SLEERICKETS

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. NB: Courtesy of Shane: “For John Berryman” does in fact appear in Lowell's Collected, on page 737.My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, subscribe to SECRET SHOW, join the group chat, and send me a poem for Listener Crit!Leave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!For a frank, anonymous critique on SLEERICKETS, subscribe to the SECRET SHOW and send a poem of no more 25 lines to sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] com Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– The Secret History by Donna Tartt– The Poet Eaters by Alice Allan & James Jiang– Better: On the Delusions of Writing Advice by Alice Allan– For John Berryman by Robert Lowell– Though I am young, and cannot tell by Ben Jonson– A Taxonomy of Conversational FormsFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: In Future PostsBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: Minor TiresiasMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, subscribe to SECRET SHOW, join the group chat, and send me a poem for Listener Crit!Leave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!For a frank, anonymous critique on SLEERICKETS, subscribe to the SECRET SHOW and send a poem of no more 25 lines to sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] com Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– moonandmouth, on Instagram, on X– Only Bad Poems Go Viral– Cataclysm Moves Me I Regret to Say Frequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: In FutureBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: Minor TiresiasMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, subscribe to SECRET SHOW, join the group chat, and send me a poem for Listener Crit!Leave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!For a frank, anonymous critique on SLEERICKETS, subscribe to the SECRET SHOW and send a poem of no more 25 lines to sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] com Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:A for Alone by Curtis SittenfeldWednesday's Child by Yiyun LiOur episode on White Noise by Emma Cline and The Assistant (2019)Aziz AnsariCat Person by Kristen RoupenianJunot DíazThe mounting, undeniable Me Too backlash by Constance GradySexual assault allegations seem to be a badge of honor in Trump's America. Was #MeToo an epic failure? by Carter ShermanOn Heteropessimism by Asa SeresinThe First Stone by Helen GarnerThe Women's Room by Marylin FrenchThe Ghost in the Martini by Anthony HechtWas Casual Sex Always This Bad? by Emily LeibertMen Going Their Own WayThe 4B movementSecret show notesThe Infinite Pussy Glitch: The Data Behind Dating as an Eligible Man in NYC by Lana LiBacklash: The Undeclared War Against American Women by Susan FaludiAdriana SmithChampagne SharksDan SavageThe Wife of Bath's TaleDisobedience (2017)Frequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: In FutureBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: Minor TiresiasMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, subscribe to SECRET SHOW, join the group chat, and send me a poem for Listener Crit!Leave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!For a frank, anonymous critique on SLEERICKETS, subscribe to the SECRET SHOW and send a poem of no more 25 lines to sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] com Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:Bob DylanBoyz II MenA Complete Unknown (2024)Timothée ChalametMalcolm Gladwell interviews Paul SimonDavid SimsJohn AshberyVisions of Johanna by Bob DylanJoan BaezA League of Their Own (1992)Pete Seeger The 2025 Super Bowl halftime showDubliners by James JoyceLegs by ZZ Top Megan Moroney profiled in The New Yorker A Bar Song (Tipsy) by ShaboozeyMatthew and Cameron discuss books about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the Secret ShowChalamet's SAG Awards acceptance speechAn Officer and a Gentleman (1982) Secret show notesJazz Chisholm Jr.So We'll Go No More a Roving by Lord ByronRichard Cory by Edwin Arlington Robinson and the Simon & Garfunkel versionTo the Virgins, to Make Much of Time by Robert HerrickJennifer Senior The King (2019)Frequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: In FutureBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: Minor TiresiasMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, subscribe to SECRET SHOW, join the group chat, and send me a poem for Listener Crit!Leave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!For a frank, anonymous critique on SLEERICKETS, subscribe to the SECRET SHOW and send a poem of no more 25 lines to sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] com Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Fugitive/Refuge by Philip Metres– Dispatches from the Land of Erasure by Philip Metres– Cameron's new Substack, Minor Tiresias– What the Hell Is the Presidency for? by Jonathan Farmer– Svetlana Alexievich– The Penguin Anthology of Twentieth Century American Poetry, Ed. Rita Dove– Lena Khalaf Tuffaha– Fady Joudah– Steven Salaita– Norman Finkelstein– Lawrence Joseph– Heaven Looks Like Us (anthology of Palestinian Poetry)– Nationalism and Social Division in Black Arts Poetry of the 1960s by Philip Brian Harper– Phil's seelction of Contemporary Palestinian Poetry:“End of a Talk with a Jailer” by Samih al-Qasimhttps://behindthelinespoetry.blogspot.com/2007/07/samih-al-qasims-end-of-talk-with.html“We Travel Like Other People” by Mahmoud Darwishhttps://rihlajourney.wordpress.com/2009/01/03/mahmoud-darwish-b-palestine-1941-we-travel-like-other-people/“State of Siege” by Mahmoud Darwishhttp://www.alkalimah.net/Articles/Read/8027“Against” by Rashid Hussein:https://adimagazine.com/articles/three-poems-by-rashid-hussain/“We” by Ghayath Almadounhttps://themarkaz.org/we-and-4978-and-one-nights-by-ghayath-almadhoun/“Write My Name” by Zeina Azzamhttps://www.arabamerica.com/palestinian-cry-from-gaza-write-my-name-goes-viral-in-poem-by-palestinian-american/“Fuck