A Conversation with Jeffrey Yang on Mary Oppen

FromThe Poetry Magazine Podcast

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A Conversation with Jeffrey Yang on Mary Oppen

FromThe Poetry Magazine Podcast

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Length:

19 minutes

Released:

Feb 24, 2020

Format:

Podcast episode

Description

The editors talk with Jeffrey Yang about the poet Mary Oppen and her autobiography, Meaning a Life. Jeffrey Yang’s essay “Mary Oppen, Meaning a Life” appears in the February 2020 issue of Poetry.

Released:

Feb 24, 2020

Format:

Podcast episode

Titles in the series (99)

The editors go inside the pages of Poetry, talking to poets and critics, debating the issues, and sharing their poem selections with listeners.

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Joy Ladin reads “Forgetting”: The editors discuss Joy Ladin’s poem “Forgetting” from the April 2020 issue of Poetry. by The Poetry Magazine Podcast
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Carolyn Forché and Fernando Valverde read “The Balada of New England”: The editors discuss Fernando Valverde’s “The Balada of New England,” translated by Carolyn Forché, from the March 2020 issue of Poetry. by The Poetry Magazine Podcast
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Dujie Tahat reads “salat to be read from right to left”: The editors discuss Dujie Tahat’s poem “salat to be read from right to left” from the February 2020 issue of Poetry. by The Poetry Magazine Podcast
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A Conversation with Oli Rodriguez and Xandria Phillips: Oli Rodriguez and Xandria Phillips on queer familia, ephemeral cruising spots, McDonald’s polaroid film, and much more. Rodriguez’s “Papi, Papi, Papi” appears in the October 2020 issue of Poetry. by The Poetry Magazine Podcast
36 min listen
Mary Ruefle reads “Vapor Wake”: The editors discuss Mary Ruefle’s poem “Vapor Wake” from the May 2020 issue of Poetry. by The Poetry Magazine Podcast
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A Conversation between John Kinsella and Thurston Moore: In this special episode, Thurston Moore and John Kinsella read their collaborative poems from the March 2020 issue of Poetry and have an extended conversation about collaboration, music, poetry, and activism. by The Poetry Magazine Podcast
23 min listen
Ashley August reads “Superstition”: The editors discuss Ashley August’s poem “Superstition” from the March 2020 issue of Poetry. by The Poetry Magazine Podcast
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Nicole Sealey reads “And”: The editors discuss Nicole Sealey’s poem “And” from the March 2020 issue of Poetry. by The Poetry Magazine Podcast
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Cathy Park Hong and Lynn Xu on the Poetry of Choi Seungja: In this week’s episode, Cathy Park Hong and Lynn Xu talk about the startling directness of Korean poet Choi Seungja and the humbling experience of translation. The conversation ranges from Nietzsche to South Korea in the 1980s, and from Paul Celan to capitalism. As Xu says, Choi’s poems contemplate “living with death as one’s companion,” but instead of indulging in nihilism, her poems are often surprisingly hopeful. Choi Seungja is one of the most influential feminist poets in South Korea, and her book Phone Bells Keep Ringing For Me (Action Books) has recently been published in English, thanks to Cathy Park Hong and her cotranslator Won-Chung Kim. by The Poetry Magazine Podcast
45 min listen
A Conversation with Kit Fan and Alice Oswald: Kit Fan talks with Alice Oswald about her latest book, Nobody. Fan’s review of the book appears in the July/August 2020 issue of Poetry. by The Poetry Magazine Podcast
36 min listen
Ocean Vuong reads “Not Even This”: The editors discuss Ocean Vuong’s poem “Not Even This” from the April 2020 issue of Poetry. by The Poetry Magazine Podcast
