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Poetry Unbound
Poetry Unbound
On Being Studios

Short and unhurried, Poetry Unbound is an immersive exploration of a single poem, hosted by Pádraig Ó Tuama. Pádraig Ó Tuama greets you... more

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Episodes

Kinsale Drake — Put on that KTNN

In Kinsale Drake’s poem “Put on that KTNN,” she writes about driving to a hometown as a familiar station crackles... more

02 Dec 2024 · 14 minutes
Poetry Unbound — Season 9 Trailer

Poetry Unbound with host Pádraig Ó Tuama is back on Monday, December 2. Featured poets in this season include Robert... more

25 Nov 2024 · 1 minute
Closing: Poems as Teachers (ft. Kai Cheng Thom) | Ep 7

In this concluding episode of "Poems as Teachers," our special miniseries on conflict and the human condition, host Pádraig Ó... more

17 May 2024 · 12 minutes
Yehuda Amichai — Poems as Teachers | Ep 6

Being right may feel good, but what human price do we pay for this feeling of rightness? Yehuda Amichai’s poem... more

17 May 2024 · 14 minutes
Jericho Brown — Poems as Teachers | Ep 5

In “Hebrews 13” by Jericho Brown, a narrator says: “my lover and my brother both knocked at my door.” The... more

16 May 2024 · 13 minutes
Mosab Abu Toha — Poems as Teachers | Ep 4

In Mosab Abu Toha’s “Ibrahim Abu Lughod and brother in Yaffa,” two barefoot siblings on a beach sketch out a... more

15 May 2024 · 16 minutes
Constantine P. Cavafy — Poems as Teachers | Ep 3

We ask questions to find out the facts, but what if you can’t trust the answers, the questions, or the... more

14 May 2024 · 17 minutes
Joy Harjo — Poems as Teachers | Ep 2

As appealing as it may sound, is it really possible to live in a world completely free of conflict? No.... more

13 May 2024 · 17 minutes
Introducing: Poems as Teachers (ft. Wisława Szymborska) | Ep 1

Host Pádraig Ó Tuama gives an overview of this Poetry Unbound mini season that's devoted to poems with wisdom to... more

12 May 2024 · 10 minutes
Thomas Lux — Refrigerator, 1957

If your home were a museum — and they all are, in a way — what would the contents of... more

23 Feb 2024 · 14 minutes
Rita Wong — flush

The word “flush” is a verb, as in an activity that we do umpteen times a day. It’s also an... more

19 Feb 2024 · 15 minutes
Maria Dahvana Headley — Beowulf

Bro — this is definitely not the “Beowulf” that you read back in school. Maria Dahvana Headley’s gutsy, swaggering translation... more

16 Feb 2024 · 15 minutes
Michael Klein — Swale

A horse race from the 1980s may not seem like the obvious inspiration for a poem that celebrates so many... more

12 Feb 2024 · 14 minutes
Ray Young Bear — Our Bird Aegis

What holds our bodies together? Yes, there are the biological components, such as the cells, fluids, fibers, but what about... more

09 Feb 2024 · 13 minutes
Suji Kwock Kim — Search Engine: Notes from the North Korean-Chinese-Russian Border

While disputes over contested lands result in damage that can be seen and documented, they also create countless unseen ruptures... more

05 Feb 2024 · 15 minutes
Amber McBride — ROLL CALL: NEW TAROT NAMES FOR BLACK GIRLS

In “ROLL CALL: NEW TAROT NAMES FOR BLACK GIRLS,” Amber McBride treats us to a playful litany of language that... more

02 Feb 2024 · 16 minutes
Carl Dennis — Breath

A fragile and wondrous technology that we all possess, the human breath powers any number of things in our lives... more

29 Jan 2024 · 15 minutes
Elisa Gonzalez — To My Twenty-Four-Year-Old Self

Our lives are filled with distances, the physical spans that we travel but also the stranger, vaster expanses between our... more

26 Jan 2024 · 14 minutes
Ofelia Zepeda — Deer Dance Exhibition

Most of us do our eavesdropping shyly and secretively, but Ofelia Zepeda’s poem “Deer Dance Exhibition” welcomes us to listen... more