Your Lecture on Craft, My People Are Dying” by Noor Hindihttps://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/154658/fuck-your-lecture-on-craft-my-people-are-dying[…] by Fady Joudah“Jerusalem” by Naomi Shihab Nyehttps://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/54296/jerusalem-56d2347ab7a20“All Things Not Considered” by Naomi Shihab Nyehttps://mayazmi.wordpress.com/2013/09/21/all-things-not-considered-naomi-shihab-nye-women-in-poetry/“Variations on a Last Chance” by Lena Khalaf Tuffaha https://themarkaz.org/lena-khalaf-tuffaha-two-poems/Frequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: In FutureBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: Minor TiresiasMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!For a frank, anonymous critique on SLEERICKETS, subscribe to the SECRET SHOW and send a poem of no more 25 lines to sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] com Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Ethan McGuire– Apocalypse Dance by Ethan McGuire– The New Verse Review– C. S. Lewis, Bronze Age Pervert, & Unserious Christianity by Ethan McGuire– Call Me the 21st-Century Ern Malley (How I Fooled the Poetry World) by Jasper Ceylon– A writer's power can be rooted in real power or in fake power. Real power is better. by Naomi Kanakia– Links courtesy of Ethan:“The Vanishing White Male Writer” by Jacob Savage from the Matthew Schmitz magazine, Compact https://www.compactmag.com/article/the-vanishing-white-male-writer/Other articles2 "Liberal" ArticlesCNN, “Joyce Carol Oates claims White male writers are being shut out. The data disagrees,” Leah Asmelash https://www.cnn.com/style/article/joyce-carol-oates-white-men-publishing-cec/index.htmlFor the items it links to and/or referencesThe New York Times, “The Disappearance of Literary Men Should Worry Everyone,” David J. Morris https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/07/opinion/men-fiction-novels.html2 "Conservative" ArticlesUnherd, “Publishing will never be fair,” Kat Rosenfield, https://unherd.com/2022/07/publishing-will-never-be-fair/National Conservatism, “Dissident Artists and Publishing are Creating a New Culture,” Jonathan Keeperman https://youtu.be/2dHtMM-8myU?si=ewHgUj0wd6SAPlrtThe only time I've ever written on the subject of the "sensitive young men of the literary alt-right": https://pomocon.substack.com/p/cs-lewis-bronze-age-pervert-and-christianFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!For a frank, anonymous critique on SLEERICKETS, subscribe to the SECRET SHOW and send a poem of no more 25 lines to sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] com Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Frost Farm Prize, etc.Frequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. NB: (1.) Sorry for the abbreviated show notes recently. (2.) At one point I say “assonance” where I clearly mean “anaphora.” (3.) At one point I say “Larkin” where I clearly mean “Auden.” My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Frost Farm Prize, etc.Frequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– The Aleph by Jorge Luis BorgesFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Princess Shikishi– The Poetry Says ep where Alice talks about her translations of Shikishi– Sabrina Orah Mark– The Rattle Chapbook contest– Tim Green & Katy Dozier– Gotham Chess– Hikaru Nakamura– Moby Dick by Herman Melville– AlphaZero– Stockfish– A. O. Scott's Poetry Lessons by Jonathan Farmer– Two Extravagant Teachings by Neil Hertz– On Bullshit by Harry Frankfurt– The episode on the AI poetry study, Pt. 1 & Pt. 2– The episode on AI poetry with Carmine Starnino– The episode where I talk about luxury beliefs– Big Ideas, Little Pictures by Jono Hey– Richard Hamming– Paul Muldoon– The Symposium by Plato– Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)– Aunt Imogen by E. A. Robinson– Brian Brodeur's essay on RobinsonFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– The Little Review– Tristram Fane Saunders– Tristram's review selections:Useful QuotesMemorably Good ReviewsJorie Graham ReviewsTristram's review of Jorie Graham– A. O. Scott's Poetry Lessons by Jonathan Farmer– Alice's Substack– On Fear by Alice Allan– Better by Alice Allan– David Orr– Anthony Madrid– The Rusty Paperweight: April ‘25 by Ethan McGuire– Alex Wong– The Adroit Journal– The Poetry Review– Birds, Beasts, and Flowers by D. H. Lawrence– On Bullshit by Harry Frankfurt– Carol Rumens– Andrew ChanFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

NB: For those who are interested/concerned, I ended up deciding against the influential-editor-publication strategy discussed in the intro. Slightly long story, but in the end I just didn't have the stomach for it. And don't you start lecturing me about Chubby Checker. He did The Twist. The Beatles did Twist and Shout. So there. SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Literary Matters– Before the Bath by Ismail Kadare (Albanian, not Turkish!)– The University of St. Thomas in Houston– New Verse Review– Paradise Lost by John Milton– Red Scare– Grok– Chubby Checker by M. I. Devine– Regarding your workplace matter by Belinda Rule– Human Math by Tin FogdallFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:Derek WalcottRuins of a Great House by Derek WalcottDisjecta membraEp 173: Swart Verse, ft. A. E. Stallings, Pt. 1The Islander by Hilton AlsWalcott Withdraws From Poetry Professor Election by Sarah LyallPoetic Justice: Briton Says She Helped Taint Rival by John F. BurnsDerek Walcott, a Mighty Poet, Has Died by Hilton AlsHilton Als: "I had this terrible need to confess, and I still do it. It's a bid to be loved" by Emma BrockesWe Might Have to "Shut Down the Country" by David RemnickThe Gifts of John Forbes by Kath KennyIn Memory of W. B. Yeats by W. H. AudenAlice Munro's Retreat by Anne EnrightAndré MalrauxCauseway (2022)Frequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:Teachers Who