've probably heard about the rule of 5-7-5: the numbers of syllables that are "supposed" to be in each line of the poem. Connor and Jack go after the 5-7-5 rule the way Tormund Giantsbane went after the knighting conventions of Westeros in Game of Thrones. For more on haiku, syllables, and Ser Brienne of Tarth, check this episode out! You can find episode 1 of our haik...

Connor and Jack close out National Poetry Month 2019 in style with a special week-long series on haiku! To start off, a look at the history of the form. They discuss renga, the linked verse game from which the contemporary haiku evolved, and even try their hands at writing one. Find us on Facebook at: facebook.com/closetalking 
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Connor and Jack explore the poem “Medical History” by Nicole Sealey. They consider medical histories as a form, think through the link between racism and black health disparities, try to figure out what makes the ending so startling and incredible, and meander embarrassingly into the world of sportsball. Read the poem below. Check out her debut collection here: https://www.harpercollins.com/978006...

Connor and Jack explore this poem by Paige Lewis, author of the forthcoming (and hotly anticipated) collection Space Struck, which will publish in October 2019. They explore some of the poem's "zinger" lines, and entangle themselves in its intoxicating web of religion, labor history, medicine, and (insidious?) miracles. Read the poem below. Preorder Space Struck: http://www.sarabandebooks.org/titl...

W. S. Merwin's recent passing got Connor and Jack thinking about his work. In this episode they explore the elegantly structured, gut-punchingly powerful "For the Anniversary of My Death" from Merwin's collection "The Lice." Jack brings up the concept of the presence of absence and Connor finds new levels of sonic resonance in the poem's final line. Read the poem below.
 More on Merwin, here: http...

A day late but it's here! Connor and Jack explore the haunting poem, “Stammer,” by Cynthia Cruz. They delight in the incredible sounds of the poem, think about what makes this poem difficult, and consider how this poem shows one way of engaging with the traumatic or inexpressible. Read the poem below.

 More on Cynthia Cruz, here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/cynthia-cruz Check out the W...