PoemTalk at the Writers House
166 episodes - English - Latest episode: 10 days ago - ★★★★★ - 11 ratingsPoemTalk at the Writers House, hosted by Al Filreis and based at Kelly Writers House in Philadelphia. PoemTalk is a collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Programs in Contemporary Writing and Jacket2.org.
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Episodes
Episode 195 - Also I don't suffer
April 18, 2024 15:00 - 54 minutes - 75.4 MBThe group gathers at the Writers House's Wexler Studio to discuss "The Austrian Maiden" and "Joe Brainard's Painting Bingo" by Richard Padgett.
Episode 194 - Hack my name
March 21, 2024 16:00 - 48 minutes - 66.4 MBThe PoemTalk team travels to Scotland for a discussion at the Fruitmarket Arts Center in Edinburgh on two poems by Veronica Forrest-Thomson.
PoemTalk 194 - Hack my name
March 21, 2024 16:00 - 48 minutes - 66.4 MBThe PoemTalk team travels to Scotland for a discussion at the Fruitmarket Arts Center in Edinburgh on two poems by Veronica Forrest-Thomson.
Episode 193 - The colors of death
February 16, 2024 16:00 - 53 minutes - 73.5 MBThe group gathers at the Writers House's Wexler Studio to discuss Ariana Raines's "To the Reader," from A Sand Book (Tin House, 2019).
PoemTalk 193 - The colors of death
February 16, 2024 16:00 - 53 minutes - 73.5 MBThe group gathers at the Writers House's Wexler Studio to discuss Ariana Raines's "To the Reader," from A Sand Book (Tin House, 2019).
PoemTalk 192 - Of shredded love
January 31, 2024 14:00 - 1 hour - 90.3 MBThe group gathers at the Writers House's Wexler Studio to discuss two poems by Owen Dodson: "For Billie Holiday" and "Sorrow Is The Only Faithful One."
Episode 192 - Of shredded love
January 31, 2024 14:00 - 1 hour - 90.3 MBThe group gathers at the Writers House's Wexler Studio to discuss two poems by Owen Dodson: "For Billie Holiday" and "Sorrow Is The Only Faithful One."
Episode 191 - Fracas in the hinterlands
December 21, 2023 16:00 - 58 minutes - 81 MBThe group gathers at the Writers House's Wexler Studio to discuss two Kenward Elmslie pieces, "Core Bonus" and "One Night Stand."
PoemTalk 191 - Fracas in the hinterlands
December 21, 2023 16:00 - 58 minutes - 81 MBThe group gathers at the Writers House's Wexler Studio to discuss two Kenward Elmslie pieces, "Core Bonus" and "One Night Stand."
PoemTalk 190 - Watches don't shoot
November 20, 2023 16:00 - 59 minutes - 82.2 MBThe group gathers for a live session in the Kelly Writers House's Arts Cafe to discuss the eponymous piece from Aldon Nielson's book Tray (Make Now Press, 2017).
Episode 190 - Watches don't shoot
November 20, 2023 16:00 - 59 minutes - 82.2 MBThe group gathers for a live session in the Kelly Writers House's Arts Cafe to discuss the eponymous piece from Aldon Nielson's book Tray (Make Now Press, 2017).
PoemTalk 189 - Humming in the vacancy
October 27, 2023 22:00 - 1 hour - 87.7 MBThe group gathers at the Writers House's Wexler Studio to discuss Gregory Corso's 1969 performance of "Vision of Rotterdam."
Episode 189 - Humming in the vacancy
October 27, 2023 22:00 - 1 hour - 87.7 MBThe group gathers at the Writers House's Wexler Studio to discuss Gregory Corso's 1969 performance of "Vision of Rotterdam."
PoemTalk 188 - To the goon ictus
September 26, 2023 18:00 - 1 hour - 83.4 MBThe group gathers at the Writers House's Wexler Studio to discuss Ted Pearson's 1987 book-length poem, Catenary Odes.
Episode 188 - To the goon ictus
September 26, 2023 18:00 - 1 hour - 83.4 MBThe group gathers at the Writers House's Wexler Studio to discuss Ted Pearson's 1987 book-length poem, Catenary Odes.
PoemTalk 187 - Bray brassily
August 28, 2023 21:00 - 48 minutes - 66.7 MBThe group gathers at the Writers House's Wexler Studio to discuss two "Love Poems" by Mina Loy, from a recording and interview with Paul Blackburn and Robert Von Dias in 1965.
Episode 187 - Bray brassily
August 28, 2023 21:00 - 48 minutes - 66.7 MBThe group gathers at the Writers House's Wexler Studio to discuss two "Love Poems" by Mina Loy, from a recording and interview with Paul Blackburn and Robert Von Dias in 1965.
Episode 186 - The dots move out
July 28, 2023 21:00 - 56 minutes - 77.9 MBThe group gathers at the Writers House's Wexler Studio to discuss a version of Tina Darragh's "Wire Boxes" performed at the Line Reading Series in New York in February of 2001.
