Podcast by Bob Sykora and Chris Corlew
On today's episode, what begins as a gentle "what have you been reading lately" morphs into Bob and Chris gushing about how rad poetry is even when the world is difficult. Bob reads "Snow Theory" by Ocean Vuong, Chris reads "Ethos, Pathos" by Sebastian Castillo, and then Bob says nice things about the Boston Celtics.
Guest time! Today, Bob and Chris welcome Hannah Cohen to the show! The three talk about everything from manuscript length to wrestling with abstractions to Tommy Wiseau. Hannah reads "Under One Small Star" by Wislawa Szymborska, as well as her poem "Some Covenant." Then the three plot to become Poet Laureate of Waffle House. Hannah Cohen bio and publications: https://hannahcohen.carrd.co/
If poems are made of music, metaphor, and image, well, we're certainly talking about one of those today. What makes an image in a poem *just* the right one? Bob reads "Quabban Reservoir" James Tate, Chris reads "revaluation" by MJ Santiago, and then the guys talk about how basketball looks cool.
If brevity is the soul of wit, what's an hourlong podcast? Today, Bob and Chris are exploring short poems. Bob reads "Invisible Fish" by Joy Harjo, Chris reads "Ghosting" by Andrea Cohen, and then the guys celebrate NBA players under six feet tall.
The poets are back! This week, Bob and Chris discuss poets they just haven't gotten around to yet. Bob reads "Rodedendrons" by Larry Levins, then Chris reads "MOTHERFUCKER I'M ILL" by Beyza Ozer.
The poets are back, and they need coats, hats, and gloves. It's cold outside, and we're breaking lines over it. Bob reads "Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden, Chris reads "In Winter" by Michael Ryan, and then the guys discuss watching full days of basketball.
Family! Everyone has one, everyone feels differently about them. So let's do some poetry! Bob reads "enough food and a mom" by francine j. harris, Chris reads "In The Hospital" by Chen Chen, and then the guys talk about familial duos in basketball.
At long last, Bob and Chris are back for Season 3! The guys have returned to catch up read a few words. Bob reads "Miss You" by Gabrielle Calvocoressi, Chris reads an excerpt from "Scarliotti and the Sinkhole" by Padget Powell, and then they talk about how the Bulls are winning the NBA championship this year.
In this week's episode, Bob and Chris read poems dealing with sleep. Bob talks anxiety while reading "Dream Song #17" by Daniel Borzutzky, Chris talks childcare while reading "Chicago is a chorus of barking dogs" by Eve Ewing. Then the two reminiscence on NBA teams worth staying up for.
On this week's episode, Bob and Chris are back for another installment of "what have you been reading." Bob reads "(Earth), The" by Natalie Eilbert, Chris reads an excerpt from "They All Seemed Asleep" by Matthew Rohrer, and there's plenty of lighthearted discussion about climate change and antifascism.
This week, Bob and Chris continue their discussion of Tyehimba Jess's leadbelly. They talk how hard living and difficult conditions affects more than just the person doing the hard living, how exploitative academic study can be, and great moments in NBA labor history.
This week, Bob and Chris break down Tyehimba Jess's book "leadbelly," a poetic biography of the legendary bluesman. Bob reads "fanin street signifies" and "brownie and leadbelly: stipulations and apprenticeship," and the guys mispronounce the word "contrapuntal" a whole bunch.
This week, Bob and Chris continue their discussion of Ross Gay's book-length poem, Be Holding. The dudes cover how repetition can be an effective writer's tool, the dogwhistling early aughts sports writers did when talking about Allen Iverson, and the importance of being good to one another.
This week, Bob and Chris do a deep dive on Ross Gay's book-length poem, Be Holding. They discuss how Julius Erving is mystical, how being good is a daily practice, and which dunks we'd write book-length poems about.
