Commonplace: Conversations with Poets (and Other People)

Intimate and compelling interviews by Rachel Zucker with poets and other artists. Become a Patron & support our growing podcast! www.patreon.com/commonplacepodcast

Rank #1: Episode 4: Claudia Rankine.
Award winning poet, playwright, professor, editor, essayist, and critic Claudia Rankine speaks with Rachel Zucker about collaboration, poetry’s role in social change, and the investigation of feeling. In this episode, Rankine discusses the importance of ideas put forward by writers such as James Baldwin and Adrienne Rich, the known unknown, the arena of consciousness, being a spectator, willed ignorance, and the illusion of difficulty in poetry.EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Rank #2: Episode 72: Ilya Kaminsky.
EXTRA RESOURCES FOR EPISODE 72Books by Ilya KaminskyPoetry Collections:Deaf Republic (Graywolf, 2019)Dancing in Odessa (Tupelo Press, 2004)Anthologies:The Ecco Anthology of International Poetry (co-editors Susan Harris, Ecco, 2010)In the Shape of a Human I Am Visiting the Earth: Poems from Far and Wide (co-editors Dominic Luxford and Jesse Nathan, McSweeney’s, 2017)Gossip and Metaphysics: Russian Modernist Poems and Prose (co-editors Katie Farris and Valzhyna Mort, Tupelo Press, 2014)A God in the House: Poets Talk about Faith, (co-editor Katherine Towler, Tupelo Press, 2012)Translations/Readings:Dark Elderberry Branch: Poems of Marina Tsvetaeva (with Jean Valentine, Alice James, 2012)This Lamentable City by Polina Barskova (Tupelo Press, 2010)If I Were Born in Prague: Poems of Guy Jean (with Katie Farris, Argos Press, 2011)Other Books and Writers Featured in the EpisodeIsaac BabelLeslie ScalapinoCatullusPropertiusAnna AkhmatovaCzeslaw MiloszTomas TranströmerOther Relevant Links“Searching for a Lost Odessa — and a Deaf Childhood” published in the New York Times, Aug. 9, 2018Ilya reads “Search Patrols” for the Poetry FoundationInterview with Ilya in the Adirondack ReviewPolish poet Adam Zagajewski talks to American translator Clare Cavanaugh and Ilya Kaminsky about contemporary Polish poetry, for the Poetry FoundationEPISODE TRANSCRIPT

The Poetry Gods

The Poetry Gods are here to show you how to not be wack in 2016 & beyond. Interviews and stories about the people behind the poems. You don't have to love poetry to love the show. Hosted by Aziza Barnes, Jon Sands, and José Olivarez. Artwork by Jess X. Chen. If you dig the show, share the link.

Rank #1: Episode 3 Featuring Hanif Willis-Abdurraqib.
Welcome to Episode 3 of The Poetry Gods! On this episode of The Poetry Gods, we talk to poet, essayist, and relentless Ohioan Hanif Willis-Abdurraqib about The Revenant and why one would go on a date to go see The Passion Of The Christ, amongst other topics. We also debate the merits of the state of Wyoming. Sorry, Wyoming! We're sure you're wonderful. Follow The Poetry Gods on Twitter: @thepoetrygods ; @azizabarnes ; @iamjonsands ; @jayohessee. HANIF WILLIS-ABDURRAQIB'S BIO:Hanif Willis-Abdurraqib is a poet, essayist, and cultural critic from Columbus, Ohio. He is the editor of Again I Wait For This To Pull Apart, an anthology of poems relating to music, released by Freezeray Press in 2015. His poetry has been published in Muzzle, Vinyl, PEN American, and various other journals. His essays and music criticism has been published in The FADER, Pitchfork, and The New York Times. He has been nominated for the pushcart prize, and his poem "Hestia" won the 2014 Capital University poetry prize. His first full length collection, The Crown Ain't Worth Much, is forthcoming in 2016 from Button Poetry / Exploding Pinecone Press. He is a Callaloo Creative Writing Fellow, an interviewer at Union Station Magazine, and a poetry editor at Muzzle Magazine. Additionally, he is a columnist at MTV News, where he writes about music, and fights to get Room Raiders back on the air. He thinks poems can change the world, but really wants to talk to you about music, sports, and sneakers. Follow Hanif on twitter at @nifmuhammad. Episode 4 drops on April 12th with Jeanann Verlee! Stay tuned!