TutorAn Elite School, a Boy's Suicide and a Question of Blame by John LelandThe Shame of Saint Ann's by Caitlin Moscatello and James WalshBottoms (2023)Adrienne RichFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. NB: Oops, guess it was more than ten years.My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– The last episode of Poetry Says– The Paradise Lost episode of Poetry Says, Pt. 1 & Pt. 2– The Iron Lyre by Elijah Blumov– The New Versecraft Substack– The Iron Lyre Playlist on YouTube and Spotify– Why So Serious? by Alex Ross– Aunt Imogen by E. A. Robinson– Brian Brodeur's piece on E. A. Robinson– When I Mean I by Jonathan Farmer– The episode with Alan Shapiro– The episode with Naomi Kanakia– The manifesto episode– A Dress Rehearsal for the Truth by Alan Shapiro– The Futurist Manifesto– American History X (1998)Frequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Matt Wall– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– When I Mean I by Jonathan Farmer– Locating Voice by Christopher Childers– Too Horny for Hexameter: Ovid's Epic Fail by Christopher Childers– My essay on Joshua Beckman– The Polyvocal Poet by Ryan Wilson– What Voice Is, ft. Jonathan Farmer, Pt. 1 & Pt. 2– Horace i.25– Horace ii.20– The Whirligig of Time by Anthony Hecht– Heart of Autumn by Robert Penn Warren– Western Wind– Whoso List to Hunt by Thomas Wyatt– Ozymandias by Percy Byshe Shelley– Horace iii.2– The Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson– The Gettysburg Address by Abraham LincolnFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Matt Wall– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Woman of Letters by Naomi Kanakia– Is literary criticism just a school of sophistry? by Naomi Kanakia– English class teaches students to be afraid of literature by Naomi Kanakia– Is literature a false God? by Naomi Kanakia– The new issue of Literary Matters!– My poem Letter to a Middle-Aged Poet in First Things– The Versecraft episode where we all traded poems, Pt. 1 & Pt. 2– AWP 2025– What is art? by Leo Tolstoy– The Secret Show episode on What is art?, Pt. 1 & Pt. 2– The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera– Crisis of European Sciences and Transcendental Phenomenology by Edmund Husserl– Naomi's review of James by Percival Everett in The Metropolitan Review– Moby Dick by Herman Melville– Against Interpretation by Susan Sontag– The Case of the Wolf Man from the History of Infantile Neurosis by Sigmund Freud– Mary Jo Salter– The Norton Anthology of Poetry– The Poem's Heartbeat by Alfred Corn– The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer– On Close Reading by John GuilloryFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

NB: Sign up for Alexis Sears's 92NY online poetry class now—deadline Wednesday, Feb 26!SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Sign up for Alexis Sears's 92NY online poetry class now—deadline Wednesday, Feb 26!– The Shape that Am I by Patricia Lockwood– COINTELPRO: The FBI's Secret War on Political Freedom by Nelson Blackstock– Dan Deacon– Antichrist (2009)– Immersion (Piss Christ) by Andres Serrano– The Motte-and-Bailey Fallacy– The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James– The God Delusion by Richard DawkinsFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

NB: Alan's most recent poetry collection is, in fact, By and By, from Waywiser PressSLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– A Dress Rehearsal for the Truth by Alan Shapiro– By and By by Alan Shapiro– Proceed to Check Out by Alan Shapiro– An Arrangement by Alan Shapiro– The Season of Phantasmal Peace by Derek Walcott– Hooks by C. K. Williams– Donahue's Sister by Thom Gunn– Ep 169: Thunder & Rain– On Convention by Alan Shapiro– The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman– One Today by Richard Blanco– Praise Song for the Day by Elizabeth Alexander– Axel's Castle: A Study in the Imaginative Literature of 1870-1930 by Edmund Wilson– Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin– This Is Just to Say by William Carlos Williams– Fountain by Marcel Duchamp– Of Heaven Considered as a Tomb by Wallace Stevens– Unbound Edition Press– Peter Campion– Waywiser Press (Soon to become Waywiser Books?)– Joseph Harrison– Dora Malech– Philip Hoy– The Gabbro Head Press– James LongenbachFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Even My Sex Is Dust (Review of The Penguin Anthology of Spiritual Verse, ed. Kaveh Akbar) by Zara Raab– Ep 177: Alice & Elijah vs. the Abyss, ft. Versecraft Pt. 1 & Pt. 2– Churchgoing by Marilyn Nelson– Church Going by Philip Larkin– Were You There (traditional)– Address to the Atheist by Phyllis Wheatley– On Being Brought from Africa to America by Phyllis Wheatley– Accepting the Disaster by Joshua Mehigan (poem)– The Fall of Rome by W. H. Auden– Aubade by Philip Larkin – Why I am now a Christian by Ayaan Hirsi Ali– Why I am not a Christian by Bertrand Russell– Ross Douthat– Jonathan Rauch– Ep 64: The Rabbit Hole, Pt. 1 & Pt. 2– Luxury beliefs are the latest status symbol for rich Americans by Rob Henderson– The Daily's interview with Curtis Yarvin– Poetry Says Ep 186. Sensitive New Right Guy– Poetry Says Ep 294. The American Ecstatic– Tar River Poetry– What is art? by Leo Tolstoy– The Dark Mountain ManifestoFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