This week, Bob and Chris are ecstatic to welcome Stephen J. Furlong to the show. Stephen reads "Delphiniums In A Window Box" by Dean Young, as well as his own poem "Most Days I Long To Be An Ampersand." Then the guys talk about how cool Keyon Dooling is and basketball players who have gone on to be writers and activists. Stephen's twitter: https://twitter.com/StephenJFurlong
This week, Bob and Chris are thrilled to welcome Lyd Havens! The three discuss experimenting with form and the writing life. Lyd reads “Homewrecker” by Ocean Voung and their own poem “ChokeCherry." Plus, an exciting announcement! Lyd's website: https://www.lydhavens.com/ Lyd's twitter: https://twitter.com/lydhavens
This week, Bob and Chris welcome Laura Villareal! Laura reads "After Love" by Miguel Hernandez, and the poets discuss words "not allowed" in poetry. Then they tackle the thorny nature of love-hate relationships in sports and arts. Laura's website: https://www.lauravillareal.com Laura's chapbook: http://www.nostroviatowriting.com/uploads/9/0/3/8/9038323/cartography-of-sleep__online_pdf_.pdf Laura's twitter: https://twitter.com/earthandstars
On today's episode, Bob and Chris are thrilled to welcome Diannely Antigua! The three explore how poetry can connect disparate things, Diannely reads "Elegy" by Aracelis Girmay, and then the three talk about how rad Jaylen Brown is. Diannely's book: https://www.yesyesbooks.com/product-page/ugly-music-by-diannely-antigua Diannely's website: https://diannelyantigua.com/ Diannely's twitter: https://twitter.com/nellfell13
On this week's episode, Bob and Chris ask why so many poets refer to their poems as self portraits. Bob reads "Self Portrait, 1969" by Frank Bidart, Chris reads by "Elegy for the Self Portrait" by Adam Clay, and then the dudes talk about getting dunked on.
Bob and Chris are back for Season 2! In this week's episode, Bob reads "All My Life Has Been a Costume Party" by Jessica Abughattas, Chris reads "Story In A White Diction" by Jaswinder Bolina, and then they talk about how weird watching basketball during a pandemic is.
On this week's episode, Bob and Chris are joined by longtime friend Adrian Sobol to discuss his book, *The Life of the Party is Harder To Find Until You're the Last One Around*, how jokes and poetry work in concert, and the later work of James Tate.
On this week's episode of The Line Break, Bob and Chris do another reading check-in. Bob reads "Anniversary" by Diannely Antigua, Chris reads the "September 5, 1996" entry from Joe Wenderoth's Letters To Wendy's collection, and then the guys discuss favorite and least favorite alternate NBA jerseys.
On this week's episode, Bob and Chris catch each other up on what they've been reading lately. Bob reads "Pokedex Entry #778: Mimikyu" by Marlin M. Jenkins, Chris reads "Petition To Get All White Girls To Stop Wearing Hoop Earrings" by Melissa Lozada-Oliva, and then the dudes talk about how basketball players evolve like Pokemon.
Today, Bob and Chris are joined by Brendan Johnson to discuss how religion and poetry intersect. The dudes talk about the difference between growing up Protestant in the Bible Belt vs. Catholic on the Left Coast, just how damn sad Job is Brendan reads an excerpt from "Sinners In the Hands Of An Angry God" by Jonathan Edwards, and which NBA player is the most cursed.
In perhaps the least spooky (but still bone-chilling) episode of Monster Month, Bob and Chris are talking magic! Bob reads "Song" by Brigit Pegeen Kelly, Chris reads “White Godiva Melts In a Mouthful of Blood: Prayer For My Unborn Daughter” by Alysia Nicole Harris, and then the dudes talk Hot Sauce and how weird it'd be to give Grant Hill a nickname.
On this week's episode, Bob and Chris are talking about art talking about art! How does thinking about other pieces of art help us write? How do different mediums inform each other? We'll talk movies, music, fiction, visual art, and of course poetry. Bob reads Chase Berggrun's "Chapter XII" (an erasure of Dracula), Chris reads Elizabeth Willis's "The Wolfman," and then the dudes discuss how monstrously inadequate their basketball games are.
Continuing October's series of spooky talks, Bob and Chris welcome Chloe N. Clark, author, co-EIC of Cotton Xenomorph, and professional Monster Theorist to discuss what makes a monster, monsters that deserve more representation, monsters we wouldn't mind turning into, and then the dudes clear out to the weakside and let Chloe talk about Rasheed Wallace.