Rank #2: Episode 4 Featuring Jeanann Verlee.
Welcome to Episode 4 of The Poetry Gods! On this episode of The Poetry Gods, we talk to the extraordinary Jeanann Verlee about social media, the struggle of leisure, & we have the return of Aziza's guide to dating 101 plus so much more! If you haven't seen the news, Book Riot featured The Poetry Gods on their list of 11 poetry podcasts for Poetry Lovers-- check it out https://bookriot.com/2016/04/11/11-podcasts-for-poetry-lovers/JEANANN VERLEE'S BIO:JEANANN VERLEE is a performance poet, editor, and former punk rocker who collects tattoos and wears polka dots. She is author of two poetry collections: Said the Manic to the Muse and Racing Hummingbirds, which earned the Independent Publisher Book Award Silver Medal in poetry. She has also been awarded the Third Coast Poetry Prize and the Sandy Crimmins National Prize for Poetry. Her work has appeared in failbetter, Rattle, Adroit, and PANK, among other journals, and anthologized in various publications, including Uncommon Core: Contemporary Poems for Learning and Living, The Courage Anthology: Daring Poems for Gutsy Girls, and Looking for the Enemy: The Eternal Internal Gender Wars of Our Sisters Anthology. She was first runner-up for the Indiana Review Poetry Prize and has received multiple nominations for the Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, and Bettering American Poetry. Verlee worked as poetry editor for Union Station Magazine, For Some Time Now: Performance Poets of New York City, and Winter Tangerine Review: Fragments of Persephone, in addition to a number of individual collections. Follow us on social media: @azizabarnes, @iamjonsands, @jayohessee, @thepoetrygodsEpisode 5 with Joshua Bennett drops on April 26th!

PoetryNow

PoetryNow is a weekly four-minute radio series featuring some of today’s most accomplished and innovative poets who offer an acoustically rich and reflective look into a single poem.

Rank #1: Late Melt.
Melissa Broder writes about self-realization and survival. Produced by Katie Klocksin.

Rank #2: Nothing Happened in 1999.
Hayan Charara considers how the world would be different today if certain historically significant events had not taken place in the late 1990s. Produced by Sarah Geis.

The Poetry Magazine Podcast

The editors go inside the pages of Poetry, talking to poets and critics, debating the issues, and sharing their poem selections with listeners.

Rank #1: Dorothy Chan reads “Triple Sonnet for Black Hair”.
The editors discuss Dorothy Chan’s poem “Triple Sonnet for Black Hair” from the November 2019 issue of Poetry.

Rank #2: Jorie Graham reads “Overheard in the Herd”.
The editors discuss Jorie Graham’s poem “Overheard in the Herd” from the January 2019 issue of Poetry.

the Poetry Project Podcast

Live from St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery in Manhattan's East Village, The Poetry Project has promoted, fostered and inspired the reading and writing of contemporary poetry since 1966.

Rank #1: Chelsea Hodson & Jackie Wang - Oct. 24th, 2014.
Friday Reading SeriesChelsea Hodson, a 2012 PEN Center USA Emerging Voices Fellow, is currently writing a book of essays. She is the author of two chapbooks: Pity the Animal (Future Tense Books, 2014), and Beach Camp (Swill Children, 2010). Her essays have been published in Black Warrior Review, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, Sex Magazine, and elsewhere. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.Jackie Wang is a queer poet, essayist, filmmaker, performer, and prison abolitionist based out of Cambridge, MA. Her work has been published in LIES, Action Yes, Pank, Delirious Hem, DIAGRAM, The Brooklyn Rail, October, the Semiotext(e) Whitney Biennial Pamphlet Series, and other worthy outlets. She is currently working on a book or two. If you summon her, she will come: loneberry@gmail.com. Follow her on twitter @LoneberryWang.

Rank #2: Reina Gossett - Nov. 12th, 2014.
Wednesday Reading SeriesReina Gossett is the membership director at the Sylvia Rivera Law Project as well as the 2014-2015 Activist-In-Residence at Barnard College’s Center for Research on Women. Reina is a filmmaker collaborating with Sasha Wortzel to write, direct and produce STAR PEOPLE ARE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE, a film detailing the lives of Sylvia Rivera, Marsha P Johnson and Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries. The film builds upon the archival research and published writing she has done over the past decade about Sylvia Rivera and STAR , published in Captive Genders (AK Press, 2011), The Scholar and The Feminist Online and her personal blog: reinagossett.com. Reina was a 2009 Stonewall Community Foundation Honoree as well as a recipient of the George Soros Justice Advocacy Fellowship by the Open Society Foundation to work with LGBT people navigating criminalization. During her fellowship she partnered with Critical Resistance to curtail the prison industrial complex by organizing low income LGBTGNC New Yorkers in a campaign that successfully stopped NYC’s Department of Corrections from building a $375 million new jail in the Bronx.

