Close Talking

Connor and Jack delve into Ross Gay's powerhouse poem "Pulled Over in Short Hills, NJ 8:00am. Jack breaks down how he arrived at his choice of this poem and the two discuss police violence, the inescapability of race in the United States, the ending of the film Inception, and the Green Book, a travel guide used by black families during the Jim Crow era. Find out more about Ross Gay, here: http://www.rossgay.net/about Find his books, here: http://www.rossgay.net/books Find his poem about Eric Garner (mentioned in the pod), here: https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/small-needful-fact Find us on facebook at: facebook.com/closetalking Find us on twitter at: twitter.com/closetalking You can always send us an e-mail with thoughts on this or any of our previous podcasts, as well as suggestions for future shows, at closetalkingpoetry@gmail.com. Pulled Over in Short Hills, NJ, 8:00 AM By: Ross Gay It’s the shivering. When rage grows hot as an army of red ants and forces the mind to quiet the body, the quakes emerg

Connor and Jack discuss Frank Chipasula's poem "Manifesto on Ars Poetica." They discuss the poem's historical context regarding Malawi, its contrast with Carolyn Forche's style of witnessing, the juxaposition of light and dark, self-reflexivity, and the tradition of ars poetica. Check out the poem below or at this link: https://theafricanbookreview.com/2014/11/27/frank-chipasula/ Read more about Chipasula here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Chipasula Read more about Tracy Dale's With the Witnesses here: http://www.mqup.ca/with-the-witnesses-products-9780773550285.php Find us on facebook at: facebook.com/closetalking Find us on twitter at: twitter.com/closetalking You can always send us an e-mail with thoughts on this or any of our previous podcasts, as well as suggestions for future shows, at closetalkingpoetry@gmail.com. Manifesto on Ars Poetica by Frank Chipasula My poetry is exacting a confession from me: I will not keep the truth from my song. I will not bar the voice undressed by the bees

Connor and Jack discuss Emily Jungmin Yoon's poem "Say Grace." They discuss how gender and religion intertwine in the poem, the difficulties immigrant populations face in new oppressive states, and Yoon's particular kind of reclaiming. Check out the poem below or at this link: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/144625/say-grace Read more about Yoon here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/emily-jungmin-yoon Read more about Kelly Oliver's Witnessing here: https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/witnessing Find us on facebook at: facebook.com/closetalking Find us on twitter at: twitter.com/closetalking You can always send us an e-mail with thoughts on this or any of our previous podcasts, as well as suggestions for future shows, at closetalkingpoetry@gmail.com. [italics don't show below] Say Grace BY EMILY JUNGMIN YOON In my country our shamans were women and our gods multiple until white people brought an ecstasy of rosaries and our cities today glow with crosses like gravey

Connor and Jack discuss Natalie Diaz's poem "My Brother At 3 A.M." They discuss the form of the pantoum and explore how the pantoum's repetitive structure works with a poem about addiction. Check out the poem below or at this link: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/56355/my-brother-at-3-am Read more about Diaz here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/natalie-diaz Read more about pantoums here: https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/text/pantoum-poetic-form Watch the PBS special on Diaz's work with the Mojave language here: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/poet-natalie-diaz-returns-to-her-roots Find us on facebook at: facebook.com/closetalking Find us on twitter at: twitter.com/closetalking You can always send us an e-mail with thoughts on this or any of our previous podcasts, as well as suggestions for future shows, at closetalkingpoetry@gmail.com. My Brother at 3 A.M. He sat cross-legged, weeping on the steps when Mom unlocked and opened the front door. O God, he said. O God.

For the second time on Close Talking, Connor and Jack consider an excerpt from a play. In a wide-ranging discussion of Harper's Monologue from Tony Kushner's eight hour masterwork "Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes," they discuss modes of writing, lyricism, echoes within the sprawling play, and how the work draws out, smashes together, and interrogates seemingly disconnected aspects of American history. Angels in America Oral History Long Read: http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/cover_story/2016/06/oral_history_of_tony_kushner_s_play_angels_in_america.html Find us on facebook at: facebook.com/closetalking Find us on twitter at: twitter.com/closetalking You can always send us an e-mail with thoughts on this or any of our previous podcasts, as well as suggestions for future shows, at closetalkingpoetry@gmail.com. Harper’s Monologue from Angels in America By: Tony Kushner Night flight to San Francisco. Chase the moon across America. God! It’s been years since I was on a plane! When we hit