PoemTalk 186 - The dots move out
July 28, 2023 21:00 - 56 minutes - 77.9 MBThe group gathers at the Writers House's Wexler Studio to discuss a version of Tina Darragh's "Wire Boxes" performed at the Line Reading Series in New York in February of 2001.
PoemTalk 185 - Don't refuse to breathe
June 28, 2023 15:00 - 52 minutes - 71.9 MBThe team hits the road and lands in Los Angeles at the home of Marjorie Perloff, where the group gathers to discuss two well-known poems by Frank O'Hara: "Poem" or "Lana Turner Has Collapsed!" and "Song (Is it Dirty)."
Episode 185 - Don't refuse to breathe
June 28, 2023 15:00 - 52 minutes - 71.9 MBThe team hits the road and lands in Los Angeles at the home of Marjorie Perloff, where the group gathers to discuss two well-known poems by Frank O'Hara: "Poem" or "Lana Turner Has Collapsed!" and "Song (Is it Dirty)."
Episode 184 - The whole world smiles
May 22, 2023 15:00 - 51 minutes - 71.2 MBThe group gathers at the Writers House's Wexler Studio to discuss John Giorno's 1977 poem, "Everyone is a complete disappointment."
PoemTalk 184 - The whole world smiles
May 22, 2023 15:00 - 51 minutes - 71.2 MBThe group gathers at the Writers House's Wexler Studio to discuss John Giorno's 1977 poem, "Everyone is a complete disappointment."
Episode 183 - Present plans succeed
April 12, 2023 15:00 - 55 minutes - 75.5 MBThe group gathers at the Writers House's Wexler Studio to discuss an excerpt from Dodie Bellamy's Vomit Journal.
PoemTalk 183 - Present plans succeed
April 12, 2023 15:00 - 55 minutes - 75.5 MBThe group gathers at the Writers House's Wexler Studio to discuss an excerpt from Dodie Bellamy's Vomit Journal.
PoemTalk 182 - Woot of the century
March 16, 2023 15:00 - 51 minutes - 70.8 MBThe group gathers at the Writers House's Wexler Studio to discuss two poems from Douglas Kearney's SHO (Wave Books, 2021): "Welter" and "Static."
Episode 182 - Woot of the century
March 16, 2023 15:00 - 51 minutes - 70.8 MBThe group gathers at the Writers House's Wexler Studio to discuss two poems from Douglas Kearney's SHO (Wave Books, 2021): "Welter" and "Static."
PoemTalk 181 - Rhetorical happenings
February 23, 2023 15:00 - 46 minutes - 63.2 MBThe group gathers at the Writers House to discuss Hoa Nguyen's "Long Light," collected in Red Juice: Poems, 1998-2008 (Wave Books, 2014).
Episode 181 - Rhetorical happenings
February 23, 2023 15:00 - 46 minutes - 63.2 MBThe group gathers at the Writers House to discuss Hoa Nguyen's "Long Light," collected in Red Juice: Poems, 1998-2008 (Wave Books, 2014).
PoemTalk 180 - Nothing made of ink
January 11, 2023 15:00 - 55 minutes - 75.6 MBThe group travels to the Poetry Foundation in Chicago to discuss seven short poems from Lisa Fishman's Mad World, Mad Kings, Mad Composition (Wave Books, 2020).
Episode 180 - Nothing made of ink
January 11, 2023 15:00 - 55 minutes - 75.6 MBThe group travels to the Poetry Foundation in Chicago to discuss seven short poems from Lisa Fishman's Mad World, Mad Kings, Mad Composition (Wave Books, 2020).
PoemTalk 179 - Untranslatable
December 20, 2022 14:00 - 1 hour - 83.6 MBThe group gathers at the Writers House's Wexler Studio to discuss two poems by Armand Schwarner: "Tablet XXV" and "'daddy, can you staple these two stars together to make an airplane?'"
Episode 179 - Untranslatable
December 20, 2022 14:00 - 1 hour - 83.6 MBThe group gathers at the Writers House's Wexler Studio to discuss two poems by Armand Schwarner: "Tablet XXV" and "'daddy, can you staple these two stars together to make an airplane?'"
PoemTalk 178 - Downgraded to scribble
November 24, 2022 14:00 - 53 minutes - 73.6 MBThe group gathers at the Writers House's Wexler Studio to discuss Matvei Yankelevich's book of poems (or book-length poem), Dead Winter (Fonograph, 2022).
Episode 178 - Downgraded to scribble
November 24, 2022 14:00 - 53 minutes - 73.6 MBThe group gathers at the Writers House's Wexler Studio to discuss Matvei Yankelevich's book of poems (or book-length poem), Dead Winter (Fonograph, 2022).
Episode 177 - Paw mouthings
October 30, 2022 14:00 - 56 minutes - 77.2 MBThe group gathers at the Writers House's Wexler Studio to discuss two poems by Maggie O'Sullivan, "To our Own Day" and "Hill Figures," from In the House of the Shaman (Reality Street, 1993).
PoemTalk 177 - Paw mouthings
October 30, 2022 14:00 - 56 minutes - 77.2 MBThe group gathers at the Writers House's Wexler Studio to discuss two poems by Maggie O'Sullivan, "To our Own Day" and "Hill Figures," from In the House of the Shaman (Reality Street, 1993).