Poem Talk

Kelly Writers House impresario Al Filreis leads a lively roundtable discussion of a single poem with a series of rotating guests including Tracie Morris, Rachel Blau DuPlessis, erica kaufman, Charles Bernstein, Sawako Nakayasu, Simone White, and others.

Rank #1: Amplitude and Awe: A Discussion of Emily Dickinson's "Wild Nights - Wild Nights!" and "She rose to His Requirement".
Hosted by Al Filreis and featuring Michelle Taransky, Cecilia Corrigan, and Lily Applebaum.

Rank #2: Dead To Me: A discussion of Claudia Rankine's “Don't Let Me Be Lonely”.
Hosted by Al Filreis and featuring Kyoo Lee, Gabriel Ojeda-Sague, and Simone White.

Poetry Off the Shelf

Producer Helena de Groot explores the diverse world of contemporary poetry with readings by poets, interviews with critics, and short poetry documentaries. Nothing is off limits, and nobody is taken too seriously.

Rank #1: This Poet Never Gets Old.
John Keats's life and body of work, then and now.

Rank #2: A Change of World, Episode 1: The Wilderness.
The first episode in a special series on the women’s movement

Poetry Lectures

Talks given by notable scholars and critics on poets, poetry, and their intersections with other art forms. Features recordings from historic archives and live events.

Rank #1: William Carlos Williams.
William Carlos Williams speaks at Harvard University in 1951.

Rank #2: Oral History Initiative: On Frank O'Hara.
An informal conversation between poets John Ashbery and Ron Padgett, remembering the life of Frank O’Hara. Conducted at Harvard University in April 2011, and used by permission of Ron Padgett, John Ashbery, and the Woodberry Poetry Room, Harvard College Library. To see the event video, click here.

Essential American Poets

Listen to Donald Hall's selection of classic American poets reading from their work. These recordings are being made available as the result of a collaboration between US and UK poet laureates Donald Hall and Andrew Motion.

Rank #1: E.E. Cummings: Essential American Poets.
Archival recordings of poet E.E. Cummings, with an introduction to his life and work. Recorded at the YMHA Poetry Center New York, NY in 1959.

Rank #2: Wallace Stevens: Essential American Poets.
Archival recordings of the poet Wallace Stevens, with an introduction to his life and work. Recorded in 1954, YMHA Poetry Center, New York, NY.

Avant-Garde All the Time

Poet Kenneth Goldsmith presents selections from UbuWeb, the learned and varietous online repository concerning concrete and sound poetry, experimental film, outsider art, and all things avant-garde.

Rank #1: Continental Drift.
How the French avante-garde twisted up and bent language, featuring Rimbaud, Apollinaire, the space age poetry of Ilse Garnier, and more.

Rank #2: The Women of the Avant-Garde.
Sound clips from Kathy Acker, Laurie Anderson, Caroline Bergvall, Denise Levertov, Lydia Lunch, Patti Smith, Eileen Myles, and many more.

Ampersand: The Poets & Writers Podcast

Hear from the editors of Poets & Writers Magazine as they offer a behind-the-scenes preview of each new issue, talk with contributors and authors featured in the magazine, share readings of new work by a variety of poets and writers, and discuss all things writing, books, and the literary community.

Rank #1: American Faith by Maya C. Popa.
Maya C. Popa reads from her debut poetry collection, American Faith.

Rank #2: Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi.
Helen Oyeyemi reads from her new novel, Gingerbread, published in March by Riverhead Books. Audio excerpted courtesy of Penguin Random House Audio.

Interesting People Reading Poetry

Interesting People Reading Poetry is a short, sound-rich podcast where artists and luminaries read a favorite poem and share what it means to them. Created by Andy & Brendan Stermer.

