Close Talking: A Poetry Podcast

After a few political episodes, Connor and Jack dig deep into a poem of loss and remembrance this week: Marie Howe's "What the Living Do" More on Marie Howe: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poets/detail/marie-howe What the Living Do By: Marie Howe Johnny, the kitchen sink has been clogged for days, some utensil probably fell down there. And the Drano won't work but smells dangerou...

Connor and Jack discuss the Ray Gonzalez poem "The Lynching Postcard, Duluth, Minnesota." Learn more about Ray Gonzalez here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poets/detail/ray-gonzalez Learn more about his new collection of poetry, here: http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-938160-83-7 The Lynching Postcard, Duluth, Minnesota By: Ray Gonzalez There is a postcard in an antique shop...

Connor and Jack discuss the Langston Hughes poem "Kids Who Die" a work that, especially in light of the inauguration and recent protests, has an enduring resonance. This poem is, in small part, a prayer for resisters everywhere. Find us on facebook at: facebook.com/closetalking Find us on twitter at: twitter.com/closetalking You can always send us an e-mail with thoughts on this or any of our prev...

In this special episode, Jack and Connor discuss Specimen Days [The Inauguration], Walt Whitman's poetic reflection on Abraham Lincoln's second inauguration in 1865. Today is inauguration day in the United States. For the first time since Robert Frost read at John F. Kennedy’s inauguration in 1961, there will not be an inaugural poem. Perhaps there is no great meaning to be found in this. However,...

Connor and Jack dig into an excerpt from Dawn Lundy Martin's work, "Life in a Box is a Pretty Life" Their discussion delves into the questions the poem raises about race, gender, sexual orientation, and what it means to live in a body that patriarchal society has difficulty embracing. Excerpt from Life in a Box is a Pretty Life By: Dawn Lundy Martin Lake, interminable. I do not know where my house...

Connor and Jack tackle a classic this week, discussing Maya Angelou's poem "Still I Rise." Always a popular work, it was referenced twice in popular culture during 2016: in a video featuring Serena Williams after her Wimbledon victory, and by Corey Booker at the Democratic National Convention. Still I Rise By: Maya Angelou You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may tr...

This week Jack and Connor tackle a poem of Connor's choosing, "Orphanotrophia" by Sun Yung Shin. [Orphanotrophia] By: Sun Yung Shin A broad black market The women are urnfields The children are binding out Dark in the trains, a burning mouth to eat a shovelful of black diamonds Leak blood, trickle milk, time weeps Going over the falls Washing to shore, done and undone Law-and-order, over the falls...

Gandalf may have returned at the turn of the tide. We here at Close Talking return on the 2nd and 4th Friday of every month! Be sure to check out the new episode dropping this Friday. Like us on facebook at facebook.com/CloseTalking, follow us on twitter at twitter.com/CloseTalking and get in on the conversation by sending us e-mail at closetalkingpoetry@gmail.com. Submit ideas for poems we should...

The first *real* episode of Close Talking featuring Jack and Connor's discussion of the poem "Urban Renewal" by Yusef Komunyakaa. Find out how Jack and Connor came to create the Close Talking podcast, what their thoughts are on the poem, and much more in this thrilling episode. Urban Renewal By: Yusef Komunyakaa The sun slides down behind brick dust, today’s angle of life. Everything melts, even w...

This is not the first episode that hosts Connor Stratton and Jack Rossiter-Munley had planned. In light of the election results on Tuesday, they scrapped their pre-recorded show (tune in on Friday 11/25 for their discussion of "Urban Renewal" by Yousef Komunyakaa) in favor of the conversation they had last night. In this honest discussion, they explore how they are dealing with the aftermath of th...

The first episode of Close Talking premiers tomorrow. For a little levity in your life, listen to this outtake from that show featuring hosts Jack Rossiter-Munley and Connor Stratton discussing heir various meat preferences. New episodes of Close Talking are posted every 2nd and 4th Friday. Stay tuned!

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 intellec...