18 min listen
Alison C. Rollins and Latria Graham in Conversation: Poet Alison C. Rollins recently finished her first outdoor survival training program. Part of her preparation was to read Latria Graham’s essays about the experience of being a Black woman in the outdoors. Graham is a journalist and fifth-generation farmer living in South Carolina. In “Out There, Nobody Can Hear You Scream,” published in Outdoor Magazine, Graham describes a moment when—right before leaving for the Great Smoky Mountains—her mother handed her the gun of her late father for protection. Rollins had a very similar experience. Her mother’s first question, when hearing of her daughter's desire to journey into the outdoors, was, “How are you going to protect yourself?” This moment of recognition led Rollins and Graham together, to talk about writing, survival, and, as Rollins calls it, “Black nature joy.” by The Poetry Magazine Podcast
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avery r. young in conversation with LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs: young and Diggs both work with words, sound, image – and bodies – as Diggs’s puts it. On today’s show, they talk about about funk, Dolly Parton, taking notes, polyglots, and how these different cadences resonate in young’s series “peestain.” In these collages and poems, featured in the November issue of Poetry, young weaves his own history with the lives of his students and characters like Willis Jackson from the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes. The familiarity and openness of the references are as heartening as they are devastating. Nothing is neat. Nothing is predictable in young’s work—or Digg’s—as you’ll hear today. In the course of the conversation, Diggs reads one of her own poems and a poem by Carl Hancock Rux. by The Poetry Magazine Podcast
39 min listen
John Kinsella and Thurston Moore read “Signal Jamming”: The editors discuss John Kinsella and Thurston Moore’s “Signal Jamming” from the March 2020 issue of Poetry. by The Poetry Magazine Podcast
9 min listen
A Conversation with Jeffrey Yang on Mary Oppen: The editors talk with Jeffrey Yang about the poet Mary Oppen and her autobiography, Meaning a Life. Jeffrey Yang’s essay “Mary Oppen, Meaning a Life” appears in the February 2020 issue of Poetry. by The Poetry Magazine Podcast
19 min listen
Michael Hofmann reads “Famous Poets”: The editors discuss Michael Hofmann’s poem “Famous Poets” from the April 2020 issue of Poetry. by The Poetry Magazine Podcast
15 min listen
Fred Sasaki Interviews Ashley M. Jones: This week, Fred Sasaki had the very special honor of interviewing his friend and colleague, Ashley M. Jones. Jones guest edited the late spring and summer issues of Poetry magazine during a remarkable time in the publication’s history. In this conversation, we hear Jones read from her new book, Reparations Now! Sasaki asks, what are reparations and what do they mean? When did that idea materialize in each of their minds? They also talk about being Gods, being too cool for school, and playing with Barbies. by The Poetry Magazine Podcast
39 min listen
Suzi F. Garcia in Conversation with Joy Harjo: Today on the podcast: Joy Harjo. Harjo is the nation's first Native American poet laureate and a playwright, musician, author, and editor. Not everyone knows that Harjo also started playing saxophone at the age of forty. Today, we have the pleasure of hearing from her new album, I Pray for My Enemies, which features musicians from some of the biggest bands of the nineties grunge scene—including R.E.M., Pearl Jam, and Nirvana. We also spoke with Harjo about her early activism, how she came to befriend Audre Lorde, her obsession with maps, and her new memoir, Poet Warrior. The memoir celebrates the influences that shaped Harjo’s poetry and reckons with the theft of her ancestral homeland. She writes about her sixth-generation grandfather, who survived the Trail of Tears, and sheds light on the rituals that nourish her as an artist, mother, wife, and community member. Harjo has been creating her own maps for decades—with her poetry, the way by The Poetry Magazine Podcast