Rank #1: Comedian Mary Mack Reads Roald Dahl.
In this episode, comedian Mary Mack reads “Attention Please! Attention Please!” by Roald Dahl. Mack is a nationally touring stand-up comic, beloved for her singular oddball folk humor. She’s been on Conan and WTF with Marc Maron. Her latest album is Ms. Taco Man. “Attention Please! Attention Please!” by Roald Dahl appears in the book Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, published by Puffin Books. Keep up with Mary Mack on Facebook, Twitter, and marymackcomedy.com. As always, the Haiku Hotline (612-440-0643) is open for your short poems and poetic musings. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Subscribe on RadioPublic, iTunes, or Stitcher.

Rank #2: DJ Rekha Reads Audre Lorde.
In this episode, DJ Rekha reads “A Litany for Survival” by Audre Lorde and discusses dancing as an antidote to fear. DJ Rekha is a producer, curator, and educator based in New York City. Her classic debut album, DJ Rekha presents Basement Bhangra, was released in 2007. Her monthly party, Basement Bhangra, ran from 1997 to the summer of 2017 – making it one of the most influential and longest continuously running parties in NYC history. “A Litany for Survival” by Audrey Lorde appears in The Black Unicorn, published by W.W. Norton & Company. Keep up with DJ Rekha on Twitter, Facebook, and at djrekha.com. We feature one listener haiku at the end of every episode. To submit, call the Haiku Hotline at 612-440-0643 and read your poem after the beep. For the occasional prompt, follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Subscribe on RadioPublic, iTunes, Spotify, or Stitcher. https://radiopublic.com/interesting-people-reading-poetry-60aNDL/ep/s1!51059#t=1

AAWW Radio: New Asian American Writers & Literature

AAWW Radio is the podcast of the Asian American Writers' Workshop, a national nonprofit dedicated to the idea that Asian American stories deserve to be told. Listen to AAWW Radio and you’ll hear selected audio from our current and past events. We’ve hosted established writers like Claudia Rankine, Maxine Hong Kingston, Roxane Gay, Amitav Ghosh, and Hanya Yanagihara, as well as more emerging writers like Ocean Vuong, Solmaz Sharif, and Jenny Zhang. Our events are intimate and intellectual, quirky yet curated, dedicated to social justice but with a sense of humor and weirdness. We curate our events to juxtapose novelists and activists, poets and intellectuals, and bring together people who usually wouldn’t be in the same room. We’ve got it all: from avant-garde poetry to post-colonial politics, feminist comics to lyric verse, literary fiction to dispatches from the racial justice left. AAWW Radio features curated audio from the literary events we hold weekly in our New York City reading room, a legendary downtown art space that hosted Jhumpa Lahiri’s first book party. Founded in 1991, AAWW is an alternative literary arts space working at the intersection of race, migration, and social justice. A sanctuary for the immigrant imagination, we’re inventing the future of Asian American literary culture. Learn more by visiting aaww.org.Produced by the Asian American Writers' Workshop.

Rank #1: The Collected Schizophrenias (ft. Esmé Weijun Wang & Larissa Pham).
We hosted a reading and conversation with novelist Esmé Weijun Wang, author of the New York Times-bestselling new essay collection The Collected Schizophrenias. She was named one of Granta’s Best Young American Novelists and has won a Whiting Award. The Collected Schizophrenias, which won the Graywolf Nonfiction Prize, is, as NPR writes, “riveting, honest, and courageously allows for complexities in the reality of what living with illness is like.” After reading from her work, Esmé has a conversation with Larissa Pham, writer and author of the novella Fantasian. Together they discuss how to write vulnerably while maintaining boundaries, little things we can do for each other when our friends and family are going through difficult times, and much more.

Rank #2: Poetry Potluck I with Ocean Vuong, Janine Joseph, Wendy Xu, and Jennifer Hayashida.
We’re starting a new series called Poetry Potluck featuring audio from our favorite AAWW poetry events and showcasing exciting poets of the moment. In Poetry Potluck 1, we have poets Ocean Vuong, Janine Joseph, and Wendy Xu reading from their work and having a conversation about writing process, family, and the body. Jennifer Hayashida introduces and moderates the conversation.

