READ TO ME with Becky Karush

Two introverts walk into a bar…well, to bring this up to date in the pandemic world - two introverts connect on zoom and talk of hope, connecting with nature, and being present! A familiar name also pops up (Katherine May) , proving it is a small world! A world that needs love and James Crews shows us how!

What better way to celebrate National Poetry Month than to delve into an anthology of over 100 poems, on HOW TO LOVE THE WORLD , edited by poet James Crews! We love on the introduction, that reminds us poetry can be for everyone, everyday, and the wonderful poem WONDEROUS by Sarah Freligh, sets the scene for the poems to come.

In this episode, I speak to Diana Whitney, editor of YOU DON'T NEED TO BE EVERYTHING, which we read FIVE poems from earlier this week and, my friend! We talk about night time being a sacred space, misgendered barn cats, standing up for the principles within your work and welcoming home the outsider in you. Come listen!

Imagine a collection of poems deftly organized around 8 emotional experiences. Imagine delving into each of those emotions and finding … you. Voices that speak to you. Lonely voices, strong voices, angry, curious. Poems that you read with your heart and body. Poems that affect you. This is YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE EVERYTHING: Poems for Girls Becoming Themselves , edited by Diana Whitney.

SOPHIA by Jen Goldman is a sensuous journey in to a world of where there are beautiful sounds like 'gaggle of grandmother's giggle…silicone sillies…the laughter is baked into the linguine'. And the indulgent, luxury of leather handbags, inky black fountain pens with gold edges and crisp, white notecards. Oh and the FOOD! Well…you'll want to eat a big bowl of pasta while listening to this!

CONTAINED by Abigail Braithwaite, is a slimline book of writing and illustrations, about 4" high by 11" wide, and representing the shape of the contained it was conceived in. The retro-fitted shipping container the is Abigail's writing studio. How…cool!

In OTHER WISE by Mary-Lou Bagley we see the complicated, strained relationship between Emily Donne and her emotionally manipulative mother, not just through the words but through the movement of these two bodies. Their physicality brings their relationship into action, as awkward and painful as it is.

SPREE WEEK DAY 2, we dive straight in at Chapter 1 of THE YEAR OF NEEDY GIRLS by Patricia Smith. Here, the stakes of the entire novel are set with a sure hand, in just three pages. Here we meet Deidre, one half of the main couple of Deidre and Sara Jane. Deirdre is a teacher in a town that's just been cleaved through the heart — even though no one quite knows it yet.

It's SPREE WEEK — a new author every day for a week! We kick it off with HOPE FROM DAFFODILS by Karen Coulters. It's our first ever romance writing on READ TO ME. Come hear Sophie and Brady meet-cute. True love can't be kept down!

In this episode, I spoke to Jo Ann Beard. JO ANN BEARD!   We talked about book covers becoming the faces of old friends. About the thin line between panic and inspiration, anxiety and excitement. About the perfect friend, the one who can listen, really listen , and love on your work. Come listen and see why after the interview I called all my writing pals to revel in how much fun it was.

What do you do when you have been uncreated, when you have sunk into a place where the body is a prisoner and the mind, even in sleep, is wild with seeing. What do you do when you've moved through that sort of pain? Spoiler alert! This excerpt we read from FESTIVAL DAYS the author JO ANNE BEARD , does not give us the answer. And neither do I. That's for your to mull over, sit with, experience and...

In this episode we talk to Samantha Kolber, poet and author of  'Birth of a Daughter' . We featured the title poem last week , be sure to listen and meet me back here! We talk about how darkness can make you happy. We talk about how to tame 'the beast'! We talk about how a four year old becomes the youngest ever cover artist. Enjoy!

In birth, who is born? The child? The mother? The space between the two? Or the poem she will write? In Samantha Kolber's poem BIRTH OF A DAUGHTER, the answer is yes. In today's episode, we see how a string of couplets, a constellation of near rhymes, and three gloriously smart questions make birth bigger and tougher, more connected and more free, born and reborn. Plus, a melancholy communion with...

