SoundPages Podcast

Through her series of poems about Little Red Riding Hood, Lana Hechtman Ayers has pushed a storybook character into the throes of real life. Red deals with complex relationships, temptation, and frustration with traditional gender roles. Lana says in her live reading that she was abducted by Red and consumed with writing about her. Music […] The post Following Little Red – Lana Hechtman Ayer...

Inspired by the ancients, Kevin Craft weaves classical themes into contemporary poetry. His studies and travels have led him to write with a deep sense of history. As he puts it, every writer has an inheritance, and he sought his in the Mediterranean. Music by Yerba Buena, produced as part of the Jack Straw Artist […] The post A Writer’s Inheritance – Kevin Craft appeared first on Jack Straw...

As a poet and a storyteller, Brian McGuigan tells it like it is, and then some. A listener of his work can feel grimy streets underfoot and see cracks in the buildings. His poems are personal and visceral and he has a great appreciation for the way things used to be. THIS PODCAST CONTAINS ADULT […] The post A Poet’s Grit – Brian McGuigan appeared first on Jack Straw Cultural Center .

Judith Skillman grew up amidst a family of scientists and her poems reflect her early exposure to the natural world. She was often awakened at night to see a meteor shower or lunar eclipse. Her writing plays on themes in nature, elucidated by strong, earthy images. Music by the Bird Tribe Orchestra, produced as part […] The post Observing the Natural World – Judith Skillman appeared first on...

Sharon Cumberland draws from her diverse life experience, including several years in a religious order, for her poems and fiction writing. She came up with the idea to write poems in plainsong, or Gregorian chant. The scope of this form, she says, allows her to write about anything and everything. Music by Tamara Friedman, produced […] The post Poetry in Plainsong – Sharon Cumberland appeare...

Rebecca Hoogs studies the roots of language and works with words’ meanings in her poetry. The result is dynamic wordplay that reads and sounds like a riddle, but cuts deeper into word evolution. Music by the Bella Musica Woodwind Trio, produced as part of the Jack Straw Artist Support Program. The post I l’oeuf you – Rebecca Hoogs appeared first on Jack Straw Cultural Center .

Through his rich experience driving public transit buses in Seattle for more than 20 years, Michael Spence has innumerable stories to recount in his poetry. His unique perspective from the driver’s seat can be humorous, insightful, sorrowful, and revealing about society in general. Music by Karin Kajita, produced as part of the Jack Straw Artist […] The post Poetic Transit – Michael Spence a...

Merna Ann Hecht has devoted much of her life to teaching and helping children. When she isn’t teaching, she’s cooking because she finds cooking calms her down. And when she isn’t cooking, she’s fretting about the world. Those are the three things she does and the focus of her writing. Music by Matt Weiner and […] The post Teach, Cook, Fret – Merna Ann Hecht appeared first on Jack Straw Cultu...

Wendy Call came to writing through her work in political activism. Her experience as a community organizer inspired her to write about why people work for change in their communities. In this podcast, she explores how political writing can be effective and how different countries approach political journalism. Music by Joel Salsman, produced as part […] The post Foreground the Story – Wendy...

Ghida Sinno has created a series of stories looking at how different people experienced 9-11, or 9-1-1 as she calls it. The stories reflect the perspectives of Arab Americans and others, a half an hour after the attacks, a week after the attacks, a year after the attacks. Sinno uses irony and humor to soften […] The post 9-1-1 – Ghida Sinno appeared first on Jack Straw Cultural Center...

Through her experiences on the open road, with pregnancy, and with miscarriage, in this podcast Jennifer Munro takes you on personal and high-speed adventures. Jennifer addresses women’s issues in new light and with humor. THIS PODCAST CONTAINS MATURE CONTENT. Music by Grand Hallway, produced as part of the Jack Straw Artist Support Program. The post Motorcyling, Miscarriage, Munro – Jennifer Munr...

Jack Straw Writer Waverly Fitzgerald set out to learn about nature in an urban setting. Her studies began in her own neighborhood: Capitol Hill. Waverly researched and collected information about her natural surroundings, and through the writing process, completed her own learning process. Music by The Bird Tribe Orchestra, produced as part of the Jack […] The post Urban Gardening – Wa...

