VS

Come dance in the unknown with Shira Erlichman! Franny and Danez talk with the brilliant poet and musician about how she’s always thrived in the mystery, what she has learned about transformation from both her mental health journey and meditation practice, first draft explosions, her study of death and dying over the course of the pandemic, and much more! NOTE: Make sure you rate us on Apple Podca...

Carmen Giménez Smith is ready to get down to the word. The poet and editor takes a deep dive with Franny and Danez into how she approaches editing, how she pushes writers to build off of the most effective parts of their poems, how she takes in feedback from her peers, and much more.  NOTE: VS is nominated for a WEBBY!!!! Vote for us here . NOTE: Make sure you rate us on Apple Podcasts and write u...

Tommy Pico might not like games, but he came to play. The poet, screenwriter, and podcaster talks about adjusting to life off of the road, stepping into a role in a TV writers room, beginning to write as a social media practice, instinct vs. taste, the texture of balls on one’s taint, and so much more. Plus, a fastpunch round for the ages! NOTE: Make sure you rate us on Apple Podcasts and write us...

Taylor Johnson is listening, and they’re inviting you to listen too. The poet, whose first collection Inheritance was released into the world last year on Alice James Books, talks with our fearless hosts about how they’re listening for the sounds, colors, words, and structures they’re encountering, what they learn when they listen, and much much more.  NOTE: Make sure you rate us on Apple Podcasts...

We’re off over the rainbow with the wonderful wizard of this pod, Suzi F. Garcia! The poet and editor takes Franny and Danez on a deep dive into the nuances and oddities of The Wizard of Oz, and it’s a wild wild world. Come down the yellow brick road with the squad! NOTE: Make sure you rate us on Apple Podcasts and write us a review! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com fo...

Monica Sok is on the pod! Franny and Danez talk with the author of A Nail the Evening Hangs On, which came out in 2020 on Copper Canyon, about working through a traumatic collective history and coming out the other side, the delight of learning Khmer in pandemic times, finding a home for her mind, and much much more. This one is a gem, friends! NOTE: Make sure you rate us on Apple Podcasts and wri...

torrin greathouse is in the VS house! The author of Wound from the Mouth of a Wound, Torrin talks about queering form with the utmost intention, examining what community actually means, returning to martial arts after many years, searching for truth in journalism and poetry, and much more! NOTE: Make sure you rate us on Apple Podcasts and write us a review! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company...

Franny and Danez get to talk to a poet they’ve stanned for many a year–Eduardo Corral! A poet and Professor at NC State, Eduardo’s newest book Guillotine came out last year. He talks about writing into loneliness, sticking with the wound, the sublimity of bad reality TV, and much more. NOTE: Make sure you rate us on Apple Podcasts and write us a review! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. Se...

The VS fam returns to kick off Season 5! After an announcement about the future of the show, we get into a great conversation with the wonderful poet Ada Limón. We talk birds, epiphanies, loneliness, and much more. Plus, a new game and a goofy-ass outro. Enjoy! NOTE: Make sure you rate us on Apple Podcasts and write us a review! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for inf...

VS Season 4 wraps up with a whisper, a bang, a smile, and a hug from Naomi Shihab Nye! The legendary poet brings a fistful of sunshine to her conversation with Franny and Danez about learning from her four year-old grandson, holding onto hope and wonder, the magic and utility of child brain, creating welcoming poems, and so much more.  NOTE: VS is going to be taking its customary break between sea...

Franny and Danez get their hands dirty with the inimitable Aracelis Girmay! The prolific and wonderful poet talks about the childhood joy of dirt, parenting in a pandemic, how she centers truth in her poetry, and much more. Plus, we start off with a potential new name for the show…? NOTE: Make sure you rate us on Apple Podcasts and write us a review! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See p...

On this episode, we get to talk on this episode with the legend, superstar, and self-proclaimed “baby yoda” Marilyn Chin. We talk about her long journey toward building Asian-American poetics, being the Nicki Minaj for so many young writers (in that all of these bitches are her sons), how she’s balancing quarantine with Youtube rabbit holes, and so much more. Plus, the play-by-play of a legendary...