Connor and Jack talk about Carolyn Forche's elegy "Because One Is Always Forgotten" digging into the troubled history of the United States' involvement in South and Central America -- many times being on the wrong side of (and in some cases starting) brutal conflicts. This episode comes out the same week that Oliver North, the man indicted in the Iran-Contra Scandal, was named president of the NRA: proof that this 30+ year old poem's themes of remembrance and resistance are eerily relevant. Find us on facebook at: facebook.com/closetalking Find us on twitter at: twitter.com/closetalking You can always send us an e-mail with thoughts on this or any of our previous podcasts, as well as suggestions for future shows, at closetalkingpoetry@gmail.com. Because One Is Always Forgotten By: Carolyn Forche In memoriam Jose Rudolfo Viera 1939-1981: El Salvador When Viera was buried we knew it had come to an end, his coffin rocking into the ground like a boat or a cradle. I could take my heart, he said, and give it t

Connor and Jack talk about a poem that was likely written hundreds of years ago (more on this in the podcast) by Jewish poet and philosopher Yehuda Halevi. More recently, it was featured in the Netflix original series, Godless. This episode contains a wide-ranging discussion of poetic translation, religion, and universality in poetry. Find us on facebook at: facebook.com/closetalking Find us on twitter at: twitter.com/closetalking You can always send us an e-mail with thoughts on this or any of our previous podcasts, as well as suggestions for future shows, at closetalkingpoetry@gmail.com. 'Tis a Fearful Thing Yehuda Halevi ‘Tis a fearful thing to love what death can touch. A fearful thing to love, to hope, to dream, to be – to be, And oh, to lose. A thing for fools, this, And a holy thing, a holy thing to love. For your life has lived in me, your laugh once lifted me, your word was gift to me. To remember this brings painful joy. ‘Tis a human thing, love, a holy thing, to love what death has touch

Connor and Jack explore the fantastic poem "I Have Got To Stop Loving You So I Have Killed My Black Goat" by Ai. Connor and Jack talk about grotesque and profane images, and how they get us to the profound and sacred, and make a million references in order to talk about how images work, including Call Me By Your Name and Star Wars. Check out the poem below, or at this link: https://words-end-here.livejournal.com/13839.html Read more about Ai here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/ai Read the referenced article by Anna Journey here: https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Earn+the+Vomit%3A+employing+the+Grotesque+in+contemporary+Poetry.-a0380527469 Read the referenced "essay" by Charles Simic here: https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/text/narrative-image-correspondence Find us on facebook at: facebook.com/closetalking Find us on twitter at: twitter.com/closetalking You can always send us an e-mail with thoughts on this or any of our previous podcasts, as well as suggestions for future shows, at closetalkingpoetry

While preparing for episode 26 of Close Talking on Kaveh Akbar's Waiting for the Twelfth, Jack stumbled onto a musical interpretation of the poem. As a special Poetry Month extra, here is a recording of Jack's sung version of Waiting for the Twelfth. Check out our episode discussing this poem, here: https://soundcloud.com/close-talking/episode-026-waiting-for-the-twelfth For more on Akbar: www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/kaveh-akbar To check out his collection Calling a Wolf a Wolf: www.powells.com/book/calling-a-wo…olf-9781938584671 Find us on facebook at: facebook.com/closetalking Find us on twitter at: twitter.com/closetalking You can always send us an e-mail with thoughts on this or any of our previous podcasts, as well as suggestions for future shows, at closetalkingpoetry@gmail.com. Waiting for the Twelfth by Kaveh Akbar In Shia Islam, the Twelfth Imam is said to have disappeared in the ninth century. It’s believed his return at the end of the world will deliver order from the chaos. no one ever bri

Connor and Jack discuss Joy Harjo's "An American Sunrise. Along the way Jack recommends a documentary, Connor gives his current hot take on form in poetry, and both think about the origins of blues, jazz, and rock and roll. Check out the poem below, or at this link: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/92063/an-american-sunrise Find us on facebook at: facebook.com/closetalking Find us on twitter at: twitter.com/closetalking You can always send us an e-mail with thoughts on this or any of our previous podcasts, as well as suggestions for future shows, at closetalkingpoetry@gmail.com. An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo We were running out of breath, as we ran out to meet ourselves. We were surfacing the edge of our ancestors’ fights, and ready to strike. It was difficult to lose days in the Indian bar if you were straight. Easy if you played pool and drank to remember to forget. We made plans to be professional — and did. And some of us could sing so we drummed a fire-lit pathway up to those s