NB: Brian informs me that Yarvin's interviewer was actually David Marchese, not Michael Barbaro, which might explain why I found him so much less insufferable than usual! Also, male mainstream liberal podcasters sure do all have the same voice, don't they?SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– The Daily's interview with Curtis Yarvin– Yarvin's embarrassing thoughts on the Passage Prize– Yarvin's less less embarrassing thoughts on a Poetry Daily poem– Alice's two poems in New Verse Review– Violent Femmes by Nida Sophasarun– My short essay on the 32 Poems website– My poem Melancholia in Ploughshares (just ask if you want to read it)– Poetry Says Ep 186. Sensitive New Right Guy– Poetry Says Ep 294. The American Ecstatic– Sex Elegy by Terence Winch– Tar River Poetry– Nik Prassas' transcriptions of Geoffrey Hill's lectures– Ep 49: Handsome People Can Be Sad, ft. David Kern– What is art? by Leo TolstoyFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:Emily Dickinson's fasciclesSusan HoweCharles DickensOur first AMA: Pt. 1 & Pt 2Dave EggersRobert Penn WarrenHumboldt's Gift by Saul BellowEdwin Arlington RobinsonWalt WhitmanHeinrich von KleistElena FerranteFear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. ThompsonThe Secret Agent: A Simple Tale by Joseph ConradFrederick SeidelAnthony HechtHAL 9000Merve EmreThe Anxiety of Influence: A Theory of Poetry by Harold BloomSecret show: Bob DylanCormac McCarthyCormac McCarthy's Secret Muse Breaks Her Silence After Half a Century by Vincenzo BarneyJohn BerrymanTimothée ChalametHart CraneEp 80: The Marathon, ft. SkyzooEp 23: Rhymes Without Beats, ft. James NguyenCharles HarpurBanjo PatersonA. D. HopeTenebrae by Geoffrey HillAnimal Liberation by Peter SingerEating Animals by Jonathan Safran FoerThe Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael PollanRed Meat Republic by Joshua SpechtFast Food Nation by Eric SchlosserDeadpool & Wolverine (2024)Past Lives (2023)Ikiru (1952)Ep 178: All the Supposedly Wonderful Poetry, ft. Jonathan FarmerJeanne Dielman (1975)Inside Out 2 (2024)Centuries by Joel BrouwerMatthew's movie list: Acute Misfortune (2018)A Glitch in the Matrix (2021)American Honey (2016)Boiling Point (2021)How to Blow Up a Pipeline (2022)Ghost in the Shell (1995)Mope (2020)Nope (2022)The Shining (1980) Sicario (2015)Frequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:Geoffrey Hill's Oxford Lecture I know thee not, old man, fall to thy prayersCharles WilliamsMark MorrisChurch Going by Philip LarkinPsalm by Paul CelanAubade by Philip LarkinRobert FrostFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:Matrix by Lauren GroffPenguin UK's write up of the bookPieter BruegelBetween the Shadow and the Soul by Lauren GroffRosemary DobsonWolf Hall by Hilary MantelMartyr! by Kaveh Akbar Groff interviewed on Talking Volumes2666 by Roberto BolañoA Gaze Hound That Hunteth by the Eye by V. Penelope PelezzonFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:Versecraft starter episodes: Elijah's interview with Tim Steele and his episode on Shane McCrae's Eurydice On the Art of PoetryUncut Gems (2019)The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)"The Four Horsemen" roundtable with Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris and Christopher HitchensBen ShapiroJoe RoganJordan PetersonYou are not serious peopleDoes God Exist? William Lane Craig vs. Christopher HitchensMatthew's poem Creed for AtheistsBertrand RussellTopic of Cancer by Christopher HitchensSpinozaBill HicksFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:Anatomy of a Fall (2023)I'm Starting to Think You Guys Don't Really Want a “Village” By Clare Haber-HarrisClare Haber-Harris's substack Cartoons Hate HerEp 149: Owls in the DesertFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:Mary OliverPity the Beautiful by Dana GioiaThe Art of Voice: Poetic Principles and Practice by Tony HoaglandDerek WalcottFrances LevistonGerard Manley HopkinsRobert PinskyThe Dream Songs by John BerrymanThe Iceman Cometh by Eugene O'NeillRobert LowellAs Kingfishers Catch Fire by Gerard Manley HopkinsNobody Speak by DJ Shadow32 PoemsElegy for Estrogen by V. Penelope PelizzonSonnet 18The Face by Randall JarrellMy Picture Left in Scotland by Ben JonsonCarl DennisPromises of Gold by José Olivarezpoem where no one is deported by José OlivarezMatthew ArnoldFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:My Grandmaster Mom Sneaked in to a Chess Tournament in LondonAnna CramlingDing LirenDing Liren is CHILLINGJohn Cena speaking mandarin with an ice-creamGrandmasters being SAVAGE for 8 minutes straightGukesh DommarajuJudit PolgárAmélie MauresmoDonald JusticeLee HerrickEp 172: Less Human Than Human, Pt. 1 & Pt. 2Matthew's poem Spontaneous LossLying by Sam Harris(and these things are mentioned in the secret show)Philip Larkin, the Poet Laureate who never wasGwen HarwoodJames McAuleyThat Mitchell and Webb Look: The Doctor and the Ice Cream TasterSuch Great Heights by The Postal ServiceWinning Ugly by Brad GilbertKen BoltonPoetry Says Ep. 290 Australian GothicFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. NB: Stallings wrote in to add a note: “I am somewhat mortified to realize that I got Pemberly's situation wrong--of course it is in Derbyshire! Uggh. Don't know if there is a way to edit my Yorkshire comments out, or add a comment there. Austenites will have me for lunch. (Rightly so.)”My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Send your AMA questions to sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] com– This Afterlife by A. E. Stallings– The Oxford Professor of Poetry– Beautiful Fierce Cheats (review of Wetzsteon & Bachman) by A. E. Stallings– A Gaze Hound That Hunteth by the Eye by V. Penelope Pelizzon– Stallings on Cliche by V. Penelope Pelizzon– Temper by Beth Bachman– Silver Roses by Rachel Wetzsteon– Bells for John Whiteside's Daughter by John Crowe Ransom– Resume by Dorothy Parker– Joy Division– The Smiths– Sakura Park by Rachel Wetzsteon– Stankonia by OutKast– After Wyatt by Rachel Wetzsteon– Pemberly by Rachel Wetzsteon– Septimus by Rachel Wetzsteon– Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf– They Flee from Me by Thomas Wyatt– Nightingales by Rachel Wetzsteon– Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen– John Hollander– West Chester Poetry Conference– Ange Mlinko– Richie Hofmann– Housman's expansion of Sappho's epithalamiumFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. NB: Oops, I said the study appeared in Scientific Reports, which it did, but this is actually just a segment of the prominent science journal Nature.My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Send