On Poetry

Why do we get so afraid to write? How can we approach this fear in a way that actually helps? Is there actually ANY cure to writer's block? I break down two popular self-help books that tackle creative woes: The War of Art by Steven Pressfield and Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert Thick jersey accent brought to you by my hometown. Use code MAPLEWOOD and you, too, will be able to sound like you grew up around people with long acrylic nails! Works Cited The tweet I reference was from last November - when I went back to look at my retweet, it was no longer available. In any case, thank you, whoever you are, for the radical words of wisdom. -Willa Paskin's New York Times review of Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/20/books/review/elizabeth-gilberts-big-magic.html -Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/97395/bird-by-bird-by-anne-lamott/9780385480017/ -The War of Art by Steven Pressfield https://stevenpressfield.com/books/the-war-of-art/ -The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron https://juliacameronlive.com/books-by-julia/the-artists-way-a-spiritual-path-to-higher-creativity/ Contact: Twitter: @onpoetrypodcast Email: onpoetrypodcast@gmail.com Website: www.thegabygarcia.com

A rollicking episode about how anger manifests in writing - when is it productive and essential? When is it bigoted nonsense? (Cue the incels). How does it free the poet and their reader? Angry writer Meher Manda and I break these issues down, debate how genre plays into the expression of anger, pop off about daddy issues, and bare our angry little hearts. The intel plastic surgery we discuss can be found at: Incel plastic surgery article (The Cut): https://www.thecut.com/2019/05/incel-plastic-surgery.html Find An Angry Reading Series at https://angryreading.wordpress.com Find Meher Manda at https://twitter.com/meherness On Poetry Twitter: twitter.com/onpoetrypodcast On Poetry email: onpoetrypodcast@gmail.com More at www.thegabygarcia.com

I opine about the rise of Instagram poetry and the ways it helps & hurts the literary field. Rupi Kaur's instagram can be found here: https://www.instagram.com/rupikaur_/?hl=en The New York Times Article "Rupi Kaur Is Kicking Down the Doors of Publishing" can be found here: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/05/fashion/rupi-kaur-poetry-the-sun-and-her-flowers.html Pod Twitter: https://twitter.com/onpoetrypodcast Pod email: onpoetrypodcast@gmail.com www.thegabygarcia.com

What's in a writer's name? How do our names impact our lives & creativity? How is capitalism literally ruining everything? Hawt new ep. with delightful human & poem Coco Wilder. “The Contract Says: We'd Like the Conversation to be Bilingual” by Ada Limón https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/147503/the-contract-says-we39d-like-the-conversation-to-be-bilingual “Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver http://www.phys.unm.edu/~tw/fas/yits/archive/oliver_wildgeese.html Coco’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coconell14/ Dog Mary Oliver’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dogmaryoliver/ On Poetry contact info: www.thegabygarcia.com @onpoetrypodcast on Twitter onpoetrypodcast@gmail.com

A deep dive into the central existential questions that plague the poetry community, particularly in the years after an MFA. Poem read in this episode: "The Shampoo" by Elizabeth Bishop Email: onpoetrypodcast@gmail.com Twitter: @onpoetrypodcast Link to purchase Elizabeth Bishop book that I read from: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374532369 Find me at www.thegabygarcia.com

Writer Haley Jakobson first found an audience for her work through by posting poetry in her Instagram captions. Cut to a few years later, and she is self-publishing with her first book, Write Like Prayers, in March 2018 with illustrator Samantha Giuliano. You can find Haley on Instagram at @haleyjakobson

Gaby sit down with poet Jay Deshpande to discuss his first book Love the Stranger, navigating the post-MFA years, and the ever-changing definition of the love poem. Buy his book here: https://www.yesyesbooks.com/product-page/love-the-stranger Jay Deshpande is the author of the poetry collection Love the Stranger (YesYes Books), named one of the top debuts of 2015 by Poets & Writers, and the chapbook The Rest of the Body. He has received fellowships or support from Kundiman, Civitella Ranieri, Saltonstall Arts Colony, and the Key West Literary Seminar. Poems have recently appeared in Boston Review, Denver Quarterly, LARB Quarterly Journal, and Horsethief. He teaches at Columbia University and lives in Brooklyn.

2/3 of the founders of Dead Rabbits Reading Series sit down with Gaby to explain the process of curating, hosting, and maintaining a literary reading series in NYC!

Inside the walls of institutions, writers are often encouraged to choose a specific genre to align ourselves with. While these categories can be useful in some circumstances, this episode is all about breaking those boundaries and developing a more fluid relationship with genre. Gaby talks to Stephen Langlois, who typically writes short fiction, about his recent entrance into the practice of poetry.