Episode 176 - Touch, love, then explain
September 27, 2022 14:00 - 58 minutes - 79.9 MBThe group gathers at the Writers House's Wexler Studio for a fresh take on John Ashbery's iconic "Some Trees."
PoemTalk 176 - Touch, love, then explain
September 27, 2022 14:00 - 58 minutes - 79.9 MBThe group gathers at the Writers House's Wexler Studio for a fresh take on John Ashbery's iconic "Some Trees."
PoemTalk 175 - Composition of life, as life
August 26, 2022 15:00 - 1 hour - 79.9 MBThe group travels to Bard College in the Hudson Valley to discuss the two opening paragraph's from Joan Retallack's essay "The Poethical Wager."
Episode 175 - Composition of life, as life
August 26, 2022 15:00 - 1 hour - 79.9 MBThe group travels to Bard College in the Hudson Valley to discuss the two opening paragraph's from Joan Retallack's essay "The Poethical Wager."
PoemTalk 174 - Girls in the supply chain
July 25, 2022 15:00 - 1 hour - 85.7 MBThe group gathers at the Kelly Writers House to discuss four poems from Sawako Nakayasu's Some Girls Walk into the Country They Are From (Wave Books, 2020).
Episode 174 - Girls in the supply chain
July 25, 2022 15:00 - 1 hour - 85.7 MBThe group gathers at the Kelly Writers House to discuss four poems from Sawako Nakayasu's Some Girls Walk into the Country They Are From (Wave Books, 2020).
Episode 173 - When a name falls from a face (Divya Victor, 'Curb')
June 15, 2022 15:00 - 1 hour - 86 MBIn this episode, the group gathers to discuss a selection of poems from Divya Victor's book Curb (Nightboat Books, 2021): three poems from the titular "Curb" series in the middle of the book ("Curb" 3, 4, and 5) and another poem, "Frequency (Alka’s Testimony)."
Episode 172 - Trance of language (Harryette Mullen, 'Sleeping with the Dictionary' and 'Dim Lady')
May 23, 2022 15:00 - 51 minutes - 71.1 MBIn this episode, we talk about two prose poems in Harryette Mullen’s collection Sleeping with the Dictionary, published by California in 2002. The poems are “Dim Lady” and the title poem, “Sleeping with the Dictionary.”
Episode 171 - Teach us love (Eugene Ostashevsky, 'Language' and 'The Anatomy of Monotony')
April 21, 2022 15:00 - 58 minutes - 79.7 MBIn this episode, our discussion takes us to the great Ostashevskyan topics — knowledge otherwise somehow alienated; language that embodies or transliterates a kind of violence; the (sound) differences between knowing and saying no (and similarities); his sincere (and doubtless Russian Absurdist-influenced) plea to “teach us love / teach us love / teach us love / teach us love” even though “We are wholly unfamiliar with it.” Because the episode was recorded before the February 24, 2022, Russia...
Episode 170 - Better to lose and win (Diane di Prima's 'Revolutionary Letters')
March 14, 2022 15:00 - 55 minutes - 76.2 MBIn this episode, the group discusses three poems from Diane di Prima's 'Revolutionary Letters' project: #16 (“We are eating up the planet”), #19 (“If what you want is jobs”), and #27 (“How much can we afford to lose before we win”). The project’s goals and modes of address shifted over time. Any single letter-poem, read separately from the others, might seem definitive — tonally evincing ideological as well as poetic choices having been made with apparent finality. Our decision to read and l...
Episode 169 - Far in toward the far end (Two poems from George Quasha's “preverbs”)
February 11, 2022 15:00 - 53 minutes - 73.4 MBAl Filreis convenes Charles Bernstein, Anthony Elms, and Laynie Browne to talk about two poems by George Quasha. The book, published by Spuyten Duyvil in 2020, titled Not Even Rabbits Go Down This Hole, consists of eight gatherings of preverbs; our two poems, coming from the final section — which bears the name of the book — are “self fast” (numbered 12) and “that music razors through” (numbered 13). The recordings we use in this episode can be found on PennSound’s extensive Quasha author pag...
Episode 168 - Hot and cold (Jayne Cortez, 'She Got He Got')
January 14, 2022 15:00 - 55 minutes - 76 MBToday we are releasing episode #168 of PoemTalk, in which Amber Rose Johnson, Daniel Bergmann, and Yolanda Wisher meet up at the Kelly Writers House to talk with Al Filreis about Jayne Cortez's "She Got He Got". This poem/performance piece is comprised of a “She” half and an “He” half, she giving variations of hot, while he instantiates variations of cold.
Episode 167 - Must it ring true (Myung Mi Kim, 'And Sing We')
December 22, 2021 15:00 - 55 minutes - 75.9 MBToday we are releasing episode #167 of PoemTalk, in which Jack Giesking, Jonathan Dick, and erica kaufman meet up at the Kelly Writers House to talk with Al Filreis about Myung Mi Kim's "And Sing We" from Under Flag.