It's October! This month Bob and Chris are talking all about friiiightfully scaaaarrrryyy poems. On today's episode, Bob reads "Ghost School" by Kim Hyesoon (translated from Korean by Don Mee Choi), Chris reads "What Would Kill Me" by Zachary Schomburg, and then the dudes talk about the possibility of getting dunked on by Shaq.
As a sequel to last week's episode, Bob and Chris discuss poems they think should be added to THE CANON. Bob reads "American Sonnet 66" by Wanda Coleman, Chris reads "The Singing Knives" by Frank Stanford, and then the dudes discuss Arvydas Sabonis and what the future would look like if the Shaq/Kobe Lakers only won one title.
This week, Bob and Chris dive into the Western poetry canon. Is it worth reading? We try to answer that question as vaguely as possible! Bob reads "To His Coy Mistress" by Andrew Marvell, Chris reads a section of "Rime of The Ancient Mariner" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and then the dudes discuss which pre-NBA/ABA merger players they wish they could see more of
This week we check in on our reading habits. Bob reads “Thoughts While Taking Out the Trash” by Ariel Fransisco, Chris reads “How To Leave A Party” by Adrian Sobol, and then Chris has a reckoning with Jimmy Butler before the dudes wish Lamar Odom well.
Politics! That's right, we're breaking the third rail. Can poetry affect political imagination? We think so! Bob reads “The Master's House” by Solmaz Sharif, Chris reads “I Walk Into Every Room and Yell Where The Mexicans At” by Jose Olivarez, and then the dudes celebrate the Milwaukee Bucks-led wildcat and the importance of specificity in language.
Basketball! On this week's episode, Bob and Chris lean fully into their absurd love of basketball by reading poems about hoops. Bob reads “Mixology” by Adrian Matejka, Chris reads “windmill” by Kevin Coval and Idris Goodwin, and then the dudes discuss teams they're excited about in the NBA playoffs (spoiler: it's the Clippers). Special shoutouts: Natalie Diaz, Marissa Crane, Chris's dad, Charles Gabel, Kevin Weidner.
On this week's episode, Bob and Chris scratch the gritty, dreamlike surface of Chicago's literary tradition. Bob reads “Declaration” by Philip B. Williams, Chris reads “I Wasn't in Grant Park when Obama Was elected” by Kevin Coval, then the dudes share some memories of hoops in Chicago while saluting the recently-departed Guthrie's Tavern.
On this week's episode, Bob and Chris celebrate all that is joyous about writing and reading. Is writing fun? Sometimes! Bob reads “Patience” by Ross Gay, Chris reads “I Won't Lie This Plague of Gratitude” by Kaveh Akbar, and then the dudes talk about why basketball is very joyous, except when refs call 3 seconds on 11-year-olds.
On this week's episode, Bob and Chris discuss poetry in isolation. Bob reads "I Don't Miss It" by Tracy K. Smith, Chris reads an excerpt from Claudia Rankine's "Don't Let Me Be Lonely," and then they debate whether or not Blake Griffin counts as an iso-ball guy.
In episode four, Bob and Chris discuss prose poems! Bob reads “Even The Gods” by Nicole Sealey, Chris reads “The Monster Hour” by Zachary Schomburg. Later, the guys talk genre-bending NBA weirdos, including Joakim Noah, Brad Miller, and P.J. Tucker.
In episode three of The Line Break, Bob and Chris discuss that most poetic of topics: love. What is it, anyway? Do poets fall in love? We'll find out. Bob reads “Winter” by Chen Chen, Chris reads “Steps” by Frank O'Hara, and then they talk about basketball players they irrationally love, including John Stockton and Ray Allen, before Chris asserts that Karl Malone "signed with the Jazz in 2003."
On this episode of The Line Break, Chris and Bob talk about the last poems they read in the 2010s. Bob reads "To Live" by Ilya Kaminsky, Chris reads Eve Ewing's "Haibun for July 30," and then they make starting 5s of their favorite NBA players from the 2010s.
Welcome to The Line Break podcast. Each week, Bob and Chris will read you poems and talk about basketball. We hope you enjoy. Music: Brendan Johnson Art: A.M. Strickland
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