Taiwanese poet Chia-Lun Chang joins Gaby (on the 1 year anniversary of On Poetry!) to discuss her chapbook, the power of language, and the art of publishing.

Afghanistan veteran Andrew Hansen Miller shares his poems & talks war storytelling, reading cookbooks for pleasure while deployed, and the poetry of porta potty graffiti.

Alina Gregorian on poetry, the chaos & beauty of diaspora, & her love of triangles.

Gaby forgoes the typical interview format for a special episode honoring the terrorist attack on Charlottesville with poems by Lucille Clifton, Dylan Thomas, Emily Dickinson, and more.

Introducing a new On Poetry segment: Poetry and Strangers. Cooper Wilhelm, a Brooklyn-based poet, will be coming on the show on the reg with poetic postcards written and mailed to random addresses of strangers all over the world. Each card contains a poem. We'll hear the lovely stories behind how he chooses where he mails them, where he buys his antique black and white postcards, and why reaching out to strangers with poetry is a beautiful and thankless task. For more info on this project, head to www.poetryandstrangers.com

George Kovalenko on the problematic nature of the canon, the art of performing poetry, and the poetics of death.

A mini episode to tide you over as Gaby prepares MANY new interviews for you, which will start streaming in just two weeks. Listen for juicy info about the glorious Amp Lit Festival, which is tomorrow, June 10th, 2017 in Riverside Park.

Jared White, co-owner of Berl’s Brooklyn Poetry Shop, on the magic of the all-poetry bookstore, the importance of chapbooks, and tearing down hierarchies in the poetry world. Also, two poems from Christine No & a brand new prompt. xo

Happy National Poetry Month! The best way to celebrate? By resisting with your art. Gaby takes a look at a few people who are doing this: Rogue Artists Resist, a group of MFA students at Columbia University, a poet sharing her voice at an open mic, and the poetry of our wonderful listeners.

Gaby welcomes Cynthia Manick to dish about her book Blue Hallelujahs, writing into her family history, and the way music introduced her to poetry. Click here to buy Blue Hallelujahs: http://www.blacklawrence.com/blue-hallelujahs/ To find out more about Cynthia's work visit www.cynthiamanick.com

Meet Alex Cuff & Emily Brandt, the co-founders of No, Dear. They sit down with Gaby to discuss the poetic voices they seek to expose throughout New York City, the impact of the internet on the poetry community, and the story behind their name. No, Dear logo by Mary Anne Carter

Gaby heads back to her hometown (Maplewood, NY) to speak to local poet Mary Tautin Moloney and hear about the poems that changed her, the impact of place and motherhood on her writing process, and talk about Ben Lerner's "The Hatred of Poetry." Plus, hear her read her poems "Rise" and "At the Base of Kaaterskill Falls."

Listen as Gaby and Monica discuss children's literature, higher education, and small press poetry publishing.

Mike Lala talks Gaby through the process of publishing his first full length collection, Exit Theater. Listen as we discuss violence, Cy Twombly, and themes in his book, topped off with a reading of his poem "Lydia." Buy Exit Theater here: http://upcolorado.com/university-press-of-colorado/item/3042-exit-theater Check out more of Mike Lala's work at www.mikelala.com

To ring in the New Year, Emily Skillings sits down with Gaby to discuss the complex intersections between poetry, dance, and feminism. Plus, hear the title poem from her forthcoming collection Fort Not (The Song Cave) and a reading of her Pushcart Prize winning poem "Basement Delivery."

In Episode 7, Gaby speaks to poet Matt Gellman about queer poetics and hears a magical reading of poems that have influenced him (and four of his own poems).

Soren Stockman sits down with Gaby to talk about literary communities he's worked with in Eastern Europe, the evolution of his work, and the influences that led him to pursue and fall in love with poetry.

Gaby flies solo for an episode on the poems that people have given credit for saving them in a time of intense need. We'll look at Robert F. Kennedy, Elizabeth Gilbert, and a scene from the movie In Her Shoes.

The lovely Allyson Paty sits down with Gaby to talk about interdisciplinary arts, bilingual poetry and the process of co-founding her own small press.

In Episode 3, Gaby sits down with poet Halley Furlong-Mitchell to talk about badass, nasty women from Hillary Clinton to Morgan Parker. They discuss the damaging stereotype of the "hysterical woman" and how to combat discrimination in the poetic and political realms.

In Episode 2, Gaby sits down with poet and professor Jason Schneiderman to discuss the ties between poetry, mortality, the internet, Stranger Things, and what it means to live a life committed to the arts. Plus, get your first look at the regular OP segment "Game Changer." Photo by Marion Ettlinger

Gaby sits down with poet and PhD Christine Hamm to celebrate the life and work of Sylvia Plath on what would have been her 84th birthday.