Meet Aliza Eliazarov, author and creator of ON THE FARM: Heritage and Heralded Animal Breeds in Portraits and Stories . (We featured the book last week.) You'll hear how Aliza came to photograph animals, what it's like to set up a portrait studio in a barn, what it feels like to connect with an animal just before the shutter clicks. it's a huge honor to learn from a photographer. My favorite thing...

Photography and podcasts? Not natural dance partners. But ON THE FARM by Aliza Eliazarov makes heritage and heralded farm animals into movie stars…into the muses for Dutch masters…into demigods carved into stone temples So, today, we're taking a leap. A leap like a goat to the top of a barn. Today, we're loving a photograph . Specifically, we are going to listen to a photograph — and in doing so,...

Today we get to talk to the exuberantly powerful writer and healer Katina Makris, author of LOVING YOURSELF ENOUGH TO THRIVE.

How does a self-help book make the reader the sovereign star of the show? Just listen to LOVING YOURSELF ENOUGH TO THRIVE by Katina Makris. A Gateless-trained writer, a healer with decades of experience, a storyteller of flair, Katina empowers us with style, power, and the authority of love. Enjoy, learn how to do this craft yourself — and find your power, pure Katina-style. Visit today's blog pos...

Today we get to talk to Robert Jones, Jr, author of the novel THE PROPHETS, an instant NYT bestseller, received with immense critical praise and devoted readers. I loved talking with Mr. Jones. Imagine him with a portrait of James Baldwin over one shoulder, a portrait of Toni Morrison over the other, between them beautiful writer and person in a fine, fine suit and bowtie. Here is Robert Jones, Jr...

The PROPHETS by Robert Jones, Jr.,  is set on an antebellum plantation in Mississippi. The two main characters are two black boys, almost men, Samuel and Isaiah, both enslaved and in love with each other. Their love is this one bit of beauty in a place called Empty — until they're betrayed by another enslaved man. Though happiness of any kind was never long in a place like Empty. We get to read a...

Katherine May is joining me for today's author interview. We covered her book, Wintering, on the last episode of READ TO ME, so be sure to check out that episode before tuning into this one. During our conversation today, we talk about what happens in the body when we write and finding our rhythm that helps get all of the words onto the page. You'll also hear which scenes Katherine struggles to wr...

Today we read from WINTERING by Katherine May. We hear a series of short excerpts in which the narrator, Katherine May, and a friend swim swim in the winter ocean on the southeastern shore of England. In a book that meditates on and gallops around the ideas of retreat, this scene splashes jubilantly, even crazily, into the heart of darkness, where we rest and repair. This is what iconoclasm looks...

Why settle for one icon when you could have two? Today we read pieces from SONGTELLER by Dolly Parton & A PROMISED LAND by Barack Obama. Parton's lyrics and Obama's telling of the healthcare battle are like two strangers next to each other on a bus ride, having a great conversation. They talk about dignity. About impossibility. About sorrow and family love. About faith, and rhythm, and the body on...

Our next mini episode features Julia Phillips, author of Disappearing Earth (and other amazing novels). Be sure to listen to the full episode on DISAPPEARING EARTH before diving in to today's show. Today Julia and I chat about what makes her happy, what great writing feels like in the body), what has helped to expand Julia's craft, and much more goodness. Enjoy! Visit this episode's blog post here...

Complex, beautiful, powerful characters are the heart of DISAPPEARING EARTH by Julia Phillips. In this episode, we get to walk alongside one deliciously guarded and broken heart. Oh! We meet Oksana. Never has ice been made so warm without melting. Settle in, get comfortable, and join us as we search for what Oksana loves best in the world. For more info about this book and to read Becky's thoughts...

Our second mini-episode stars Kirun Kapur, author of WOMEN IN THE WAITING ROOM. (Listen to the full episode on Kirun's poem TREATMENT in your podcast app or on my website by following the link below.) Today Kirun and I chat about the books that make her happy, the craft that she's drawn to, and what the body feels like when the writing is on fire. For more info about this book and to read Becky's...