your AMA questions to sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] com– Ethan's Response to Ep 171– Ep 171: Into the Black– When Good Becomes Too Good: The Curious Case of AI Poetry by John Nosta– AI-generated poetry is indistinguishable from human-written poetry and is rated more favorably by Brian Porter and Edouard Machery– The complete set of data and experimental materials from the Porter and Machery study– The complete set of poems used in the Porter and Machery study– ChatGPT's Poetry Is Incompetent and Banal by Ernest Davis– Ding Liren– Gukesh Dommaraju – Game Changer by Matthew Sadler and Natasha Regan– Ep 101: Lucky Ruins, ft. Stephen Marche– Justin Vernon with (also a bold revival of pop-music saxophone) and without (a real delight if you're a Bonnie Raitt fan) Auto-TuneFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. NB: Michael Jordan is alive. The knights are of course shaped like horses.My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Ding Liren– Wei Yi– Wei Yi's poem for Ding Liren w/ Ethan McGuire's literal rendering and transliteration– Gukesh Dommaraju– Poetry Says Ep 263. Water-dragon blues– Poetry Says Ep 97. What makes poets lucky– World Chess Championship 2024, Game 1– Dreaming of Li Bai by Du Fu– Chess24/Chess.com– Gotham Chess– Take Take Take– On Writing and Failure by Stephen Marche– The Stephen Marche episode– The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost– Sorrow and Words by Li Qingzhao– The Wild Swans at Coole by W. B. Yeats– Wild Geese by Mary Oliver– Ethan's NVR newsletter– An Alley in Avignon by Mary Jo Salter– Ethan's recent thematically cohesive commonplace bookFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– The Promise of Words by Laura Riding– Elijah's notes on the essay– Beyond Poetry by Blake Smith– The Republic by Plato– On Portents by Robert Graves– No Second Troy by W. B. Yeats– Versecraft on Riding & Graves, on John Martin Finlay, on CameronFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. NB: Oops, forgot to mention all the non-voting/protest voting listeners out there. I see you, too.My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Leila's recommendations:- "Dedication" by Fady Joudah, who is also American but with a personal connection to Gaza, many of whose family members have indeed been killed there: 2024 Jackson Poetry Prize Reading: Fady Joudah in Conversation With Pádraig Ó Tuama (recorded here beginning at minute 50)- "Not Just Passing" and "I Grant You Refuge" by Heba Abu Nada, who was killed in Gaza: Not Just Passing: In Honor of Heba Abu Nada - Mizna; I Grant You Refuge • Protean Magazine- "My mother once said" and "The land fights, too" by Nour Khalil Abu Shammala, writing from Gaza: My mother once said | The Electronic Intifada; The land fights, too | The Electronic Intifada- "A Request," "Right or Left," and others contained in this interview with Mosab Abu Toha, who is from Gaza and some of whose experience is also recounted here: “Forest of Noise”: Palestinian Poet Mosab Abu Toha on New Book, Relatives Killed in Gaza & More | Democracy Now!- "It Always Starts with Words" and "Four Poems" by Olivia Elias, born in Palestine and writing from the diaspora: It Always Starts with Words - Mizna; FOUR POEMS by Olivia Elias, trans. Jérémy Victor Robert – FOUR WAY REVIEW- "Gazan Despair" and "When a Missile Lands" by Yahya Ashour, who is outside of Gaza and unable to return: Gazan Despair - Mizna; New Poetry in Translation: Yahya Ashour's ‘When a Missile Lands' – ARABLIT & ARABLIT QUARTERLY- Poems from "Ash and Air" by Nadine Murtaja, writing from Gaza: Ash and Air: a Poetry Folio from Gaza - Mizna– Padraig O Tuama– Julie Steiner– Ep 167: Poetry Magazine, October 2024– Ceasefire Haiku by Faisal Mohyuddin– The Tea and Sage Poem by Fady Joudah– Mimesis by Fady Joudah– Forest of Noise by Mosab Abu Toha– Brian Cox's rendition of If I Must Die by Refaat Alareer– If I Must Die by Refaat Alareer– Sunlight on the Garden by Louis MacNeiceFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– James Haverty Smith– Toward an Architecture by Le Corbusier– Kanye West Bought an Architectural Treasure—Then Gave It a Violent Remix by Ian Parker– Ep 167: Poetry Magazine, October 2024– My appearance on Drunk as Poet on Payday– Jason Gray– Tadao Ando– Frank Gehry– Zaha Hadid– Santiago Calatrava– Colin Rowe– Tesla Cybertruck (and the phony DeLorean logo on the one we saw)– Boston Dynamics Dogs– Paradise Lost by John Milton– Manuel Cadrecha– Cloister of Santa Maria della Pace (the perfect courtyard)– Jorge Silvetti (the professor who assigned the analysis of the Villa La Rotonda)– Villa La Rotonda (the most famous building in the world)– Donato Bramante– Andrea Palladio– Civilization and Its Discontents by Sigmund Freud– Notre-Dame du Haut (Le Corbusier's chapel in Ronchamp)– Bauhaus– Collage City by Fred Koetter and Colin Rowe– Philip Johnson– Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (Frank Gehry's building inspired by the shipyards)– Heydar Aliyev Centre (Zaha Hadid's building dedicated to a tyrant but beloved by skateboarders)– Santa Maria de la Tourette– Villa Savoye– The Paideia School (my weird high school)– A Worn Path by Eudora Welty– Margaret Pepperdene (my mentor Jane)– The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer– John's Mountie Boots by Marilyn Levine– Chuck Close– Louis Kahn (not Thomas Kuhn)– Thomas Kuhn (the paradigm shift guy)– John Barth (not Roland Barthes)– The Death of the Author by Roland Barthes– Donald Barthelme– The Rites & Wrongs of Janice Wills by Joanna Pearson (my wife's YA novel)– The Daily: How Air-Conditioning Conquered the World– One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez– Dear Derrida by David Kirby – Mozart's Requiem– The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton– Westworld (1973) by Michael Crichton– Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton– Timeline by Michael Crichton– CivilWarLand in Bad Decline by George SaundersFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Poetry Magazine, October 2024 (all of the poems discussed appear herein)– Allegory by Morri Creech– The 400-Pound CEO by George Saunders– My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante– The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham– Trust by Hernan Diaz– Madame Bovary by Gustave FlaubertFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Cameron's opening reading for the Critical Path Symposium (w/ Elijah, too!) October 24 at 11:00 a.m. US EasternWelcome Session (Thu 10/24) https://brandeis.zoom.us/j/99723229304?pwd=8PxJRe3eaLx9SV3BzZOTyFUbhw99qN.1Symposium Sessions (Thu/Fri/Sat) https://brandeis.zoom.us/j/93979607180?pwd=MfaFbLZWNLZJAxcOY3cm6eTsJESVqL.1Readings (Thu/Fri/Sat) https://brandeis.zoom.us/j/92469126577?pwd=ZMYw1sFP889LzAgkkzlRrSD1hA1gqz.1– That Peculiar Affirmative by Jonathan Farmer– The Battle for Attention by Nathan Heller– Jonathan's review of Promises of Gold by Jose Olivarez– The Lottery in Babylon by Jorge Luis Borges– American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin by Terrance Hayes– Robert Wilson– The Way of the Gun (2000)– Football Club Bruno's Magpies– Ned Kelly– Oulipo– Italo Calvino– Portlandia– Alan Shapiro– The episode of Poetry Says in which Alice and I did indeed end up talking about Gwen Harwood's Krote poems, among other things– The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead– Andrea del Sarto by Robert Browning– Wendy Cope's Strugnell poems– Making Cocoa for Kingsley Amis by Wendy Cope– Barry (2018)Frequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Fugitive/Refuge by Philip Metres– The ALSCW Conference, where I'll be reading with Mary Jo Salter and Christopher Childers– The Will to Believe by William James– 90 North by Randall Jarrell– Done on This Side by Joshua Mehigan– My poem Creed for Atheists– Sunday Morning by Wallace Stevens– The Cleveland reading– White Noise by Emma Cline– My sight, which was my power, now blurs by Arseny Tarkovsky, trans. Philip Metres– Notes Toward a Supreme Fiction by Wallace Stevens– A High-Toned Old Christian Woman by Wallace Stevens– The Auroras of Autumn by Wallace Stevens– Jesus and the woman taken in adultery– Padraig O Tuama– St. John ChrysostromFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– The ALSCW Conference– The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T. S. Eliot– The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri– My ill-advised poem Overheard at a Reading, from the new issue of 32 Poems– Translation by Roy Fuller– A Colleague Confesses by Carl Dennis– Poetry Says Ep 283. Tool time– Ep 163. How Racist Is Creative Writing?, ft. Alexis Sears & Joanna Pearson– Victoria's essay referencing SLRKTS– Ep 161. Handbook for the Recently Deceased Poet– Ep 111. Obvious Boobies, ft. Ashley Anna McHugh, Pt. 1– Secret Show Ep 110. Water Power!– The Simpson Season 6, Ep 18: A Star Is Burns– The Shining (1980)– When Defending Your Writing Becomes Defending Yourself by Matthew Salesses– Self-Portrait of the Artist as an Ungrateful Black Writer by Saeed Jones– Ethan's excellent graphs of the last 10 winners of 10 big poetry prizes– Send your literary conference blind items to SLEERICKETS [at] GMAIL [dot] COM !– Secret Show Ep 94. Who's Winning the Poetry Prizes?– The Most Precious Substance on Earth by Shashi Bhat– MFA vs. POC by Junot Diaz– VIDA: Women in Literary Arts– SLEERICKETS Ep 5: Ars FoeticaFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Out of Order by Alexis Sears– Bright and Tender Dark by Joanna Pearson– When Defending Your Writing Becomes Defending Yourself by Matthew Salesses– Self-Portrait of the Artist as an Ungrateful Black Writer by Saeed Jones– Ethan's excellent graphs of the last 10 winners of 10 big poetry prizes– Send your literary conference blind items to SLEERICKETS [at] GMAIL [dot] COM !– Secret Show Ep 94. Who's Winning the Poetry Prizes?– The Most Precious Substance on Earth by Shashi Bhat– MFA vs. POC by Junot Diaz– Stephanie Macias– The Humpty Dance by Digital Underground– Wyatt Prunty– Caki Wilkinson– Jonathan Heinen– Tim Robinson– There There by Tommy Orange– Questlove– VIDA: Women in Literary Arts– SLEERICKETS Ep 5: Ars Foetica– Jerry Saltz– Curvy Wife Guy– Widespread Bias Found in Home Appraisals by Debra Kamin– Sherman Alexie's introduction to the 2015 Best American Poetry– The Unquiet Grave– Daniel Handler– Jacqueline Woodson– Citizen by Claudia Rankine– Pretendians– Heartbreak Ghazal by Alexis Sears– MFA Draft– Do ghazals work in English? by Victoria MoulFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– When the Earth Flies into the Sun by Derek Mong– At Length magazine– 32 Poems No 43. Summer 2024– There by Christopher Childers– I Too Had a Childhood by Eleanor Stanford– One of two poems of mine in the new 32 Poems– The part in Tree of Life where (among other things) Jessica Chastain flies– Marjorie Perloff's review of The Birthday Letters– The Two Ariels: The (Re)making of the Sylvia Plath Canon by Marjorie Perloff– Ariel by Sylvia Plath– Ariel: The Restored Edition– Birthday Letters by Ted Hughes– Sylvia (2003)– Pike by Ted Hughes– Sharon Olds– Anne Sexton– Deborah Landau– Metaphors by Sylvia Plath– Adrienne Rich– Helen Vendler– Daddy by Sylvia Plath– Lady Lazarus by Sylvia Plath– Nick and the Candlestick by Sylvia Plath– A Secret by Sylvia Plath– You're by Sylvia Plath– William Heyen– Swoop by Hailey Leithauser– Transformations by Anne Sexton– Kevin Young– Life Studies by Robert Lowell– Memories of West Street and Lepke by Robert Lowell– 13 Reasons Why (2017)– Wintering by Sylvia Plath– A rough approximation of a store in my town– Purdah by Sylvia Plath– Sheep in Fog by Sylvia Plath– Honey's Dead by The Jesus and Mary Chain– Shaken Baby SyndromeFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. NB: Speaking of Whoreywood, check out Matt Wall's bananas unfinished memoir of making movies in Hollywood.oNB: It turns out there is in fact some record of Heraclitus the