The Poetry Society

The Poetry Society was founded in 1909 to promote "a more general recognition and appreciation of poetry". Since then, it has grown into one of Britain's most dynamic arts organisations, representing British poetry both nationally and internationally. Today it has more than 4000 members worldwide and publishes the leading poetry magazine, The Poetry Review.With innovative education and commissioning programmes and a packed calendar of performances, readings and competitions, the Poetry Society champions poetry for all ages. "The Poetry Society is the heart and hands of poetry in the UK – a centre which pours out energy to all parts of the poetry-body, and a dexterous set of operations which arrange and organise poetry's various manifestations. It has a long distinguished history, and has never been so vital, or so vitalizing as it is now." Sir Andrew Motion

Rank #1: The 2019 Poem-A-Thon: Part 5.
On Saturday 18 May 2019, The Poetry Society hosted an all day poetry fundraising extravaganza, including a 10 hour sponsored poetry reading from a line-up of 60 poets. This is part 5 of 5 - you can listen to the first 8 (!) hours of the reading in parts 1-4 on our SoundCloud or via your podcasting app of choice. See below for the timings of featured poets' sets, and remember that you can still donate to the fundraising campaign via bit.ly/poemdonate. PART 5: FEATURED POETS0:00 - Isabel White12:00 - Mark Waldron20:15 - Chris Hardy29:10 - Lantern Carrier39:15 - Fran Lock46:00 - Isy Mead55:00 - Rick Dove1:06:20 - Sue Johns1:15:00 - Kat Francois1:28:30 - Siddharta Bose

Rank #2: Ilya Kaminsky talks to Emily Berry.
In the latest Poetry Review podcast, Emily Berry talks to Ilya Kaminsky, author of the astonishing and internationally acclaimed collection Deaf Republic. Their conversation ranges across political poetry (only in English do people try to divide poetry that is political and not political, everywhere else poetry is political, says Kaminsky), of matching your method to show what it is you see as a writer, about the need to witness the good as well as the bad, and the poet as a private person. Kaminsky, born in the former Soviet Union but now an American citizen, describes his unrequited love for English: “sometimes a stranger can make love to the language a little better than the native person... of course it can also be very awkward too”.

fiction/non/fiction

Hosted by Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan, fiction/non/fiction interprets current events through the lens of literature, and features conversations with writers of all stripes, from novelists and poets to journalists and essayists.

Rank #1: S3 Ep. 1: The Secret Lives of Editors: Rakesh Satyal, Brian Birnbaum, & M.K. Rainey on the World of Editing .
In this episode, novelist and editor Rakesh Satyal and Dead Rabbits Books founders Brian Birnbaum and M.K. Rainey talk to Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell about editing and being edited. Satyal discusses the ins and outs of big publishing houses, how he revises, and the simple but revealing question he heard another editor ask an author. Birnbaum and Rainey share what it took for them to start Dead Rabbits Books, how they give each other feedback, and why they appreciate fresh eyes on their work.Guests:Rakesh SatyalBrian BirnbaumM.K. (Katie) RaineyReadings for the Episode:Rakesh SatyalNo One Can Pronounce My Name by Rakesh Satyal Blue Boy by Rakesh Satyal Rakesh Satyal on the pick up line that changed his life LitHub, Nov. 7, 2018No One Can Pronounce My Name' Is A Charming Take On Loneliness And Connection by Maureen Corrigan, NPR, May 10, 2017 Brian BirnbaumEmerald City by Brian Birnbaum Dead Rabbits Podcast Dead Rabbits Episode 33: Vulnerable Discovering an iconic literary character was based on your grandfather LitHub, May 16, 2019M.K. (Katie) RaineyReading Your Work in Public: 12 Tips from Dead Rabbits Reading Series Founder by M.K. Rainey, Writer’s Digest, July 15, 2019Citizen Uncensored: The Power of Student Centered Learning by M.K. Rainey, Writer’s Chronicle, July 2019 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rank #2: 2: Idra Novey and Esmé Wang Talk Mental Health and Writing.
In this episode of the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast, Idra Novey and Esmé Wang talk to hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell about Brett Kavanaugh, Christine Blasey Ford, trauma, and mental health.Readings for the episode: · The Border of Paradise by Esmé Wang  ·  The Collected Schizophrenias by Esmé Wang (forthcoming) · Esmé Wang's website · “Perdition Days: On Experiencing Psychosis,” by Esme Wang · “The Silence of Sexual Assault in Literature,” by Idra Novey · Ways to Disappear and Those Who Knew, by Idra Novey · “Good Country People,” by Flannery O’Connor · The Recovering by Leslie Jamison Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices