It’s a Poetic Life w/ Enzo the Poet

In this episode of It’s a Poetic Life, Enzo welcomes violist, cultural curator, and Castle of Our Skins Co-Founder Ashleigh Gordon for a conversation on cultural stewardship, Black artistic lineage, and the ecosystems of care that make creative work possible. Together, they explore what it means to honor Black excellence not as an initiative, but as a living practice rooted in memory, community, r...

In this episode of It’s a Poetic Life, Enzo sits down with poet, educator, and Salem Poet Laureate J.D. Scrimgeour for a conversation about poetry, place, mentorship, language, and literary community. Together, they reflect on the poetic life as something shaped not only by what we write, but by the spaces we help create for others. From Salem’s literary history and the Mass Poetry Festival to que...

What happens when care starts to feel harder to read? In this episode of It’s a Poetic Life, I sit with a feeling I haven’t been able to shake: the sense that empathy is still present, but the way we encounter it has started to shift. From the language we absorb online to the way it follows us into real conversations and onto the page, I explore how care can become tangled with being seen, being a...

What does it really mean to build a writing life when the path doesn’t look the way you imagined? In this episode of It’s a Poetic Life , Enzo Silon Surin sits down with Dr. Molly Gaudry , founder of Lit Pub, author of We Take Me Apart, and assistant professor at Stony Brook University. She also teaches fiction at the Yale Writers’ Workshop. Together, they move through the quieter, often unseen pa...

Season Two of  It’s a Poetic Life  opens with a question that refuses to sit quietly: What does it mean to live—and write—toward freedom? In this opening episode, we enter a conversation about poetry, memory, and creative resistance—exploring poetry not just as art, but as an act of reclamation. Inspired by the work of the late Haitian poet  Danielle Legros Georges  and her haunting poem  Makak ,...

Season One closes with a craft meditation on authorship, cadence, and the art of the intentional dive. From Elton John’s impossible-to-mimic phrasing to August Wilson’s dialogues with characters, Enzo maps the “fumble & tumble” of process—writing with the work (not at it), and composing a life that is unmistakably yours. Along the way: the tree that keeps returning across his books and what it...

🎙 Season 1- Episode 9: Art Official — Writing Authentic Stories in a Market-Driven World Guest: Daphne Santana Strassmann What if the bravest thing you could do as a writer wasn’t just to write—but to write like no one’s watching? In this intimate and layered conversation, Enzo sits down with memoirist and educator Daphne Santana Strassmann for what feels like a master class on writing from the in...

What if poetry isn’t just about art—but about survival, clarity, and connection? In this solo National Poetry Month reflection, Enzo the Poet invites listeners into the quiet laboratory of the poetic life. Drawing parallels between poets and scientists, he explores how language—like any evolving experiment—holds both implication and application. From the politics of translation to the sacred work...

In the final segment of this three-part episode, It’s a Poetic Life turns to the transformative power of art and curation in bridging cultural, geographic, and ideological divides. Curator Amy Rosenblum-Martín joins host Enzo Silon Surin for a compelling conversation on how exhibitions become spaces of resistance, reclamation, and relationship-building. From her work on Marking Time: Art in the Ag...

In one of the most intimate and resonant conversations of It’s a Poetic Life, Addie Tsai and I explore the complexities of identity, belonging, and the myth of inclusion. Moving beyond the structural challenges of diversity and representation, this episode delves into the deeply personal—how we navigate the ever-shifting landscape of selfhood in a world that often demands we define ourselves in ri...

Across histories and cultures, people have grappled with the meaning of belonging. Who gets to be part of a community? Who decides? And how do we navigate the spaces we call home when definitions of inclusion shift? This episode was conceived last summer, but its relevance couldn’t be more timely. In this first installment of a three-part conversation, I sit down with Danielle Marshall, founder an...

How do we carry grief through the places that shape us, and how do we find a way forward when it feels like everything has changed? In this heartfelt episode of It’s a Poetic Life, I reflect on the quiet weight of loss through the works of Elizabeth Bishop’s One Art and Marie Howe’s What the Living Do, exploring how their poetry offers ways to hold onto what matters and create meaning in uncertain...

We live in a world that pushes us to look flawless, act perfect, and bury what makes us human. In this episode, I invite you to pause and reflect on what it means to embrace our struggles, imperfections, and shared humanity. Through stories—from sixth-grade insecurities to an unforgettable encounter at the pharmacy—I explore how vulnerability allows us to connect more deeply with ourselves and oth...

In a post-pandemic world where many of us are striving to reclaim our sense of agency, Episode 4 of It’s a Poetic Life—“Loving Me is Complicated: Crafting the Poetry of Self-Love”—offers a fresh perspective on self-love through the lens of poetry and creativity. Featuring poet Kali Pezzi, this deeply personal conversation explores how shame and guilt intersect with self-care, and how poetry become...

What does happiness look like beyond clichés and fleeting moments? In this episode, we dive into the complex and often elusive nature of happiness, exploring how our experiences, our creative lives, and even social media shape our understanding of joy. Whether you’re a seasoned writer, an aspiring storyteller, or simply someone looking to find more meaning in daily life, we’ll examine how happines...

In this episode of It’s a Poetic Life, host Enzo Silon Surin is joined by North Carolina-based writer Shari Tate to explore the intersection of writing, identity, and liberation. They discuss how the creative process allows for personal growth and freedom, and how writers navigate the balance between self-expression and sharing their work. Enzo reflects on his journey as a Haitian immigrant and ho...

In the first episode of It’s a Poetic Life with Enzo the Poet , Enzo Silon Surin (@enzothepoet) introduces the podcast, setting the tone for an introspective journey into the broader essence of living a poetic life. He shares a personal story that highlights his connection to poetry and explains how it has shaped his worldview. Enzo expands on the podcast’s vision, emphasizing that while poetry is...