The Jack Straw Writers podcast begins the 2008 series with Janna Cawrse Esarey. She sailed and wrote her way around the world for two and a half years on an extended honeymoon. Her writing is about relationships and the journey, sailing and through life. THIS PODCAST CONTAINS ADULT LANGUAGE. Music by Jim Page and Artis, […] The post Moving through Water and Words – Janna Cawrse Esarey appear...

“The Vis-a-Vis Society is for the poetic analysis of the everyday.” That’s how Sierra Nelson and Rachel Kessler sum up their literary duo. The pair take surveys of their audiences and present their findings in dynamic performances. In this podcast, you’ll hear excerpts from their interview with writers program curator Matt Briggs along with poetic […] The post Live Surveys – The...

Poet and a novelist Willie Smith started writing when he was nine. His first love was science, but when he had the opportunity to enter a grade school writing contest, Smith wrote his first short story. From that point forward, Smith was hooked. In this podcast, you’ll hear Smith talk about his beginnings in writing […] The post Creative Cussing – Willie Smith appeared first on Jack St...

For Laurie Blauner writing is an exercise that helps her to understand her own thoughts and subsequently herself. She began her writing career as a poet and later explored prose where she could spread out. In this podcast, you’ll hear excerpts from her interview with writers program curator Matt Briggs and selections from her live […] The post Under the Radar and Winning Awards – Lauri...

Cheryl Strayed experienced a range of living situations in her childhood, from apartment living to camping in rural Minnesota. Her mother told her that these experiences would be “character building,” but she didn’t come to truly appreciate them until adulthood. Now her experiences serve as fodder for her writing. In this podcast, you’ll hear excerpts […] The post Growing Up in Rural Minneso...

Poet Susan Landgraf wrote a collection of children’s poems inspired by the sea for the Jack Straw Writers Program. In her interview with program curator Matt Briggs, she discusses her childhood love for writing and the freedom she felt in writing these poems for children. You’ll also hear selections from her live reading at Jack […] The post Poems For Children – Susan Landgraf appeared...

Poet Anna Maria Hong began her writing career in her 20s and was instinctually drawn to poetry after several years of working in journalism. In this podcast, you’ll hear Maria talk about the apparent anger in her poems, which program curator Matt Briggs characterizes as “mean”, and also her recent manuscript which touches on the […] The post Poetic Rants – Anna Maria Hong appeared firs...

Doug Nufer is a specialist in literary constraints, a technique that applies certain conditions to or establishes a pattern within writing. In this podcast, you’ll hear excerpts from his interview with 2007 Jack Straw Writers Program curator Matt Briggs and highlights from his live reading at the Jack Straw May Reading Series. Music by Emma […] The post Lit Games – Doug Nufer appeared...

Howard W. Robertson, rebelling against the expectations of his upbringing in a rural Oregon mill town, became a poet. In this podcast, Robertson talks with Writers Program curator Matt Briggs about teaching himself how to type and discovering a need to write poetry and stories along the way. You’ll also hear an excerpt from his […] The post The Bricolage of Kotagaeshi – Howard W. Rober...

Poet and publisher Charles Potts was the driving force underneath The Temple Bookstore, The Temple magazine, and The Temple School of Poetry. He received the Distinguished Professional Achievement Award in 1994 from the Alumni Association and the College of Arts and Sciences of Idaho State University. He founded Litmus Inc. in Seattle and Berkeley which […] The post Beginning with bogus Byro...

Plain-spoken and earnest, Corrina Wycoff writes stories about characters who struggle to survive in an alternate America, a place where drug addicts, teenage mothers, and religious cultists live obliviously to the lure of 401k plans and weekends at the cabin. In this podcast, you’ll hear a portion of her interview with Writers Program curator Matt […] The post The Gift of Heresy – Corr...

Does the term “chick-lit” marginalize legitimate feminist writing? Novelist Kathryn Trueblood addresses this question in her interview with Matt Briggs, Jack Straw Writers Program curator. Also in this podcast, Kathryn reads from her latest book, The Baby Lottery, which examines the personal politics of choice. Five women, friends at college, find their interlocking relationships strained […...

Molly Tenenbaum‘s newest work is inspired by her father and grandfather’s stints as professional ventriloquists. In this podcast, you’ll hear snippets of her interview with 2007 Jack Straw Writers Program curator Matt Briggs and highlights from her live reading at the Jack Straw May Reading Series. In recognition of Molly’s free-spirited word-smithing and her deep […] The post Poems about ve...