Connor and Jack explore the fantastic poem "First Quarantine With Abdelhalim Hafez" by Safia Elhillo. Connor fixates on the tensions between the figurative and literal and Jack goes deep on his and the poem's obsessions, and also pulls off a Werner Herzog impression. Check out the poem below, or at this link: https://www.poetrysociety.org/psa/poetry/crossroads/own_words/African_poets_tatu/ Read more about Safia Elhillo here: http://safia-mafia.com/bio Listen to the full Abdelhalim Hafez song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ro_peC026lE Read the referenced interview with Elhillo here: http://blog.pshares.org/index.php/unapologetic-black-muslim-sudanese-american-an-interview-with-safia-elhillo/ Find us on facebook at: facebook.com/closetalking Find us on twitter at: twitter.com/closetalking You can always send us an e-mail with thoughts on this or any of our previous podcasts, as well as suggestions for future shows, at closetalkingpoetry@gmail.com. First Quarantine With Abdelhalim Hafez by Safia Elhi

Connor and Jack delve into the humorous, heartbreaking, poem "Poplar Street" by Chen Chen. Connor discusses the glories and pitfalls of using a colloquial voice in poetry and Jack finds connections to Everything is Illuminated. Check out the poem, here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/58154/poplar-street Read more about Chen Chen here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/chen-chen Find us on facebook at: facebook.com/closetalking Find us on twitter at: twitter.com/closetalking You can always send us an e-mail with thoughts on this or any of our previous podcasts, as well as suggestions for future shows, at closetalkingpoetry@gmail.com. Poplar Street By: Chen Chen Oh. Sorry. Hello. Are you on your way to work, too? I was just taken aback by how you also have a briefcase, also small & brown. I was taken by how you seem, secretly, to love everything. Are you my new coworker? Oh. I see. No. Still, good to meet you. I’m trying out this thing where it’s good to meet people. Maybe, bey

A bonus episode! After our episode about "Eating Together," we received a request to talk more about the idea of pressure in poetry. Connor takes it away. Let us know what you think! Subscribe to Close Talking on iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/close…d1185025517?mt=2 Find us on facebook at: facebook.com/closetalking Find us on twitter at: twitter.com/closetalking You can always send us an e-mail with thoughts on this or any of our previous podcasts, as well as suggestions for future shows, at closetalkingpoetry@gmail.com.

Connor and Jack discuss Jordan Rice's "Epithalamion." To read the poem, see below or go here: https://blackbird.vcu.edu/v14n2/poetry/rice_j/epithalamion_page.shtml To check out her collection Constellarium: http://orisonbooks.com/product/constellarium-paper/ For the article referenced in the podcast: https://2paragraphs.com/2014/03/what-its-like-to-be-transgender-by-jordan-rice/ Find us on facebook at: facebook.com/closetalking Find us on twitter at: twitter.com/closetalking You can always send us an e-mail with thoughts on this or any of our previous podcasts, as well as suggestions for future shows, at closetalkingpoetry@gmail.com. Epithalamion From here, nowhere’s absent shame. The body’s rumored dissolute for its mutability. Even speech— the clear-spoke & the speaking, my mind’s aroar in hoary rasp. No voice carries. I try every one, even apology & rhetoric: the apsis of our fall. Listen. Around us whirs the sex I’m to become—violent, exact. I etch up another voice within your silence. Say I’

Solmaz Sharif's book "Look", published by Graywolf Press, has received critical praise and numerous accolades. Connor and Jack dig into a work from the collection "Perception Management: An Abridged List of Operations" a found poem that takes the names of real military operations and recontextualizes them to draw out infinite meanings and connections. Connor finds connections to a Das Racist song and draws out multiple ways to read the poem. Jack gets thinking about Edwin Starr, wrestlers, Georgetown University Law professors, and the Punisher. Strap in, it's a wild one. For more on Sharif: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/solmaz-sharif For more on "Look": https://solmazsharif.com/look/ Find us on facebook at: facebook.com/closetalking Find us on twitter at: twitter.com/closetalking You can always send us an e-mail with thoughts on this or any of our previous podcasts, as well as suggestions for future shows, at closetalkingpoetry@gmail.com. PERCEPTION MANAGEMENT An abridged list of operations BY So