22 Jan 2024 · 15 minutes
Sandra Cisneros — When in Doubt

Even in the most uneventful of human lives, uncertainty and doubts will inevitably intrude. When faced with those, what can... more

19 Jan 2024 · 14 minutes
Kandace Siobhan Walker — Three Mangoes, £1

To be alive is to be in conversation with the dead. The ghosts of loved ones are always swirling around... more

15 Jan 2024 · 15 minutes
Francisco Aragón — Asleep You Become a Continent

It is an intimate thing, to watch a lover while they sleep. In Francisco Aragón’s translation of Francisco X. Alarcón’s... more

12 Jan 2024 · 13 minutes
Conor Kerr — Winter Songs

Conor Kerr’s “Winter Songs” depicts a future scene: coyotes roaming through a rewilded city, digging up the bones of Indigenous... more

08 Jan 2024 · 14 minutes
Valencia Robin — The Coup

Valencia Robin’s poem portrays a tense relationship between mother and daughter; perhaps each resembling the other too much. In desperation... more

05 Jan 2024 · 14 minutes
Eugenia Leigh — How the Dung Beetle Finds Its Way Home

In a poem about how a small moment can help you make a wise decision, Eugenia Leigh finds the strength... more

01 Jan 2024 · 15 minutes
Poetry Unbound — Season 8 Trailer

Poetry Unbound with host Pádraig Ó Tuama is back on Monday, January 1. Featured poets in this season include Amber... more

18 Dec 2023 · 1 minute
Clint Smith with Krista Tippett — What We Know in the "Marrow of Our Bones"

Friends, Pádraig here — we are awakening your Poetry Unbound feed to share this brilliant episode from the newest season... more

13 Nov 2023 · 1 hour, 5 minutes
BONUS: Truth-seeking and the Symphony of Language with Henri Cole

A central duality appears in the work of Henri Cole: the revelation of emotional truths in concert with a “symphony... more

01 Sep 2023 · 1 hour, 4 minutes
BONUS: Making Space for the Erotic with Aimee Nezhukumatathil

Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s poems are filled with butchery and blood as she carves space for desire, motherhood, and an encyclopedic knowledge... more

30 Aug 2023 · 1 hour,
BONUS: Poetry That Pays Attention with Patricia Smith

Through her poetry, Patricia Smith generously, skillfully puts language around what can be seen both in the present and deliberately... more

28 Aug 2023 · 1 hour, 8 minutes
Maya C. Popa — They Are Building a Hospital

So much of what was once deemed impossible was found — during Covid — to be possible. Here, a poet... more

28 Jul 2023 · 15 minutes
Jenny Mitchell — A Man in Love with Plants

How to remember a beloved who died tragically, violently? Remember the violence? Sometimes, yes. But also this: remember his love... more

24 Jul 2023 · 13 minutes
Vidyan Ravinthiran — Artist

What self-consciousnesses do artists carry? It can be difficult to know how to hold onto confidence in your work, especially... more

21 Jul 2023 · 13 minutes
Mark Turcotte — Dear New Blood

A poet reads to a room full of youths who seem to have some residual resentment to the poet. The... more

17 Jul 2023 · 15 minutes
Wo Chan — the smiley barista remembers my name

What do sandwiches, laundry, therapy, childhood homes, and forgiveness have to do with each other? Wo Chan weaves a poem... more

14 Jul 2023 · 12 minutes
Amanda Gunn — Ordinary Sugar

How can russet potatoes be made to taste of sugar and caramel? By dedication, love, and craft. Amanda Gunn places... more

10 Jul 2023 · 17 minutes
J. Estanislao Lopez — Alternate Ending: The Escape of Jephthah’s Daughter

Old stories — of mythology or religion — have sometimes been depicted as having one narrative and one interpretation. Here,... more

07 Jul 2023 · 13 minutes
BONUS: A Conversation with Sasha taqwšəblu LaPointe

We are delighted to offer this extended conversation between host Pádraig Ó Tuama and the poet Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe. Together,... more

03 Jul 2023 · 38 minutes
Sasha taqwšəblu LaPointe — Blue

In a poem that explores a story of a name, a story of a color, a story of a sound,... more

03 Jul 2023 · 17 minutes
Charif Shanahan — Present Moment

On one particular day, a poem places events alongside each other, the ordinariness of each event casting the other events... more

30 Jun 2023 · 15 minutes
Brenda Cárdenas — This Is Why

Why do we do the things we do when we’re young? Brenda Cárdenas recalls nights sneaking out of the house... more

26 Jun 2023 · 15 minutes
Nithy Kasa — Blouse

An item of clothing — the blouse of a grandmother — is praised for its artistry, is remembered for how... more

23 Jun 2023 · 11 minutes
Selina Nwulu — Replay

What might have been? A poet recalls flirtations and electric connections that could have led to a different life.

