On April 25th, 2018, The Boston Globe discussed Poetry in America in its “TV Critics Corner.” In the article are topics including the state of poetry (Rupi Kaur, the dream frontier, dismissive college freshmen), the case (for poetry) made by the show, and the potential downside to listening to Allen Ginsberg’s “Hum Bom” at excessive volume.
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On June 12th, 2020, the Sheen Center presented Poetry in America Live “Finishing the Hat” as part of the celebration of Sondheim’s 90th. The most recent event in an ongoing series, this live event involved performance and discussion of lyrics from “Sunday in the Park with George.”
The event featured several guests from the Season 2 episode on the song but was by no means a rehash of well-worn terrain. The live format both expanding the time available for discussion and narrowed in the conversation to fewer guests, creating a discrete and complementary experience.
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On November 8th, 2018, Poetry in America host Professor Elisa New was interviewed on Montana Public Radio discussing the mission of the show and the state of the poetry.
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On April 13th, 2018, Tablet Magazine published an essay in its Arts and Letters section on Poetry in America’s first season. Describing the show as ‘infectious,’ ‘too good to be true,’ and capable of inspiring viewers to ‘seek out more daring and unusual contemporary writing.’ The article also notes some of season 1’s highlights: Regina Spektor’s personal take on ‘The New Colossus’, New’s intro to the Ginsberg episode, and the natural conversational style from which stunning insights seem to ‘spontaneously erupt at climactic points.’
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On August 20th, 2018, The Atlantic featured Poetry in America in an article on the improving fortunes of Poetry in popular culture following an NEA study, showing a significant increase in the readership of Poetry (including a two-fold rise for those 18-24). The article attributed this uptick to the interchange between poetry and other mediums (in the case of Poetry in America documentary filmmaking).
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Poetry in America is coming to DVD! Featuring every episode of season 2, explore and debate 8 classic and contemporary American poems with a wide variety of guests, and rich archival materials.
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On June 11th, 2020, The New York Times featured Poetry in America’s live ‘Finishing the Hat’ event on their listing of livestreams to watch. They noted the live events mixture of discussion and performance as well as the variety and quality of guests.
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On April 10th, 2020, The Washington Post Book Club Newsletter, in its series of reviews and recommendations from critic Ron Charles featured Poetry in America. The article notes the great variety of guests on the show, the close readings of individual poems, and the accompanying educational materials.
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On May 20th, 2020, Pitchfork announced Nas’ second appearance on Poetry in America and shared two clips of him discussing Whitman’s enduring influence on the American Canon.
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