Connor pops in to announce incredibly belatedly what has already been apparent for months: Close Talking is on a hiatus! We've had some big life and career changes that have unexpectedly cut into our capacity for the podcast, but it's not a per

Episode #178 Remembering Charles Simic

Jan 16th, 2023 22m 59s

A slight departure from our regular format. On today's show, Connor and Jack remember the recently departed poet Charles Simic. They read some of his poems, reflect on them, discuss his life and legacy, and even give a shoutout to the Oak Park

Episode #177 [Flicking off the light switch.] - Sherwin Bitsui

Dec 24th, 2022 58m 6s

Connor and Jack bid farewell to the year they've taken to calling "Twenty Twenty Poo" and contemplate the complexities of language in a wide-ranging conversation about a spectacular untitled poem by Diné poet Sherwin Bitsui, from his 2009 colle

Episode #176 Topsoil, In Repentance - Sherry Shenoda

Dec 9th, 2022 1h 28m

Connor and Jack discuss the sonically and thematically dense poem "Topsoil, in Repentance" by Sherry Shenoda. Shenoda's book MUMMY EATERS was longlisted for the National Book Award in 2022. The conversation moves from an exploration of internal

Episode #175 - Poetry Spoken Here Ep. 132: Black Lives Matter

Nov 25th, 2022 28m 52s

After a busy couple weeks at Close Talking headquarters, a slightly different show. This episode is from our sister-podcast, Poetry Spoken Here. The episode first aired in the summer of 2020 and was simply called "Black Lives Matter." The poems

Episode #174 National Book Award Winner John Keene and Punks - SPECIAL EPISODE

Nov 18th, 2022 53m 44s

In this special episode, Connor and Jack discuss the 2022 National Book Awards — the long list, the finalists, and the winner "Punks: New and Selected Poems" by John Keene. They read and explore a marvelous poem from the collection, "Folks Are

Episode #173 The Dancing - Gerald Stern

Nov 12th, 2022 1h 22m

Connor and Jack discuss a classic poem from a classic poet: The Dancing by the recently departed Gerald Stern. They marvel at how the poem is constructed, get deep into a discussion of encroaching fascism, and even have time to rage at the "evi

Episode #172 A Time - Allison Adelle Hedge Coke

Oct 29th, 2022 1h 7m

Connor and Jack have a time talking about the poem "A Time" by Allison Adelle Hedge Coke. She is a multi-award winning poet whose latest book-length poem "Look at This Blue" is on the short list for the 2022 National Book Award. Come for the po

Episode #171 Not Writing - Anne Boyer

Oct 19th, 2022 1h 25m

Connor and Jack dig into the list/poem/prose piece/literary mystery Not Writing by Anne Boyer. Along the way they discuss what they are and are not writing themselves, Jack asks about why the poem never becomes monotonous, and Connor offers his

Episode #170 america, MINE - Sasha Banks

Sep 26th, 2022 1h 24m

Connor and Jack discuss Sasha Banks' poem, america, MINE from her collection of the same name. They start by examining some of the poem's formal elements like its lack of traditional punctuation, and quickly jump to big themes like how the idea

Episode #169 I Hear A Dog Who Is Always in My Death - Samuel Ace

Sep 10th, 2022 1h 25m

Posted at long last after overcoming major technical difficulties!! Connor and Jack dive into the poem "I Hear a Dog Who is Always in My Death" by Samuel Ace. They discuss the poem's evocative imagery, ruminate on it's call to action against en

Episode #168 First Snow - Arthur Sze

Jul 26th, 2022 1h 15m

Connor and Jack discuss the poem "First Snow" by Arthur Sze. They discuss life, death, being, nothingness, and all the hidden meaning waiting to leap out of the every day. They also talk about how some poems can urge us towards presence and min

Episode #167 REBROADCAST: The Lynching Postcard, Duluth, Minnesota - Ray Gonzalez

Jul 9th, 2022 30m 44s

A dive into the Close Talking archives - one of the first episodes we ever recorded in which we discuss the poem "The Lynching Postcard, Duluth, Minnesota" by Ray Gonzalez. Poetry can seem a little insignificant in the face of an onslaught of h