poet, outside of Callimachus' poem, but not much.My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Material Witness: Remembering an Abiding Debt to Timothy Murphy by Maryann Corbett– Wildfire Season by Maryann Corbett– Timothy Murphy– Maryann Corbett– Alan Sullivan– Eratosphere– Aaron Poochigian– Alex Pepple– Richard Wilbur– Quincy Lehr– Lin-Manuel Miranda– Champagne Sharks– The West Wing– Beowulf, trans. Seamus Heaney– Breakfast at Brennan's by Timothy Murphy– Prison Chaplain by Timothy Murphy– The Failure by Timothy Murphy– The Dead Poet by Timothy Murphy– The Drowned Immortal by Timothy Murphy– Only Poems– Paging Dr. Platzmouth– The Stars Shine Without Me by Matt Cardin– Chris Childers– The Dowser's Ear by Wilmer Mills (the poem, I think, that Stallings read in memory of Mills at the 2012 Sewanee Writers' Conference)– Heraclitus by William Johnson Cory– Rachel Wetzsteon– Hart Crane– Jay WrightFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Poetry Says Ep 270. Jonathan Farmer: I don't think I love poetry– Departing Afghanistan by William H. McRaven– How-to by Anders Carlson-Wee– Dogs of War by Mark Leidner– My poem Stay-at-Home (It's short!)– Victoria Moul's piece on Amanda Gorman's poem– Steve Knepper's New Verse ReviewFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Poetry Says Ep 256. Antarctica– Ars Poetica by Horace– The inaugural issue of New Verse Review (ft. work by Zara, Victoria, Michael, Marly, Katie, JMW (da-da-dummmm), Ethan, Elijah, Amit, and Maryann Corbett, among many others!)– The Iliad by Homer– The Aeneid by Virgil– The Metamorphoses by Ovid– Their Lonely Betters by W. H. Auden– Horace iii.25 (the one Elijah says is atypical)– Horace i.11– Burton Raffel– Christopher Smart– David Ferry– The Greeks and the Irrational by E. R. Dodd– The Birth of Tragedy by Friedrich Nietzsche– Ion by Plato– The Bacchae by Euripides– The Oresteia by Aeschylus– Charles Baudelaire– T. S. EliotFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Wolf Trees by Katie Hartsock– The Old and the New by Katie Hartsock– Tradition and the Individual Talent by T. S. Eliot– Kafka and His Precursors by Jorge Luis Borges– An Organ of Extreme Perfection & Another Achilles (what has two thumbs and likes…)– The Tradition by Jericho Brown– Duplex by Jericho Brown– Invention (essay on the duplex form) by Jericho Brown– Ep 118: Obvious Boobies, ft. Ashley Anna McHugh– Paradelle for Susan by Billy Collins– Proofs and Theories by Louise Gluck– Motherhood by Cecily Park– The Circe / Mud Poems by Margaret Atwood– The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood– Punishment by Seamus Heaney– Eurydice by Caroline Duffy– The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani– Agamemnon by Aeschylus– The Libation Bearers by Aeschylus– Hamlet by William Shakespeare– The Iliad by Homer– The Aeneid by Virgil– The Metamorphoses by Ovid– The Trojan Women by Euripides– The Trojan Women by Anne Carson and Rosanna Bruno– Greeking Out– Horace & Friends by Victoria Moul– Alcestis by Euripides– Richard FeynmanFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

NB: The conversation this week is between Brian and me. At one point in the intro I mistakenly call him Ryan. Also, I use the word pinned casually and perhaps confusingly in a way that is unrelated to its technical meaning in chess.My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Hans Niemann, One Year After the Cheating Scandal by Jen Wieczner– Elijah's review of Midlife– Zara's review of Midlife– Literary Matters– New Verse Review– The 2024 Candidates Tournament (to cut down on the length of the show notes, I'm not linking to individual games or to players who participated, including Gukesh D)– The 2022 Sinquefield Cup (ditto)– Big Red Son by David Foster Wallace– Hans Niemann– Magnus Carlsen– Shernaz Kennedy– Bobby Fischer– Anatoly Karpov– Gary Kasparov– Mikhail Tal– Jose Capablanca– Vishy Anand– AlphaZero– Stockfish– The Queen's Gambit (2020)Frequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Victoria's newsletter Horace & Friends– What is a poetry magazine for? by Victoria Moul– On being underwhelmed by Victoria Moul– On poetry for children by Victoria Moul– Self-Portait as Othello by Jason Allen-Paisant– Ion by Plato– Julia Donaldson– The Man with Night Sweats by Thom Gunn– The Burning Babe by Robert Southwall– Poems of Mr. John Milton (1645)– Shearsman– The Interpreter– Francois Fenelon– Philip Gross– To Lucasta, Going to the Wars by Richard Lovelace– The Highwayman by Alfred NoyesFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

NB: Yes, I realize that my statement “Nobody ever speaks in rhyme and meter” is in fact a line of iambic pentameter.My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– The Penguin Book of Greek and Latin Lyric Verse, trans. Christopher Childers– The Eight Stages of Translation by Robert Bly– Robert Frost's letter to John Bartlett regarding sentence sound (couldn't find a great copy online)– Sonnets to Orpheus No. 21 by Rainer Maria Rilke (see also Chris's translation below)– Horace i.11– Orchard Trees, January by Richard Wilbur– Heraclitus trans. William Johnson Cory– Diffugere Nives/Horace iv.7, trans. A. E. Housman– J. Kates– The Mysteries of Caesar by Anthony Hecht– An addendum from Chris:I emailed XJ Kennedy and asked him if this epigram is about Bly's essay & this specific Rilke poem. He denied it, but come on, it fits too well:TO A TRANSLATOR You've done it: Rilke talks American Thanks to your perseverance, at the costOf music, rhyme and rhythm, stanza plan--Indeed, in your translation all is lost.This maybe more just for curiosity--my own attempt at the sonnet, just based on Bly's essay, though your point about the oddness of the central conceit is well taken. (We missed, or maybe didn't say as obvious, that earth as a school child who is reciting the poem of spring perhaps makes a bit more sense in Sonnets to Orpheus; and the idea of song after long silence is particularly appropriate to Rilke, at least from what I remember of the story of the composition of the Duino Elegies.)Sonnet to Orpheus 1.21Rilke It's spring again, and the Earth lookslike a child who's worked to memorizehundreds of poems. She lived with booksa long time, and now, she takes the prize. A difficult teacher, that old man whosebeard we liked for its shaggy white.We're asking her the names of the bluesand greens, and she–she gets them right! O lucky Earth on recess, play!You're It, and we–we're in pursuitof your smiles. Joy is the winner's wings. See?–all she learned in her teacher's sway,and everything printed on each deep rootand laborious stalk–she sings, she sings!Frequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