Connor and Jack discuss Li-Young Lee's "Eating Together." To read the poem, see below or go here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43015/eating-together-56d221af2bf26 For more on Lee: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/li-young-lee To check out his collection Rose: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rose-li-young-lee/1122988627 Find us on facebook at: facebook.com/closetalking Find us on twitter at: twitter.com/closetalking You can always send us an e-mail with thoughts on this or any of our previous podcasts, as well as suggestions for future shows, at closetalkingpoetry@gmail.com. Eating Together By Li-Young Lee In the steamer is the trout seasoned with slivers of ginger, two sprigs of green onion, and sesame oil. We shall eat it with rice for lunch, brothers, sister, my mother who will taste the sweetest meat of the head, holding it between her fingers deftly, the way my father did weeks ago. Then he lay down to sleep like a snow-covered road winding through pines

Connor and Jack discuss John Ashbery's "Homeless Heart." To read the poem, see below or go here: http://www.poetryinternationalweb.net/pi/site/poem/item/23291/auto/0/0/John-Ashbery/HOMELESS-HEART For more on Ashbery: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/john-ashbery To check out his collection Quick Question: https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062225955/?utm_source=aps&utm_medium=hc&utm_campaign=aps Find us on facebook at: facebook.com/closetalking Find us on twitter at: twitter.com/closetalking You can always send us an e-mail with thoughts on this or any of our previous podcasts, as well as suggestions for future shows, at closetalkingpoetry@gmail.com. HOMELESS HEART When I think of finishing the work, when I think of the finished work, a great sadness overtakes me, a sadness paradoxically like joy. The circumstances of doing put away, the being of it takes possession, like a tenant in a rented house. Where are you now, homeless heart? Caught in a hinge, or secreted behind drywall, like your nameless

Connor and Jack discuss Kaveh Akbar's "Waiting for the Twelfth." To read the poem, see below or go here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/143913/waiting-for-the-twelfth For more on Akbar: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/kaveh-akbar To check out his collection Calling a Wolf a Wolf: http://www.powells.com/book/calling-a-wolf-a-wolf-9781938584671 Find us on facebook at: facebook.com/closetalking Find us on twitter at: twitter.com/closetalking You can always send us an e-mail with thoughts on this or any of our previous podcasts, as well as suggestions for future shows, at closetalkingpoetry@gmail.com. Waiting for the Twelfth by Kaveh Akbar In Shia Islam, the Twelfth Imam is said to have disappeared in the ninth century. It’s believed his return at the end of the world will deliver order from the chaos. no one ever brings up the wages of virtue the cost of avoiding that which you were built to do some men actually love their enemies remind me to tell you a

It has been one year since Connor and Jack launched Close Talking!. After 24 episodes, they decided to commemorate the occasion by looking back on an episode they particularly enjoyed on now-poet laureate Tracy K. Smith's, "The Weather in Space." To learn more about Tracy K Smith, go here: www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-po…racy-k-smith. Check out her book Life on Mars and her memoir Ordinary Light! Subscribe to Close Talking on iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/close…d1185025517?mt=2 Find us on facebook at: facebook.com/closetalking Find us on twitter at: twitter.com/closetalking You can always send us an e-mail with thoughts on this or any of our previous podcasts, as well as suggestions for future shows, at closetalkingpoetry@gmail.com.

Connor and Jack discuss Eduardo C. Corral's poem Sentence. Connor provides several excellent readings, Jack discusses why the poem has him remembering Tom Petty, and both marvel at the brilliant sounds and images contained within the work. More on Eduardo C. Corral here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/eduardo-c-corral To read Sentence, to go: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/90284/sentence-57a379509f4b0 Subscribe on iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/close…d1185025517?mt=2 Find us on facebook at: facebook.com/closetalking Find us on twitter at: twitter.com/closetalking You can always send us an e-mail with thoughts on this or any of our previous podcasts, as well as suggestions for future shows, at closetalkingpoetry@gmail.com.