The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily
Host Maggie Smith is your daily poetry companion. Poetry is one of the greatest tools we have to wield our own attention — to consider our own lives and the lives of others, to help us live creatively and compassionately, to use that attention to lean into wonder, and joy, and truth, and to find hope — to keep hoping. The Slowdown community knows that reflecting on a poem, every weekday, can connect us to our inner world and the world around us. Listen as you make your morning coffee, as you go on a walk in your neighborhood, as you pull away from the to-do list, as you resist the dismal, endless scroll to share five minutes of perspective through the lens of poetry, from poets old and new, well-loved and emerging onto the scene. Brought to you by American Public Media, in partnership with the Poetry Foundation.
Episodes
Today’s poem is Cento Between the Ending and the End by Cameron Awkward-Rich. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual.
In this episode, Maggie writes… “In times that feel divisive and fragmented, today’s poem is a reminder of what we can do and BE together. It’s a reminder of the whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.”
Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes...
Transcript
I’m Maggie Smith and this is The Slowdown.
One of my favorite things about words is their history. As a writer, I’m curious about the words I choose for my poems. When I look up the origin of a word, it’s like unfolding a map, and seeing the journey that word has taken to reach me. Suddenly I know it better. It feels special to me, like a friend.
Let’s take the word migr...
Today’s poem is And Then It Was Less Bleak Because We Said So by Wendy Xu. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual.
In this episode, Maggie writes… “When the world is on fire, it can feel frivolous to go dancing, to go to concerts, to host parties, to take vacations. Today’s poem so beautifully addresses the importance of holding onto joy—and onto one another—when the world feels dismal.”
Celebrate the power of ...
Today’s poem is Lake by Noah Falck. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual.
In this episode, Maggie writes, “Today’s poem acknowledges the beauty we have—the view we have. It also mourns the beauty that would exist without our interference. Holding space for both is a feat of empathy and imagination.”
Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tiny...
Today’s poem is From the Sky by Sara Abou Rashed. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual.
In this episode, Maggie writes, “When I think about ways to foster empathy, perspective, and care, one of those ways is poetry. I know poetry can’t stop bombs from falling, and it can’t feed the starving, and it can’t evacuate people to safety. I know this. But poetry can change our inner world. We need that change, one person ...
Today’s poem is Wind-Related Ripple in the Wheatfield by Mikko Harvey. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual.
In this episode, Maggie writes, “Who might I have been—or with whom, or where—if the timing had been different? Did I arrive too late to certain parts of my life, or too early? Or am I right on time? The “Choose Your Own Adventure” aspect of life is something on my mind a lot. I suspect it was on this poet’...
Today’s poem is Are you bringing fruits, plants, seeds, by Karen Llagas. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual.
In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem looks at the anxiety and the absurdity of America: How many people seem fixated on the dangers outside our borders without acknowledging the dangers within.”
Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a differenc...
Today’s poem is New York Address by Linda Gregg. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual.
In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem captures that feeling when you’ve just had it—you’ve absolutely hit your limit. But at the same time, you realize that you’re the only person who can pick yourself back up. You have to keep yourself going.”
Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every do...
Today’s poem is I Find Myself Defending Pigeons by Keith S. Wilson. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual.
In this episode, Maggie writes… “One thing I love about poems is how they give us the opportunity to take our time, to dial in, to look and listen closely. Not everything screams to be noticed. Some things barely whisper! Or they might just squawk or coo now and then.”
Celebrate the power of poems with a ...
Today’s poem is Bonfire Opera by Danusha Laméris.
The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Yes, I have new lines around my eyes and new glints of silver in my hair, but my body continues to surprise me in wonderful ways, too. It brings me a lot of pleasure—maybe even more pleasure than it did when I was in my teens, twenties, and even thirties. Because I appreciate it. And because I a...
Today’s poem is Étude by Amy Gerstler.
The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem is a celebration of sound, and also a celebration of our own power to interpret sound and make meaning—as poets do. Poems, like songs, are meant to live in the air. They are their own music.”
Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference...
Today’s poem is Crossing the Line by E. Ethelbert Miller.
The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem reads to me like a love poem, a tribute, to a long friendship. It reminds me that part of how we know ourselves is through the people who know us best, and who have loved us through our changes.”
Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every dona...
Today’s poem is Tea by Leila Chatti.
The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Maybe the ultimate self care is learning to give yourself the respect, the tenderness, and the grace you extend to others. To love yourself the way you love others.”
Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp
Today’s poem is Sex Without Love by Sharon Olds.
The Slowdown is currently taking a break. We’ll be back on Monday, August 18 with episodes from our new host, Maggie Smith. This week, we’re going back into the archive to revisit Ada Limón’s time as host.
In this episode, Ada writes… “Today’s poem is from a dear teacher, Sharon Olds. This poem has stuck with me for years. It examines the honest way in which some ...
Today’s poem is Lately I Am Trying by Sanna Wani.
The Slowdown is currently taking a break. We’ll be back on Monday, August 18 with episodes from our new host, Maggie Smith. This week, we’re going back into the archive to revisit Ada Limón’s time as host.
In this episode, Ada writes… “Today’s poem explores how the love of an animal can help us process grief and even remember the precious value of touch.”
Cel...
Today’s poem is I Worry My Mother Will Die and I Will Know Nothing by Asa Drake.
The Slowdown is currently taking a break. We’ll be back on Monday, August 18 with episodes from our new host, Maggie Smith. This week, we’re going back into the archive to revisit Ada Limón’s time as host.
In this episode, Ada writes… “Today’s poem centers on ideas of hunger and fullness. It asks what can satisfy us in a world that ...
Today’s poem is Trash by Joshua Bennett. The Slowdown is currently taking a break. We’ll be back on Monday, August 18 with episodes from our new host, Maggie Smith. This week, we’re going back into the archive to revisit Ada Limón’s time as host.
In this episode, Ada writes… “Today’s poem is a perfect example of starting a poem in one place and ending it in another, unexpected place. I admire how this poem reveals a ...
Today’s poem is [since feeling is first] by E.E. Cummings.
The Slowdown is currently taking a break. We’ll be back on Monday, August 18 with episodes from our new host, Maggie Smith. This week, we’re going back into the archive to revisit Ada Limón’s time as host.
In this episode, Ada writes… “I have a friend who will stare at something and say, “Now that’s a poem.” A glove in the snow, a bird feather stuck in th...
Today’s poem is Sleeping with the Chihuahua by Tami Haaland.
The Slowdown is currently taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes from a new host. This week, we’re going back into the archive to revisit Tracy K. Smith’s time as host. Today’s episode was originally released on November 28 2019.
In this episode, Tracy writes… “Today’s poem describes the joy of falling asleep next to someone you love. Becau...
Today’s poem is Fish Heads by R.A. Villanueva.
The Slowdown is currently taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes from a new host. This week, we’re going back into the archive to revisit Tracy K. Smith’s time as host. Today’s episode was originally released on March 30, 2020.
In this episode, Tracy writes… “What is it about food that feeds us? Not just the calories and nutrients, but the deeper yearni...
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