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Bradley Trumpfheller reads “Speculative Realism”: The editors discuss Bradley Trumpfheller’s poem “Speculative Realism” from the June 2020 issue of Poetry. by The Poetry Magazine Podcast
15 min listen
Karen Ah-hwei Lee reads “On June Blossoming in June”: The editors discuss Karen Ah-hwei Lee’s poem “On June Blossoming in June” from the June 2020 issue of Poetry. by The Poetry Magazine Podcast
16 min listen
Esther Berlin in Conversation with Toni Giselle Stuart: This week, Esther Belin speaks with Toni Giselle Stuart, a South African poet, performer, and facilitator. Belin says, “When I first heard Stuart’s poetry, I was moved by her use of sound and breath to create tension and emphasis. She works against fractionating the whole person in ways that offer healing.” We hear two poems by Stuart, “maghrib” and “midnight,” from the July/August 2022 issue of Poetry. The poems are from a new trilogy of speculative fiction. Stuart says of the genre, “Speculative fiction gave me space to explore questions around identity in a way that was less suffocating.” Belin and Stuart also get into rhythm as an integral aspect of acknowledging self and land, and of healing. In the world Staurt is building, she says, “Rhythm has a capital ‘R’.” by The Poetry Magazine Podcast
44 min listen
$Esther Berlin in Conversation with Toni Giselle Stuart: This week, Esther Belin speaks with Toni Giselle Stuart, a South African poet, performer, and facilitator. Belin says, “When I first heard Stuart’s poetry, I was moved by her use of sound and breath to create tension and emphasis. She works against fractionating the whole person in ways that offer healing.” We hear two poems by Stuart, “maghrib” and “midnight,” from the July/August 2022 issue of Poetry. The poems are from a new trilogy of speculative fiction. Stuart says of the genre, “Speculative fiction gave me space to explore questions around identity in a way that was less suffocating.” Belin and Stuart also get into rhythm as an integral aspect of acknowledging self and land, and of healing. In the world Staurt is building, she says, “Rhythm has a capital ‘R’.”$
Jackson Holbert and John Darnielle in Conversation: When we learned that poet Jackson Holbert asked to speak with John Darnielle for this episode, it made so much sense to us. Holbert’s poems in the magazine are simple in construction, but the voice is incredibly distinct. The poems deal with heavy subjects in a way that feels normal, everyday. For those listeners who spent the 90s listening to cassettes of Darnielle’s musical moniker, The Mountain Goats, you know that Darnielle has one of the most deceptively simple and distinct vocal styles you’ll ever encounter. Holbert and Darnielle discuss everything from Iowa, a shared love of Slipknot, metal, and the physicality of writing. You’ll hear Darnielle read an unreleased lyric for a future song, and read from his latest novel, Universal Harvester. Holbert reads “The Uncle Poem” from the January 2021 issue of Poetry. by The Poetry Magazine Podcast
36 min listen
Naomi Shihab Nye and Danusha Laméris in Conversation: Spring is almost officially here. This week, poets Naomi Shihab Nye and Danusha Laméris reflect on the year that has passed—a year that has been so different and difficult to comprehend. Nye and Laméris remind us that poetry makes sense when things stop making sense—that poetry can take us over, under, or through difficulty. Nye is the Poetry Foundation's Young People’s Poet Laureate, and one of the guest editors of the magazine's special issue dedicated to poems for young people. When we asked her who she wanted to speak with on the podcast, she said Danusha Laméris, the last person she really spent time with before the lockdown began. The two were essentially meeting for the first time, but they sound like “new-old friends.” They’ve spent a year getting to know each other from afar by exchanging letters, poems, and packages between San Antonio, Texas, and Santa Cruz, California. You’ll hear poems from Nye and Laméris, including by The Poetry Magazine Podcast
