Melody or Witchcraft

The Melody or Witchcraft podcast interviews begin with a love for poetry, its craft, and a major literary ancestor: Emily Dickinson. I’m your host, Kathryn Petruccelli, a poet, workshop leader, Substacker, & former guide for the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, Massachusetts. Listen in to hear about the concentric circles of past and present. Names or poetic references are fleshed out or linked...

The Melody or Witchcraft podcast interviews begin with a love for poetry, its craft, and a major literary ancestor: Emily Dickinson. I’m your host, Kathryn Petruccelli, a poet, workshop leader, Substacker, & former guide for the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, Massachusetts. Listen in to hear about the concentric circles of the past and the present. Names or poetic references are fleshed out or...

The Melody or Witchcraft podcast interviews begin with a love for poetry, its craft, and a major literary ancestor: Emily Dickinson. I’m your host, Kathryn Petruccelli, a poet, workshop leader, Substacker, & former guide for the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, Massachusetts. Listen in to hear about the concentric circles of the past and the present. Names or poetic references are fleshed out or...

The Melody or Witchcraft podcast interviews begin with a love for poetry, its craft, and a major literary ancestor: Emily Dickinson. I’m your host, Kathryn Petruccelli, a poet, workshop leader, Substacker, & former guide for the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, Massachusetts. Listen in to hear about the concentric circles of the past and the present. Names or poetic references are fleshed out or...

Please note that this is a “bonus bit” - a short supplemental that accompanies a full-length interview with Sunu Chandy for the Melody or Witchcraft podcast. People, places, poems & books mentioned: Danusha Laméris’s “Small Kindnesses” Leila Chatti Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown Unicorn Authors’ Club Let Me Say This is the Dolly Party poetry anthology edited by Julie E. Bloemeke & Dustin Br...

Welcome to the first episode of Season 4! The Melody or Witchcraft podcast interviews begin with a love for poetry, its craft, and a major literary ancestor: Emily Dickinson. I’m your host, Kathryn Petruccelli, a poet, workshop leader, Substacker, & former guide for the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, Massachusetts. Listen in to hear about the concentric circles of the past and the present. Nam...

Hello dear Melody or Witchcraft listeners! I’m interviewing and editing all over the place right now, getting ready for Season 4 of Melody or Witchcraft to start in October. In the meantime, I thought you might enjoy a little extra poetry. Today’s post is an exchange with my friend John Gillespie’s podcast, Poetry Medicine for the Soul . He speaks with interdisciplinary artist and writer Summer J....

The Melody or Witchcraft podcast interviews begin with a love for poetry, its craft, and a major literary ancestor: Emily Dickinson. I’m your host, Kathryn Petruccelli, a poet, workshop leader, Substacker, & former guide for the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, Massachusetts. I’m interested in things like the sources of creative inspiration, how the past influences the present, challenging cultu...

This Bonus Bit supplements the full-length interview with poet Brenda Hillman for the Melody or Witchcraft podcast. Brenda kindly and honestly responds to my question around being part of a two-poet household. Folks mentioned: Robert Haas Forrest Gander CD Wright This completes Season 3 of Melody or Witchcraft. We’ll be back at the start of October with Season 4!! This is a public episode. If you'...

This Bonus Bit supplements the full-length interview with poet Kemi Alabi for the Melody or Witchcraft podcast. Please listen to this small clip, where Kemi speaks about their intentions for the reader, repetition as a route toward revelation and an embodied understand if the poem. Along the way, they mention: Toni Morrison Fela Kuti Surely, you have something to say after listening?!? Can you thi...

The Melody or Witchcraft podcast interviews begin with a love for poetry, its craft, and a major literary ancestor: Emily Dickinson. I’m your host, Kathryn Petruccelli, a poet, workshop leader, Substacker, & former guide for the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, Massachusetts. I’m interested in things like the sources of creative inspiration, how the past influences the present, challenging cultu...

This Bonus Bit supplements the full-length interview with poet Kemi Alabi for the Melody or Witchcraft podcast. Please listen to this small clip, where Kemi speaks about their intentions for the reader, repetition as a route toward revelation and an embodied understand if the poem. Along the way, they mention: Toni Morrison Fela Kuti Surely, you have something to say after listening?!? Can you thi...

This Bonus Bit supplements the full-length interview with poet Pádraig Ó Tuama for the Melody or Witchcraft podcast. Here’s what’s in each of the four snippets: 1. A final request ritual that happened at Corrymeela Peace and Reconciliation organization . 2. Examples of the importance of contexts, religious and poetic. 3. Reading Emily Dickinson during a challenging time in Pádraig’s conflict media...

