Episode 135: Poetry Books we're Reading

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Today, Fable and the Verbivore are talking about the poetry that we’ve recently been reading and listening to - from slam poetry to Emily Dickinson. And the lessons that we’ve learned from it.

In this episode, we touch on different poets and poems we’ve connected with and unpack some of what we’ve learned.

Here are a few of the poets we talk about:

  • Slam poets Pages Matam, Elizabeth Acevedo, G. Yamazawa, Anis Mojgani.

  • Classic poets Anne Sexton, Emily Dickinson, and Rainer Maria Rilke.

  • Modern poets Nikita Gil, Morgan Harper Nichols, and Amanda Gorman.

As we talk about slam poets and spoken word, we discuss how reading our work aloud can help us identify where our words don’t flow quite right. That the act of listening can connect us with the rhythm and the language of our work on another level, as well as with our voice.

We talk about rhythm and pattern and making promises to the reader for what they should expect from your work - and how breaking those patterns or promises in a way that feels erratic and without purpose can lose the trust of your audience. We also discuss how words - and poetry especially - has the power to shift our mental lens and change our emotional state.

Lastly, we talk honestly about the barriers and benefits to sharing our words and our voice. We mention how spoken word poet Amanda Gorman shared in a Ted Talk about how terrifying getting up and speaking is still for her - and the process she goes through to remind her that her voice has value.

Though we both are intimidated by the idea of sharing our poetry in a public setting, we’ve made a commitment to each perform one of our original poems at an open mic night sometime over the next couple months - as well as to share our thoughts and takeaways from the experience in an podcast episode after we do.

We hope you enjoy this episode! Keep reading, writing, and putting your voice out there!

Into the woods,

Fable & The Verbivore

Notes:

The Verbivore references a Ted Talk video by poet Pages Matam. That video is titled “Pages Matam | Looking for Your Voice? A Poetry Slam Champ Shows You How | TEDxZumbroRiver.”

Here are some of the Slam Poetry videos we touch on:

Fable talks about poet Anis Mojgani’s spoken word poetry performances. His most recent Ted Talk is titled “The music of growing up down south | Anis Mojgani | TEDxEmory.”

The Verbivore talks about Nikita Gil’s fairytale and Greek goddess retellings. She performs two of them in a Ted Talk video titled “Why I’d rather be the Wicked Witch than Snow White | Nikita Gill | TEDxLondonWomen.” Her poetry is also shared on Instagram @nikita_gill

The Verbivore discusses Morgan Harper Nichols’ poetry, art, and spoken word performance. Her poetry and art are also shared on Instagram @morganharpernichols.

Fable reads two of Rainer Maria Rilke’s poems from The Book of Hours. They are as follows:

  • I love you, gentlest of Ways
    who ripened us as we wrestled with you.

    You, the great homesickness we could never shake
    off,
    you, the forest that always surrounded us,

    you, the song we sang in every silence, 
    you dark net threading through us,

    on the day you made us you created yourself,
    and we grew sturdy in your sunlight…

    Let your hand rest on the rim of Heaven now
    And mutely bear the darkness we bring over you

  • I am, you anxious one.
    Don't you sense me, ready to break
    into being at your touch?
    My murmurings surround you like shadowy wings.
    Can't you see me standing before you
    cloaked in stillness?
    Hasn't my longing ripened in you
    from the beginning
    as fruit ripens on a branch?

    I am the dream you are dreaming.
    When you want to awaken, I am waiting.
    I grow strong in the beauty you behold.
    And with the silence of stars I enfold
    your cities made by time.

The Verbivore references a Ted Talk video by Amanda Gorman. That video is titled “Amanda Gorman: Using your voice is a political choice | TED.” She is on Instagram @amandascgorman. The spoken word poem performance we reference can be found here: Amanda Gorman’s “Earthrise”

We referenced several of our previous episodes as part of our conversation. Here are those episodes:

Masterclasses Mentioned:

Books & Movies Mentioned:

Music from: https://filmmusic.io
’Friendly day’ by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
Licence: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

book clubBethany Stedman