37 min listen
Tishani Doshi reads “They Killed Cows. I Killed Them.”: The editors discuss Tishani Doshi’s poem “They Killed Cows. I Killed Them.” from the April 2020 issue of Poetry. by The Poetry Magazine Podcast
14 min listen
Janice N. Harrington reads “Wind Shear”: The editors discuss Janice N. Harrington’s poem “Wind Shear” from the May 2020 issue of Poetry. by The Poetry Magazine Podcast
15 min listen
Ed Roberson and Lyn Hejinian in Conversation: When we asked Ed Roberson who he’d like to speak with on the show he said: Lyn Hejinian. Longtime friends despite living vastly far apart – Lyn in Berkeley and Ed in Chicago – they’ve been in close dialogue for almost 20 years. Now, for the first time, we have the pleasure of listening in. Topics discussed include the survival of the human species, the safety in friendship, and a pesky octopus at a Pittsburgh aquarium. Ed also reads from a new series of poems in the October 2020 issue of Poetry. by The Poetry Magazine Podcast
33 min listen
Ashley M. Jones and Sidney Clifton in Conversation: One thing Ashley M. Jones knows to be absolutely true is that her work is made possible by the poetry and spirit of Lucille Clifton. This week, Jones speaks with Sidney Clifton, one of Lucille Clifton’s daughters. Sidney Clifton is the President of the Clifton House, a new endeavour to transform her childhood home in Baltimore into a gathering place for writers and artists. They speak about mothers, their impenetrable connection to family, and how important it is to honor our journeys, no matter how winding they might be. Jones says, “It was unreal for me to get to spend time with Sidney, and what a joy to also get to invite Ms. Clifton’s poems into the room to join the conversation. What a celebration, indeed.” by The Poetry Magazine Podcast
34 min listen
Su Cho and E.J. Koh in Conversation: This week, poet, memoirist, and translator E.J. Koh on the untranslatability of Han. “Han is very difficult for me to define,” Su Cho agrees. “The dictionary definition is ‘an internalized feeling of deep grief, regret, anger, and sorrow, which is felt by all Koreans,’ but this is complicated because what does it mean to define an entire country by its trauma? And how can those of us who feel the lingering effects, but didn’t live through its history, write about it?” Koh’s work runs into the fog of what we don’t know—yet. This conversation features excerpts from her memoir, The Magical Language of Others, which includes translated letters written by Koh’s mother, and her poem “American Han” from the October issue of Poetry. by The Poetry Magazine Podcast
29 min listen
A.E. Stallings reads “Daedal”: The editors discuss A.E. Stallings’s poem “Daedal” from the May 2020 issue of Poetry. by The Poetry Magazine Podcast
12 min listen
Marilyn Nelson and Nikki Grimes in Conversation: This week: thoughts on form. Both Marilyn Nelson and Nikki Grimes agree, playing with poetic constraints can create an expansive world to write within. Listen as two of the most celebrated authors writing for young readers today share their thoughts on poetic forms. You’ll hear about two of their favorite forms to experiment with, as well as excerpts from both of their memoirs in verse. The impact Nelson and Grimes have had on the field of writing for younger audiences is profound. Both are featured in this month’s special issue of Poetry dedicated to poems for young people. by The Poetry Magazine Podcast
23 min listen