NB: OK, so the names I couldn't remember in the intro were as follows: LM is how we all consistently refer to Literary Matters because we are so cool. James is James Matthew Wilson, who comes up toward the end of the conversation, when I continually complain about him and Ryan and Elijah gently defend him. Armen is Armen Davoudian, who requires no defense because everybody loves him.Elisabeth is Elisabeth Clark, David's wife and Managing Editor of 32 Poems.Warren is Robert Penn Warren.See notes below for more.Finally, happy birthday, Philip Metres!My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– The YouTube footage of the big Cleveland reading/conference/shouting match: Pt. 1 & Pt. 2– In Ghostlight by Ryan Wilson– Newly Not Eternal by George David Clark– Some Problems with Autobiography by Brian Brodeur– The last issue of Literary Matters– The continuation of 32 Poems– The Sentence by Morri Creech—and my review of same– Grace Schulman– Jean Valentine– Charles Simic– Fred Chappell– Stephen Dunn– Christian Wiman– Don Share– Horace ii.10– J. D. McClatchy– Little Boats, Unsalvaged by Dave Smith– Raphael Krut-Landau– Michael Shewmaker– Ernie Suarez– Rosanna Warren– Alex Pepple– Lothrop Stoddard– The nightmarish putto from the Ligotti-esque hotel where I stayed on Brian Brodeur's recommendation.– Wiseblood Books– JMW (see Nota Bene)– Dappled Things– Katy Carl– Bernardo Aparicio Garcia– Joshua Hren– Franciscan University Press– Modern Age– Catholic Imagination Conference– Contemporary Catholic Poetry – The Contemporary Poetry Review– The Vision of the Soul by James Matthew WilsonFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

NB: OK, so the names I couldn't remember in the intro were as follows: LM is how we all consistently refer to Literary Matters because we are so cool. James is James Matthew Wilson, who comes up toward the end of the conversation, when I continually complain about him and Ryan and Elijah gently defend him. Armen is Armen Davoudian, who requires no defense because everybody loves him.Elisabeth is Elisabeth Clark, David's wife and Managing Editor of 32 Poems.Warren is Robert Penn Warren.See notes below for more.Finally, happy birthday, Philip Metres!My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– The YouTube footage of the big Cleveland reading/conference/shouting match: Pt. 1 & Pt. 2– In Ghostlight by Ryan Wilson– Newly Not Eternal by George David Clark– Some Problems with Autobiography by Brian Brodeur– The last issue of Literary Matters– The continuation of 32 Poems– The Sentence by Morri Creech—and my review of same– Grace Schulman– Jean Valentine– Charles Simic– Fred Chappell– Stephen Dunn– Christian Wiman– Don Share– Horace ii.10– J. D. McClatchy– Little Boats, Unsalvaged by Dave Smith– Raphael Krut-Landau– Michael Shewmaker– Ernie Suarez– Rosanna Warren– Alex Pepple– Lothrop Stoddard– The nightmarish putto from the Ligotti-esque hotel where I stayed on Brian Brodeur's recommendation.– Wiseblood Books– JMW (see Nota Bene)– Dappled Things– Katy Carl– Bernardo Aparicio Garcia– Joshua Hren– Franciscan University Press– Modern Age– Catholic Imagination Conference– Contemporary Catholic Poetry – The Contemporary Poetry Review– The Vision of the Soul by James Matthew WilsonFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

NB: I know, I know, Dickens' A Christmas Carol wasn't originally a play.My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– The excellent Versecraft episode Giving the Devil His Due: The Value of the Romantic Anti-Hero– Jason Gray's new poetry podcast, Drunk as Poet on Payday– ICYMI: My recent appearance on A Mouthful of Air– Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert– The Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov– Vanya on 42nd Street (1994)– The Genealogy of Morals by Friedrich Nietzsche– A lot of other books and poems– The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin – A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens– The Last Messiah by Peter Zapffe– Teeth by Matt Cardin– Prometheus (2012) – The Boys (2019)– Heroes, Gods, and Monsters of the Greek Myths by Bernard Evslin– The God Who Loves You by Carl DennisFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith

My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it's easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– The YouTube footage of the big Cleveland reading/conference/shouting match: Pt. 1 & Pt. 2– My recent appearance on A Mouthful of Air, w/ Mark McGuinness– The recent episode of Poetry Says ft. Jonathan Farmer– The recent episode of Poetry Says all about Horace iv.1– A slew of poems (mentioned, not read!) from my dumb book Midlife– Catullus ci– Catullus li– Sappho 31 (trans. Chris Childers!)– Archaischer Torso Apollos by Rainer Maria Rilke– The Unquarried Blue of Those Depths Is All But Blinding by Ashley Anna McHugh– A Letter by Anthony Hecht– A se stesso by Giacomo Leopardi– Antigone by Sophocles, trans. Jean Anouilh– Translation by Roy Fuller– Halcyon by Alcman, trans. A. E. Stallings– Non sum qualis eram bonae sub regno cynarae by Ernest Dowson– Vitae summa brevis spem nos vetat incohare longam by Ernest Dowson– Cold Turkey by Joshua Mehigan– Back in Your Head by Tegan & SaraFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith