"Civilians in the First World War": All four poems on today's episode focus on civilians in the First World War, particularly women: how were they affected? Jessie Pope, "War Girls." Siegfried Sassoon, "Glory of Women." May Wedderburn Cannan, "Rouen." E. E. Cummings, "my sweet old etcetera." There are many fine anthologies that present poetry from this era. I'll recommend two distinct versions of The Penguin Book of First World War Poetry. The first, published in 1979, is edited and with an introduction by Jon Silkin. The second, published in 2006, is edited and with an introduction by George Walter. The show's theme music is Philip Aaberg's "Going-to-the-Sun," from his CD Live from Montana (Sweetgrassmusic.com) and used with kind permission of Philip Aaberg.
"Poems About Writing": When you were a student, did you find joy in the writing tasks required of you? Did self-disclosure make you uncomfortable,...
"Unrequited Love," Part One: Poets respond in a variety of ways when their strong desires for another are not returned: from anger to bewilderment...
“Mysterious Encounters”: Three sing-songy poems are featured on today’s episode. All three depict encounters between two individuals: all three resist our efforts to make...