The Melody or Witchcraft podcast interviews begin with a love for poetry, its craft, and a major literary ancestor: Emily Dickinson. I’m your host, Kathryn Petruccelli, a poet, workshop leader, Substacker, & former guide for the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, Massachusetts. I’m interested in things like the sources of creative inspiration, how the past influences the present, challenging cultu...

This Bonus Bit supplements the full-length interview with poet Pádraig Ó Tuama for the Melody or Witchcraft podcast. Here’s what’s in each of the four snippets: 1. A final request ritual that happened at Corrymeela Peace and Reconciliation organization . 2. Examples of the importance of contexts, religious and poetic. 3. Reading Emily Dickinson during a challenging time in Pádraig’s conflict media...

Welcome to Melody or Witchcraft where contemporary poets engage with Dickinson and today’s world. I’m your host, Kathryn Petruccelli, a poet, workshop leader, Substacker, & former guide for the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, Massachusetts. I’m interested in sources of creative inspiration, how the past influences the present, challenging cultural norms, social justice, and poetry as a tool for...

This Bonus Bit supplements the full-length interview with poet James Allen Hall for the Melody or Witchcraft podcast. Explicit Language Warning: There’s a curse word, y’all. Section 1: I ask about breaking past the plateau you may find yourself in with writing or publishing and James discusses the necessity of writing toward your fascinations. Louise Glück Oscar Wilde Section 2: Cork International...

The Melody or Witchcraft podcast interviews begin with a love for poetry, its craft, and a major literary ancestor: Emily Dickinson. I’m your host, Kathryn Petruccelli, a poet, workshop leader, Substacker, & former guide for the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, Massachusetts. I’m interested in things like the sources of creative inspiration, how the past influences the present, challenging cultu...

This Bonus Bit supplements the full-length interview with poet Diane Seuss for the Melody or Witchcraft podcast. Section 1: Diane speaks about her approach to her books, her interest in objectivity, Dickinson’s presence in a variety of ways in the books, including Althea , the forthcoming book. “High Romance” – is Diane’s poem she mentions from her book, Modern Poetry, in which Keats is a ghost. T...

Poets are truthtellers. We need more of those. The Melody or Witchcraft podcast conversations begin with a love for poetry, its craft, and a major literary ancestor: Emily Dickinson. The two poems you’ll hear each episode are chosen by the guests: a Dickinson poem and one of their own. Amongst the poem-talk and new discoveries around our 19th Century sister, we do our best to follow an organic flo...

Jane Wong is the author of the memoir Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City (Tin House, 2023). She also wrote two poetry collections: How to Not Be Afraid of Everything (Alice James, 2021) and Overpour (Action Books, 2016). Her poetry installations which engage haunting and nourishment have been exhibited at the Frye Art Museum, the Richmond Art Gallery, and the Asian Art Museum. Jane’s pick for an Emi...

Dear Readers, Maybe I have a lot going on. Maybe I’m not as observant as I’d like to think I am. Maybe my observation skills are focused elsewhere. But, uh - y’all! I can put VIDEO on Substack?! Should I have known that???? I could pretend I knew it all along, but I’m like hella into authenticity these days. This coming Monday, July 13th, the third season of Melody or Witchcraft begins—with Jane W...

Welcome to your upcoming summer listen! Melody or Witchcraft is back! Thought you might need something to keep you company while you’re traveling, beaching, exploring, working, gradening, and so, not six episodes, but seven—and they’re a bit chunkier as well. Looking at the guest list, you might understand that I couldn’t in good conscience edit everything down to some idea of a trim time length I...

Gabrielle Calvocoressi ’s new collection of poetry, The New Economy , was a finalist for the 2025 National Book Award in Poetry. Other collections include The Last Time I Saw Amelia Earhart , Apocalyptic Swing , and Rocket Fantastic , which is the winner of the Audre Lorde Award for Lesbian Poetry. They serve on the Board of Chancellors of the Academy of American Poets and live in Old East Durham,...

This Bonus Bit closes out Season 2 of the podcast. Season 3 will be coming your way in July! Gaby talks about a book by Ang Roell, which they call “Decolonize the Hive.” The title as I found it is Radicalize the Hive and more information about Ang and the book can be found at this link . Here you are! At the end of Season 2! At the Bonus Bit, no less! I’m so glad you’re listening. Would you consid...