Reading with Rilke: The First Elegy

Rainer Maria Rilke has been hailed as one of the most profound and genius poets of the 20th century. His Duino Elegies in particular, in tandem with the Sonnets to Orpheus, are seen as the pinnacle of his poetic achievements. Whole books could be written on each elegy. Here, Bianca Stone joins with guests to […]

How Poetry Speaks to Change: Ovid’s Metamorphoses with Translator Stephanie McCarter

An incredible and in-depth conversation with Classical scholar, Stephanie McCarter about Ovid, Horace, greco Roman poetry, the tradition of translation, retelling of myth, and the movements of poetry across the ages. Ovid’s Metamorphoses continues to speak to our fundamental issues, but how, and why? What can this new translation tell us about not only Ovid’s […]

A Place Beyond Shame: Ed Steck on the B Horror Film of Life

Talking today about the work of creating a book from our private work on the self, reckoning with the most unbearable past; as it overlaps and interacts with the art in our lives, which in turn connects to the history of our relationship with art and others: Ed Steck, who spent much of his childhood […]

MARISA CRAWFORD, the DIARY & the 90s

What is the private space of a diary, what is the public space of a poem, and what does the psyche do in each? What is confession and what is memory in the poem, if it plays with the mechanism, or tone of Diary? How to explore and play the the personal expectations of those […]

Haunting Performances of the (un/discovered) Self: Dorothea Lasky

Dorothea Lasky and I discuss her newest collection of poetry The Shining, the deceptive nature of the “I” in poetry; the undiscovered language that haunts our very psyche–and of course a lot about Kubrick’s film adaptation of The Shining. Mactaggart Jewelry: use the code Psyche20 for 20% off! Louise Glück’s The Wild Iris Jung’s The […]

Poetry & Dreams with Mathias Svalina

Talking with the incredible poet and artist, Mathias Svalina, about language and space of dreams, as it mirrors and informs the poem. Working consistently within the epistolary form, and the “telling” of dream form, Svalina continues the work of looking and seeing the world through the lens of the surreal, pushing against the boundaries of […]

Violence in Language & Finding Repair in Poetry: Paul Hlava Ceballos

In Paul Hlava Ceballos’s Banana [] is a stunning debut full length collection that explored the crushing reality of the violence of “the extractive relationship the United States has with the Americas and its people through poetic portraits of migrants, family, and memory.” The title poem is part poetry and part reportage that traces the […]

Poetry & Dreams with Ana Božičević

Today we’re starting a new randomly occurring series on the podcast where we talk about–on top of whatever else–dreams. We start today with the poet and translator Ana Božičević, whose new book New Life came out this year from Wave Books. Ana Božičević is a poet, translator, teacher, and occasional singer. Ana grew up in […]

THE HUMAN DRIVE: SOPHIE KLAHR ON POETRY, MEMORY, LOOKING & LISTENING

SOPHIE KLAHR IS THE AUTHOR OF TWO OPEN DOORS IN A FIELD (BACKWATERS PRESS), MEET ME HERE AT DAWN (YESYES BOOKS) AND THERE IS ONLY ONE GHOST IN THE WORLD (FICTION COLLECTIVE 2), WINNER OF THE RONALD SUKENICK INNOVATIVE FICTION CONTEST, WHICH WAS CO-AUTHORED WITH COREY ZELLER. HER POEMS APPEAR IN THE NEW YORKER, AMERICAN […]

Muse of the Unconscious: mind, body & poetry

Today I’m talking with my friend and collaborator, Candace Jensen about the embodied and disembodies; poetry and inspiration; the soma and psyche; dyadic knowing and hidden; and the multifarious states of consciousness– this is what inspired us to host a week long in-person retreat this summer called The Unconscious Speaks and we wanted to include […]