Episode #166 Small Illuminations from REFUSE TO DISAPPEAR w/Special Guest Tara Betts

Jun 11th, 2022 1h 49m

Connor and Jack are joined by special guest Tara Betts to discuss the poem "Small Illuminations" from her forthcoming collection REFUSE TO DISAPPEAR. They discuss the legacy of Margaret Taylor-Burroughs, the realities of incarceration, and how

Episode #165 Self-Interrogation from DEAR GOD. DEAR BONES. DEAR YELLOW. w/Special Guest Noor Hindi

May 27th, 2022 1h 24m

Connor and Jack are joined by poet, essayist, and journalist Noor Hindi. They dig into the poem "Self Interrogation" the first poem in Hindi's new collection DEAR GOD. DEAR BONES. DEAR YELLOW. coming out on 5/31 from Haymarket Books. She discus

Episode #164 Elegy - Aracelis Girmay

May 20th, 2022 1h 2m

Connor and Jack explore Aracelis Girmay's poem "Elegy" from her 2011 collection Kingdom Animalia. They talk through the opening line's call to community and the ways it resonates with Mary Oliver's "Wild Geese," they get scientific while discus

Episode #163 Revelations, Time Distortion, and Surprise - Line Break Week Ep. 7

May 1st, 2022 33m 47s

Connor and Jack conclude their exploration of poetic line breaks with a bit of a catch all episode looking at how line breaks can reveal information, play with time, and enhance surprise. They pull examples from Audre Lorde, Chris Tse, Rae Arma

Episode #162 Ambiguity in Line Breaks - Line Break Week Ep. 6

Apr 30th, 2022 31m 52s

As line break week hurdles towards its conclusion, Connor and Jack pause to consider ambiguity in line breaks. When the meaning of a word or phrase is altered by the positioning of a line break. They discuss the classic WB Yeats poem "Leda and

Episode #161 From Meters to Measures: Rhythm in Line Breaks - Line Break Week Ep. 5

Apr 30th, 2022 34m 1s

Connor and Jack delve ever deeper into the world of poetic line breaks. This time they're looking at how line breaks build rhythm in poems. They discuss rhythm within lines running through various literary terms and talking through some of the

Episode #160 Using Poetic Line Breaks for EmPHAsis - Line Break Week Ep. 4

Apr 29th, 2022 21m 50s

Connor and Jack continue their exploration of all the ways lines can be broken and all the reasons a poet might have for breaking a line. Today they discuss using line breaks for emphasis focusing on the poem "The Pope's Penis" by Sharon Olds.

Episode #159 Drama's Silent Cousin: Miming with Line Breaks - Line Break Week Ep. 3

Apr 28th, 2022 26m 4s

Connor and Jack continue their dive into the intricacies of the poetic line break this time discussing miming in line breaks. They draw examples from Pierre Joris, James Wright, and Frank O'Hara to close out National Poetry Month 2022 in style!

Episode #158 Who Will Bring the Drama? The Line Break! - Line Break Week Ep. 2

Apr 28th, 2022 23m 21s

Connor and Jack continue their week-long exploration of line breaks in poetry closing out National Poetry Month 2022. Today they focus on how line breaks can build drama in a poem. Do they take a detour into discussing Entourage along the way?

Episode #157 Why Break a Line? - Line Break Week Ep. 1

Apr 26th, 2022 30m 7s

Starting a little later than planned, but it's time for the fourth annual last-week-of-poetry-month Close Talking extravaganza! In past years Connor and Jack have talked about haiku, shared comforting poems, and investigated the sonnet. Now, th

Episode #156 Beckoned - Forrest Gander

Apr 23rd, 2022 1h 9m

Connor and Jack discuss "Beckoned" by living legend Forrest Gander. The poem, from Gander's Pulitzer Prize winning collection "Be With" grapples with grief and loss. In the discussion, Connor and Jack touch on the poem's use of anaphora and use

Episode #155 Buttercream w/Special Guest Caitlin Scarano

Apr 8th, 2022 1h 23m

Connor and Jack are joined by special guest Caitlin Scarano to discuss the poem "Buttercream" from her new collection THE NECESSITY OF WILDFIRE. The collection won the Wren Poetry Prize, selected by final judge Ada Limón. Scarano discusses the