Poems for the People
By Poems for the People
Poems for the PeopleFeb 11, 2020
"Like a Cat" by "Laura Cronk" read by Mischa Willett
I love this little love poem by Laura Cronk. It somehow serves as criticism of and appreciation for cats, as well as of the beloved, and of the differences between people generally.
Who among us hasn't known figures like these?
I found it in the the Best American Poetry 2019 but you can seek out more of her work in her book
Having Been an Accomplice (Persea Books)
You can find out more about me and my books at www.mischawillett.com
Thank you for listening, and if you come across poems that you like or have suggestions that I should feature on the show, feel free to drop me an email via the contact page on my website.
"Lot's Wife" by "Anna Akhmatova" read by Mischa Willett
To learn more about Anna Akhmatova, you should read Clive James' essays, which are extremely convincing about her stature. This poem of hers was translated by one of my favorite poets of all time, Richard Wilbur.
"The Resignation" by "Thomas Chatterton" read by Mischa Willett
He is also known for the painting of his death by Henry Wallis, the Pre-Raphaelite, which hangs, if I remember correctly, in the Tate Britain and which is among the most moving of images in that whole treasure-horde.
More information about the reader can be found at his website: www.mischawillett.com
“Forty” by “Lee Rossi” read by Mischa Willett
"The Great Infirmities" by Charles Simic read by Mischa Willett
"Perilous to be on the street, among the congregations of the afflicted"
If ever there was a time for poems by the metaphysical physician Charles Simic, it's now, as #coronavirus has us all indoors or avoiding on another.
-from Charles Simic
Selected Early Poems
"Broken Hierarchies" by "Geoffrey Hill" read by Mischa Willett
Available in his Collected Poems: Broken Hierarchies
Oxford University Press, 2014
"What Lips my Lips Have Kissed" by "Edna St. Vincent Millay" read by Mischa Willett
A sonnet from this starburst of talent.
Guest Reader: "Lauren Camp" reading poems from "One Hundred Hungers"
"Calling Him Back from Layoff" by "Bob Hicock" read by Mischa Willett
from "Elegy Owed"
Copper Canyon Press, 2014
"When Our Two Souls Stand Up" by "Elizabeth Barrett Browning" read by Mischa Willett
from the lovely "Sonnets from the Portuguese"
"In a Power Outage" by "Jennifer Maier" read by Mischa Willett
From Jennifer Maier's "Dark Alphabet" on Southern Illinois University Press, a book I recommend without reservation. Those long, interruptive clauses, the doubling, the gratitude!
"Right Whale Luminary" by "Jeremiah Webster" read by Mischa Willett
A poem about the bravery necessary to the artistic endeavor via c19 whaling practices. Featured in Jeremiah Webster's new book "After So Many Fires," available on Anchor and Plume Press.