Nandi Comer climbs in the ring with Franny and Danez for this wonderful, warm episode of VS. The Detroiter, whose new book Tapping Out is available now from Northwestern University Press, talks about her love of lucha libre mexican wrestling, writing into a tradition that isn’t her own, the ways that academia can rob poets of their humanity, and DETROIT! Pick up Nandi’s book Tapping Out here: http...

Danez and Franny have the honor and pleasure of chopping it up with the brilliant Randall Horton on this episode of the show. Randall, whose newest collection {#289-128}: Poems just dropped this month, talks about coming to know his story so that he could eventually write about it, resisting being boxed in as a poet who was incarcerated, and what he’s learned from his collaborations with jazz musi...

Carl Phillips swings by the zoodio (zoom studio) for a ticklish and insightful convo on this episode. The poet and professor talks about the power of interiority, how his relationship to the erotic has changed as he’s grown older, and much more.  NOTE: Make sure you rate us on Apple Podcasts and write us a review! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about...

Ross Gay joins VS with his boisterous laugh and brilliance on hand. The poet and professor breaks down the ways we’re all entangled, the elegant lessons mycelium can teach us for a post-capitalist world, getting undergrads to write sock puppet operas, and much more! Buy Ross’ new book Be Holding: https://upittpress.org/books/9780822966234/ NOTE: Make sure you rate us on Apple Podcasts and write us...

Airea D. Matthews knows her ghosts. The poet and professor talks with Franny and Danez about the spectres and phantasms that live in her work, the ways she wants her poems to exist beyond paper and ink, the journey back to her original name. Plus, a dollop of Greek myth on top! NOTE: Make sure you rate us on Apple Podcasts and write us a review! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.ad...

Aurielle Marie hops on the line, and the line will never be the same. The poet and organizer talks about the ways that her poetics and movement work are interwoven, her decision to walk away from a book deal, and much more!  See more of Aurielle’s work: https://auriellemarie.com/ NOTE: Make sure you rate us on Apple Podcasts and write us a review Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.a...

Danez and Franny hop on the ole zoom zoom with legendary poet and beard icon John Murillo. John talks about his new book Kontemporary Amerikan Poetry , learning how to focus on the work instead of po-biz, remembering who he writes for, and much more. Plus, a hilarious story involving a staged adulterous act. NOTE: Make sure you rate us on Apple Podcasts and write us a review! Hosted by Simplecast,...

After Franny’s episode talking with Cam Awkward-Rich, Danez goes one-on-one with their buddy Michael Lee, a Norwegian-American writer, youth worker, and organizer in Minneapolis. The dynamic duo talks about grief’s place in poems, Michael’s traumatic brain injury, obliterating whiteness, and some fond memories together. Pick up Michael’s book The Only Worlds We Know NOTE: Make sure you rate us on...

On this very special one-on-one episode of VS, we get a peek inside the blanket fort that Franny has built and get to listen to her chat with poet and professor Cameron Awkward-Rich (who also happens to be her boo). They talk about the pros and cons of isolation, the forces and spaces that created Cam’s newest book Dispatch, and, most importantly, their illustrious cat Bean. NOTE: Make sure you ra...

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Recorded back before COVID-19 sent the VS team home to different corners of the country, Franny and Danez sat down with poet Paige Lewis for a good ole fashioned in-person chat. Paige breaks down Beta Fish, the nonbinary epic they’re writing, the power of focusing on the micro, and more.  NOTE: Make sure you rate us on Apple Podcasts and write us a review! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company....

You’ve just enrolled in one of the best classes anyone could ever take. This week’s guest, Chris Abani, is a master teacher, poet, screenwriter, and thinker who is ready to help you understand, even if the process kicks your butt a little. In this marathon episode recorded before the pandemic descended, Chris talks about the ways our languages shape our understanding of time and space, how the sto...

Y’all are some good-ass writers! When we put out the call for poems in response to our prompts, we didn’t know we were going to get such a wonderful collection of pieces from you beautiful listeners. We couldn’t include them all in Episode 6, so we put together a special listener-only episode full of your work. Enjoy what your podpeople have created! Listener poems in this episode: “Untitled poem...