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Building a Sustainable Writing Practice with Stefania Gomez, Maggie Queeney, and Holly Amos, Plus More Writing Prompts: For the month of January, we’re focusing on what keeps us writing. How do we refresh our writing habits and routines? How do poets sustain their writing practices? Today, Holly Amos enlists the help of poets and educators Stefania Gomez and Maggie Queeney. Stefania and Maggie both work in the Poetry Foundation library, and they share some of their inspirations, tips, challenges, and resources. Holly offers two writing prompts, and we hear advice on how to keep making via clips from CAConrad, Jordan Peele, Vi Khi Nao, Ocean Vuong, and Anne Waldman. Links and writing prompts mentioned in the episode: –Tricia Hersey’s Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto –Felicia Rose Chavez’s The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop: How to Decolonize the Creative Classroom –CAConrad’s website contains many (Soma)tic Poetry Ritual links, and here’s CA speaking about them on Poetry Off the Shelf – by The Poetry Magazine Podcast
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Tishani Doshi and Holly Amos on Shape Poetry and Loving the Process, PLUS a Writing Prompt: For the month of January, we’re focusing on what keeps us writing. How do poets sustain their writing practices? Are there generative tips and tricks we can learn from them? Today, Holly Amos enlists the help of poet, writer, and dancer Tishani Doshi, whose essay in the December 2022 issue of Poetry is about shape or concrete poetry. Doshi lives in Tamil Nadu, India, and is joining us today from Abu Dhabi, where she is a New York University visiting associate professor. Doshi’s latest book of poetry is A God at the Door (Copper Canyon Press, 2021) and her latest novel is Small Days and Nights (W.W. Norton, 2020). Today, she offers listeners a wonderful writing prompt drawn from one of her favorite concrete poems, which, fascinatingly, is not technically a poem but the dedication that E.E. Cummings included in his book No Thanks. by The Poetry Magazine Podcast
48 min listen
Esther Belin and Tacey M. Atsitty on Monsters: This week, Esther Belin speaks with Diné poet Tacey M. Atsitty. Atsitty’s debut full-length collection, Rain Scald, was published in 2018, and Arthur Sze described the book as filled with a poetry “where rain, expected to be nourishing, is also a torrent, burning with sensation.” Today, we’ll hear two new poems by Atsitty, “Things to Do with a Monster” and “Lady Birds’ Evening Meetings” from the December issue of Poetry. Atsitty’s new poems come out of her desire to create a bestiary of Diné monsters. The poems explore how and why we create and abandon monsters, what we learn from them, how monsters humble us, and more. by The Poetry Magazine Podcast
35 min listen
Esther Belin and Diamond Forde on poetry as self-definition, self-reclamation, and biomythography: This week, Esther Belin speaks with Diamond Forde, who joins us from Asheville, North Carolina, which she describes as a sort of homecoming. One of five recent recipients of the 2022 Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowships, Forde’s debut collection, Mother Body, is described as “an intersectional exploration of the trauma and agency held within a body defined by its potential to mother.” Today we’ll hear from a new series of poems by Forde, which appear in the December 2022 issue of Poetry. The poems continue an exploration of maternal lineage, this time centering Forde's grandmother and addressing the complex processes of self-definition, self-reclamation, and biomythography. Belin and Forde also discuss the practice of joy and how poetry is an “assertion of love.” by The Poetry Magazine Podcast
40 min listen
Ashley M. Jones and Marcus Wicker on Afrofuturism, OutKast, and Living in the American South: This week, Ashley M. Jones speaks with Marcus Wicker about a project he began early in the pandemic while looking for sources of calm in books and music. Many of these were space-influenced—OutKast’s album ATLiens, Robert Hayden’s poem “American Journal”—and Wicker began exploring what an extraterrestrial who lands in Atlanta in 2020 would think of America and the way humans treat one another. We’ll hear two poems from this project, “Dear Mothership,” and “How did you learn to speak English?” which appear in Poetry’s December 2022 issue. Like much of Wicker’s poetry, these pieces incorporate popular culture and music references alongside unflinching observations and exciting wordplay. by The Poetry Magazine Podcast
43 min listen
Su Cho and Tariq Luthun on Joy, Apocalypse, Crying, and Pokémon by The Poetry Magazine Podcast
36 min listen
Taneum Bambrick and Su Cho on Intimacy and Poetry: This week, Su Cho sits down with Taneum Bambrick to talk about two of her favorite things: poetry and intimacy. Bambrick is the author of Intimacies, Received, recently out from Copper Canyon Press, and Vantage. Their chapbook, Reservoir, was selected by Ocean Vuong for the Yemassee Chapbook Prize. Vuong wrote, “This is poetry that encompasses, that let's no one turn away.” That’s exactly how Cho felt reading Bambrick’s poems in the November 2022 issue of Poetry. Cho says, “Bambrick’s poems make me feel incredibly shy and brave at the same time. I say make me because I can’t look away from them. The poems are telling me to sit down and listen.” Join us for a conversation about break ups, vulnerability, rodeos, and so much more. by The Poetry Magazine Podcast
41 min listen

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