19 Jun 2023 · 13 minutes
John Lee Clark — Self Portrait

If you had to make a self portrait of your daily morning routine through language and sensation, what would you... more

16 Jun 2023 · 13 minutes
Kay Ulanday Barrett — Pantoum for recital when my mom said, don’t let them see you cry

A memory from childhood is viewed through the lens of the Malaysian poetic form of pantoum. New things emerge when... more

12 Jun 2023 · 13 minutes
dg nanouk okpik — In a Lock of Hair

If you could put a lock of your hair under a microscope, what would it contain? DNA certainly, but here... more

09 Jun 2023 · 13 minutes
On Poetry and Patronage: An Invitation to Love Us

Pádraig reflects on the transformative force of poetry, and Krista joins with an invitation to pay tribute to the ongoing... more

07 Jun 2023 · 1 minute
Benjamin Gucciardi — The Rungs

A social worker holds a group for teenagers at a school. They only half pay attention to him. Then something... more

05 Jun 2023 · 15 minutes
Rowan Ricardo Phillips — Never Again Would Birds’ Song Be the Same

Have you ever had a private moment — perhaps in the middle of the night — in a large city?... more

02 Jun 2023 · 12 minutes
Alexander Posey — The Dew and the Bird

In a poem of strict rhymes and old forms, Alexander Posey (1873-1908), a poet of the Creek Nation, poses challenges... more

29 May 2023 · 11 minutes
José Olivarez — No Time to Wait

In a church there are liturgies and prayers and statues. But in José Olivarez’s poem, there are more urgent things... more

26 May 2023 · 11 minutes
Safia Elhillo — Ode to My Homegirls

Friendships deserve praise songs and here’s a praise song — an ode — to friends that have crossed continents for... more

22 May 2023 · 12 minutes
Poetry Unbound — Season 7 Trailer

Poetry Unbound with host Pádraig Ó Tuama is back on Monday, May 22. Featured poets in this season include Selina... more

15 May 2023 · 1 minute
Ada Limón with Krista Tippett — “To Be Made Whole”

Friends, we are awakening your Poetry Unbound feed for a moment to share this episode from the big, beautiful new... more

20 Feb 2023 · 1 hour, 12 minutes
BONUS: A conversation with Lorna Goodison – and the humans behind Poetry Unbound

As part of a celebratory launch party for the new Poetry Unbound book, Pádraig welcomed Lorna Goodison, former Poet Laureate... more

22 Dec 2022 · 28 minutes
Danusha Laméris — Bonfire Opera

A younger woman looks at an older woman, admiring her beauty, skill, and freedom. Older now, she thinks of how... more

16 Dec 2022 · 14 minutes
Rumi — You wake the dead to life

Who brings you to praise? Rumi’s great poem of praise to the “you” is to his great friend Shams, and... more

12 Dec 2022 · 15 minutes
Naomi Shihab Nye — I Feel Sorry for Jesus

What’s it like to be owned by the world, to have populations claiming you, to have millions speaking on your... more

09 Dec 2022 · 15 minutes
Victoria Adukwei Bulley — not quiet as in quiet but

Quiet. Shhh. Softly. Don’t make a fuss. Don’t upset the authorities. Victoria Adukwei Bulley unquiets the quiet.

05 Dec 2022 · 14 minutes
Benjamín Naka-Hasebe Kingsley — small talk or in my hand galaxies

On the day you wake to a broken window in your car, what do you do? And what happens when... more

02 Dec 2022 · 18 minutes
Poetry Unbound
Danusha Laméris — Bonfire Opera
Poetry Unbound
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Description

A younger woman looks at an older woman, admiring her beauty, skill, and freedom. Older now, she thinks of how hard-won such... more