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Poetry For All

by Joanne Diaz and Abram Van Engen

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Latest episodes

Episode 117: Richard Wilbur, Praise in Summer

October 26, 2026 · 26 min

This live episode looks at the power of poetry for defamiliarizing the familiar and increasing our attention to the world around us. We met with First United Methodist Church in Normal, Illinois to discuss Richard Wilbur's sonnet and Abram…
Episode 116: Patricia Smith, "XXXL"

October 11, 2026 · 27 min

In this episode, we continue our series on the villanelle with Patricia Smith's "XXXL." In this poem, Smith uses the constraints of the villanelle form to create a powerful portrait of familial love. Patricia Smith is the author of…
Episode 115: A.E. Stallings, Burned

September 24, 2026 · 22 min

In this episode, we continue our villanelle series with the incredible formalist poet A.E. Stallings. Every form begs for a bending of the rules, sometimes in small ways, sometimes in big ways. We look here at how slight bends in the rules…
Episode 114: Dylan Thomas, Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

September 10, 2026 · 27 min

In this episode, we introduce the first villanelle in our three-part series on that poetic form. We begin with Dylan Thomas's "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night," a poem that attempts to stave off the inevitability of mortality. To…
Episode 113: Langston Hughes, Theme for English B

August 27, 2026 · 25 min

In this episode, we read one of Langston Hughes's most famous poems. We discuss Hughes's conversational style, how he evokes the topography of Harlem, and the way the poetic speaker addresses the complexity of the power dynamics in the…

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Episode 112: Walt Whitman, When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer

August 13, 2026 · 23 min

As we prepare for the new school year, we turn to Walt Whitman's poem "When I Heard the Learned Astronomer." We discuss Whitman's influence, the effects of war, the role of poetry as Whitman saw it, and the importance of experiencing the…
Episode 111: Katie Ford, The Shroud of Turin

July 28, 2026 · 27 min

In this episode, Laura Evers (who has done so much work for this podcast), joins us to discuss the poem that drew her into poetry. We explore Katie Ford's haunting poem of longing, absence, and the desire to know, and we examine how her…
Episode 110: Tarfia Faizullah, Aubade Ending with the Death of a Mosquito

June 5, 2026 · 25 min

In this third installment of our series on the aubade, we feature a contrapuntal poem that explores various states of grief and loss. Tarfia Faizullah is the author of two poetry collections: Registers of Illuminated Villages (Graywolf…
Episode 109: Philip Larkin, Aubade

May 9, 2026 · 25 min

This episode continues our series on the aubade (a morning love song) with a dramatic turn. Larkin reinvents the tradition as waking to the fact that every new day brings a person one day closer to death. To see the tradition that Larkin…
Episode 108: Joanne Diaz, The Face

April 15, 2026 · 26 min

In a special episode, we celebrate the release of Joanne Diaz's latest book, Electric Dress, by reading "The Face," a poem of double ekphrasis that reflects on the hope of tomorrow in the losses of today. To order the book Electric Dress…
Episode 107: John Donne, The Sun Rising

April 10, 2026 · 26 min

This episode begins a three-part series on the "aubade," a poem to greet the morning (often by wishing the morning away). We discuss Donne's many wonderful techniques and even recite a little Romeo and Juliet. Here is the poem: The Sun…
Episode 106: Jane Mead, I wonder if I will miss the moss

March 12, 2026 · 21 min

This poem offers a humble love of the world and a leave-taking of it. It was found in the papers of Jane Mead (1958-2019), which were left to her great friend Kathleen Finneran (1957-2026), and it was published in the New Yorker in 2021…

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About the show

This podcast is for those who already love poetry and for those who know very little about it. In this podcast, we read a poem, discuss it, see what makes it tick, learn how it works, grow from it, and then read it one more time. Introducing our brand new Poetry For All website: https://poetryforallpod.com! Please visit the new website to learn more about our guests, search for thematic episodes (ranging from Black History Month to the season of autumn), and subscribe to our newsletter.