Wacky Poem Life

Episode 175, Shedding Gemstones COMES OUT at the end of Pride Month. Bill and Shaun talk about the Equality Gala and read some poems by noted gay poets, such as Joseph Legaspi, who in his poem "Vows (for a Gay Wedding)," he writes: "So I vow to be brave. / Clear a path through jungles of shame and doubt and fear. / I'm done with silence. I proclaim."

On June 12, 1942, Anne Frank got a diary for her 13th birthday. A few weeks later, she went into hiding with her family. Her diary changed the world. A diary can be serious and life-changing or fun and entertaining or both. A diary records in words the thoughts and feelings of our day. A diary holds poetry. We discuss these things and more with special guest, Bill's niece Vada.

Episode 173: Talking in Cursive takes us down Route 66 with poems written impromptu at the Capital Cruise Expo in Tulsa on May 28-29, as Tulsa set a Guinness Book World Record for the longest parade of classic cars. We asked people to write about Route 66. We also talk about the act of handwriting and some other cool stuff. LISTEN and SHARE please!

Episode 172: White Board Snake Road gives you information about the history of the white board, which you didn't know you needed, plus some poems left on the museum white board, which you definitely need.

Episode 171: Pocket Poems 2026 is about Poem in Your Pocket Day, where people are encouraged to carry a poem in their pocket all day and share it with others. Two folks shared their poems with us, and we talked about them and Shaun also had some bad jokes that Bill suffered through, and we discussed whether burn piles or poetry coroners would make a better topic for a book.

Episode 170: Turtle Kingdom is about Earth Day and turtles, hugging trees, listening to birds, dancing on the earth, carrying your world on your back–all these beautiful things. Let’s be engaged in the world around us–through poetry or anything creative that makes your heart sing and helps you be present. Let’s be people of the earth.

Episode 169: The Boy Poet from Corn reveals a Grand Prize Co-Winner in the Oklahoma Poem Contest. Third Grader and Corn OK resident Luke Thiessen wrote a prize-winning poem about Oklahoma's state reptile the Eastern Collared Lizard. And that poem inspired another . . . and others. We also discuss how poetry changes the world. Luke knows this. You must listen.

Episode 168: Spring Pez, Pickles & Poetry provides you with lovely spring poems and lowly spring items from the dollar store, plus a  Spring "Scented Fun Dough" challenge that Bill, of course, wins. Here's your 30ish minutes of fun and poetry for the month.

Episode 167: Homo-Hetero-Homo-Hetero is not what you think. We discuss a poem by Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa and discuss his heteronyms, which then led us into a discussion of homonyms, homographs, and other homos. Then, we were joined by one of the winners of the Rhyming & ROMPing on Route 66 poetry contest, Linda Rosenthal, who came in with her husband as they were traveling from Texas t...

Episode 166: Whip Me with a Goat’s Hide. We don’t mean to be blunt, but Valentine’s Day had some bloody and violent origins. Don’t blame us. It’s those pesky Romans. Anyway, join Shaun and Bill for some non-bloody discussions of Victorian valentines and contemporary ones written on the cuff. Celebrate this violent holiday in true style. Have a listen!

Episode 165: The Pinnacle of Tack takes you back to Route 66 fodder–prize-winning poems in the Rhyming & ROMPing on Route 66 poetry contest, and a potpourri of off-topic subjects, like only Shaun & Bill can do!

This Maiden Voyage is a reissue of our very first episode from 2021 where we talked about dog farts and poetry. Enjoy.

Episode 164: Haiku Tonic delivers some thoughts and feelings about one of our most popular poetic forms--the haiku. Writing a haiku can be a tonic for the heart and soul. Take the Haiku Tonic challenge!

Episode 163: Repeat After Me begins with a 7-year-old's poem that makes great use of repetition, one of the finest tools of the poet. Then, we diverge into conversations about what a poem is, why cats multiply, the myth of ownership, and various other themes. In other words, typical Wacky with Bill and Shaun!

Episode 162: Burma Shave Roadside Bait is a light episode of little ditties from back in the day and today, as we celebrate the roadside sign verse from the Burma Shave company. In the Rural Oklahoma Museum of Poetry's upcoming exhibit Rhyming and ROMPing on Route 66, we will have a feature on these unique and quirky verses and a way to interact and create your own. 

Episode 161: Heifers Get Into Everything may not seem to have anything to do with the poem inspiring this episode, but that is just the way with life, isn’t it? You never know how one trail leads onto another. Listen and find out, or just listen because you need some entertainment.

Episode 160: In this our 4th anniversary episode, Things That Frighten You, we begin with a dark poem and conversation about what makes a poem scary. It 's not all werewolves and vampires and haunted houses. Sometimes it's the dread of a terminal disease, the fear of losing a child, the very real possibility of racial violence. A scary poem is specific about the evils we cannot control or that we...

Episode 159: Unshackled from Cash: The Immersive Experience of Live Performance brings you musings and profundity (of a sort) as we discuss poetry readings, live theater, and live performances, in general.  This episode was inspired by a line from Nicole Stellon O'Donnell: "Unshackled from cash, poetry can go wherever it pleases."

Episode 158: In this episode, we are joined by local musician extraordinaire Tom Henry who told us stories and sang poetic songs. He sang, “I’m just not with it. I just don’t get it.” And we don’t either, Tom. He also treated us to “Wild Cherry Wine,” and many other poetic impressions, like “When the Dream Becomes Ours.” Oh people, just listen.

Episode 157: Tom Holland is Not Squalid covers 10 vocabulary words, a host of short and diabolically pithy poems, and Shaun having allergy sneezes, while Bill attempts to keep his papers dry and clarify the meaning of "scintillate." In short, just the kind of entertainment you need right now.

Episode 156: Wishes and Eyeore is a poetic discussion of wishes and the desire for and the striving for. A "wish" is not a naïve thing. It is a necessary thing, an adult thing, a beautiful thing, even when it is necessarily unlovely. Does this not make any sense? Then, listen, and it will. 

Episode 155: Shake Your Catoosa is a bit about Route 66 attractions and the upcoming poetry exhibit Rhyming on Route 66 and is also about just getting out there and being amongst people, especially people you are not used to. Get out there and shake your catoosa and be alive while you're living your life. 

Episode 154: Call Me Nightmare explores 4 impromptu poems written by attendees of PopCon Indy in Indianapolis this June 2025. Your co-hosts Shaun and Bill revel in the imagery despite the brain fog of trying to learn how to line dance the night before. Trust us, it will all make sense when you listen. And if it doesn't, that's probably all right, too.

Episode 153: Dig a Hole entertains you with the mellifluous sounds of Woody Guthrie, whose birthday on July 14 is celebrated each year at the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival in Okemah, Oklahoma. Yes, mellifluous, and also rebellious and truth-telling. Herein are some songs and poems and all manner of talk about digging a hole for the fascists. 

Episode 152: Wildness Tonic gets wild with musings about the museum's upcoming book club on nature themes inspired by Henry David Thoreau, among others. Sandy Burford, local naturalist and volunteer extraordinaire, joins us as we discuss kleptotrichy, utility company tree maintenance, the speed of the telegraph, and actual poetry. We get wild. It is wild. You should be wild.