The Art of Losing—Three Poems for the COVID-19 Pandemic
“The aspiration to mastery leaves room for a lot of anxiety. Many readers hear a kind of hysteria in the poem, with its rhythm revving up as it ruminates …
Read MoreYear: 2020
Production Diary: Filming the 2020 National Student Poets
Each year, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers select five of the best and brightest high school poets in the country to serve as youth poetry ambassadors. Poetry In America has been proud to feature the distinguished members of this prestigious program as guest interpreters in our previous seasons. (You can see the National Student Poets of 2016 and 2018 in our “Carl Sandburg – Skyscraper” and “Walt Whitman – Leaves of Grass” episodes.)
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Boys and Girls Clubs of America Cipher
This summer, Poetry in America teamed up with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and Wide Open School to offer the Whatever It Takes to Speak Your Mind Challenge. The challenge …
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2020 Production Diary: Looking for the Gulf Motel
Poetry is evocative, ethereal, emotional, transportive, but right now, poetry for me is a traffic jam on Florida’s Route 1.
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2020 Production Diary: Poetry in America Season 3
Read below to hear from our Communications Intern Gideon Leek, a senior at Oberlin College. Gideon, an English and Politics major, has been the voice behind many of Poetry …
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Season 2 DVD Coming Soon and Featured in Media Play News
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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Poetry in America featured in The Paris Review
On July 10, 2020, Poetry in America was featured in The Paris Review’s weekly round-up of staff picks. Alongside the work of novelists Marie NDiaye and Halle Butler, essayist Moyra Davey, and jazz label Pi Recordings, The Paris Review staff spotlights Poetry in America’s season 2 episode on Yusef Komunyakaa’s poem “You and I Are Disappearing.”
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Poetry in America featured in Forbes
On June 12th, 2020, Forbes wrote about Poetry in America Live event hosted by the Sheen Center, a continuation of the Finishing the Hat episode, and showcased the series more generally. The article highlights the work of the Sheen Center, the accomplishments of the live event’s guests (singer & actor Melissa Errico, musical director Tedd Firth, and writer Adam Gopnik), the vitality of the series, and the specific contents of the live event.
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Poetry in America featured on Sheen Center Talks
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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Poetry in America featured in The New York Times
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.
Read MoreA Statement from Elisa New, Founder & Director of Poetry in America
Poetry in America featured in Psychology Today
On May 30th, 2020, Psychology Today featured a blog post on Langston Hughes’s poem “Harlem” and the current protests, referencing (and encouraging readers to watch) our Season 1 episode on the poem. How do we deal with suffering? Can poetry provide us comfort? Can it help us move forward?
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Poetry in America featured in LitHub
On May 29th, 2020, LitHub featured Poetry in America’s tie-in Whitman crossword puzzle. PIA guest (and author, poet & puzzler) Adrienne Raphel’s promotional Whitman crossword was discussed with consideration to Poetry in America’s balancing act between its broader appeals and desire to attract poetry nerds.
Read MoreWalt Whitman Crossword
Season 2 of Poetry in America concludes with an ensemble cast–the largest of any Poetry in America episode–reading Walt Whitman, that most mythically capacious of American poets. The episode …
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Poetry in America featured in Pitchfork
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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Poetry in America featured in Playbill
On May 5th, 2020, Playbill featured Poetry in America’s episode on Sondheim’s “Finishing The Hat” from Sunday in the Park with George in their film and tv news. The article discusses both the aim of the show (to analyze how Sondheim works at the intersection of lyric and sound) and the very real Broadway creds of the guests.
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Poetry in America featured on WBUR’s Here and Now
On April, 24th 2020, WBUR interviewed journalist Katie Couric about her appearance on Poetry in America. Couric discussed the pertinence of Elizabeth Bishop’s “One Art” to her own life, to our current moment, and all people dealing with grief.
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Elisa New on Big Think: “Why Reading Literature is a Form of Therapy”
On April 22, 2020, Big Think President Peter Hopkin’s moderated a live YouTube discussion with PIA Host Professor Elisa New.
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Poetry in America featured in The Washington Post
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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Poetry in America featured in Broadway World
On February 13th, 2020, Broadway World wrote an article announcing the airing of Season 2 of Poetry in America. The piece highlights how the show promotes the universal appeal …
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