Podcasts about poets

Remembering Ellen Bryant Voigt, plus a few words on mortality by Andrea Gibson. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Lora Abrador joins Let's Talk Memoir for a conversation weaving together three themes in her memoir, writing about the ancient technique of egg tempura paint, incorporating 300 images in her book, gaining confidence as an artist, struggling to form a lasting romantic partnership, nature vs. nurture, our innate personalities, self-actualization, love addiction, feeling like a wounded bird, really connecting with an editor, publishing options, working with copyeditors, factchecking, recording an audio book, not intending to reveal ourselves but doing so anyway, and her new memoir Art & Love: My Life Illuminated in Egg Tempera.   Info/Registration for Ronit's 10-Week Memoir Class Memoir Writing: Finding Your Story https://www.pce.uw.edu/courses/memoir-writing-finding-your-story   This episode is brought to you by Prose Playground. If you've been writing for years but haven't published, have tons of ideas but can't get them on the page, if you have a book coming out, or you're simply curious about writing, join Prose Playground—an active, supportive writing community for writers at every level. Visit www.ProsePlayground.com to sign up free. Also in this episode:  -trade reviews  -beta readers -proof readers and proof listeners   Books mentioned in this episode:  Editing the RedPen Way: Ten Steps for Successful Self-Editing by Anne Rainbow When She Comes Back: a memoir by Ronit Plank Disconnected: Portrait of a Neurodiverse Marriage by Eleaonor Vincent Old in Art School: A Memoir of Starting Over  by Nell Painter Lab Girl by Hope Jahren Night Studio: A Memoir of Philip Guston by Musa Mayer Hold Still by Sally Mann My Name is Barbra by Barbra Streisand At the age of 19, Lora Arbrador was given a recipe for making egg tempera, a homemade paint that combines colorful pigments with egg yolk. Like a musician with a strong affinity for a particular instrument, Ahrbrador found her creative home in egg tempera.  To support her art practice, Arbrador became a registered nurse and the medical world has been the inspiration for many of her paintings, including the series, Ways of Dying: A Chronicle of the AIDS Epidemic. Her painting, Don't Go My Friend: The Death of John Walsh, MD, won first place at the Art and Healing exhibit at Artwest Gallery.    In 1997, Arbrador co-founded the Society of Tempera Painters which was modeled after the 1901 Society of Painters in Tempera in England.  Her first book, A History of Roman Calligraphy, is housed in the Marjorie G. and Carl W. Stern Book Arts & Special Collections Center of the San Francisco Public Library. Arbrador has exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the US, including South Bend Regional Museum of Art, Wenatchee Valley College Art Gallery and the Bade Museum of the Pacific School of Religion. Arbrador is the former Editorial Director of NurseWeek magazine Art & Love: My Life Illuminated in Egg Tempera.   Connect with Lora: Website: www.artandlovebook.com instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arbrador facebook: https://www.facebook.com/arbrador https://www.facebook.com/lora.arbrador/ substack: artblotterplus.substack.com Purchase the book: www.artandlovebook.com/shop   – Ronit's writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, Poets & Writers, The Iowa Review, Hippocampus, The Washington Post, Writer's Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named Finalist in the 2021 Housatonic Awards Awards, the 2021 Indie Excellence Awards, and was a 2021 Book Riot Best True Crime Book. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts' 2020 Eludia Award and the 2023 Page Turner Awards for Short Stories.  She earned an MFA in Nonfiction Writing at Pacific University, is Creative Nonfiction Editor at The Citron Review, and teaches memoir through the University of Washington's Online Continuum Program and also independently. She launched Let's Talk Memoir in 2022, lives in Seattle with her family of people and dogs, and is at work on her next book.   More about Ronit: https://ronitplank.com Subscribe to Ronit's Substack: https://substack.com/@ronitplank   Follow Ronit: https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/ https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlank https://bsky.app/profile/ronitplank.bsky.social

Poets Mary Jean Chan, David Whyte, and Anthony Anaxagorou read their work and unpack emotional truth, craft choices, and poems built from lived detail.  You'll learn:How early “bad” poems can still be soothing and give you a way through angst. Why simplicity of voice can beat complexity when a poem needs clarity. How form and layout can carry a poem's physicality, including a modern sonnet's constraints. How to face writer's block by writing directly about the ways you can't write. Why repetition works in live readings, helping the audience “hear” what just landed. How to mine notebooks for strong lines, then iterate through multiple drafts and edits. A simple morning practice for capturing overheard language until you find where the poem starts.  Resources and Links:Mary Jean Chan: maryjeanchan.comDavid Whyte: davidwhyte.com  Anthony Anaxagorou: anthonyanaxagorou.comOur full episode with Mary Jean Chan, #170: https://podcast.londonwriterssalon.com/episodes/170-mary-jean-chan-emotional-truth-in-contemporary-poetry-imagery-juxtaposition-and-finding-the-right-formOur full episode with David Whyte, #32: https://londonwriterssalon.simplecast.com/episodes/032-david-whyte-poetic-imagination-the-way-of-the-poet-PdTckwKEOur full episode with Anthony Anaxagorou, #12: https://podcast.londonwriterssalon.com/episodes/012-anthony-anaxagorou-push-past-self-doubt-and-think-like-a-poet-fHa8ehM1About the poets:Mary Jean Chan is the author of Flèche and Bright Fear (Faber), and their work has won and been shortlisted for major prizes. David Whyte is a poet and writer whose books include Consolations and The Bell and the Blackbird, alongside ongoing poetry and speaking work. Anthony Anaxagorou is a poet and publisher, founder of Out-Spoken, and author of After the Formalities and Heritage Aesthetics. For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com.For free writing sessions, join free Writers' Hours: writershour.com.*FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS' SALONTwitter: twitter.com/​​WritersSalonInstagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalonFacebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalonIf you're enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!

Gretchen McGowan joins Let's Talk Memoir for a conversation about the grit and glam of the 90s in New York, her career producing independent films, the thrill of creating something from nothing, honoring our own process, willing to be self-deprecating, negotiating manuscript revisions in digestible ways, keeping writing momentum in mind, getting character-you into trouble, when everyone around you seems to have it figured out, loving the hustle of NY, scrappiness, her role as the head of Goldcrest films, and her memoir Flying In: My Adventures in Filmmaking. Info/Registration for Ronit's 10-Week Memoir Class Memoir Writing: Finding Your Story https://www.pce.uw.edu/courses/memoir-writing-finding-your-story  This episode is brought to you by Prose Playground. If you've been writing for years but haven't published, have tons of ideas but can't get them on the page, if you have a book coming out, or you're simply curious about writing, join Prose Playground—an active, supportive writing community for writers at every level. Visit www.ProsePlayground.com to sign up free.   Also in this episode: -doing what works -transcendental mediation -women's career memoirs   Books mentioned in this episode: -Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb -An Unfinished Woman by Lillian Hellman -The Memoir Project by Marion Roach Smith -Fast Draft Your Memoir by Rachael Herron   Gretchen McGowan is an award-winning producer and the head of production for Goldcrest Films in New York City where she has overseen titles such as Cat Person, Carol and Restrepo. Gretchen independently produced Jim Jarmusch's The Limits of Control, helped to make his iconic film Coffee and Cigarettes and has made over sixty films across the globe. Her new memoir is Flying In: My Adventures in Filmmaking.   Connect with Gretchen: Website: www.gretchenmcgowan.com Links: https://linktr.ee/gretchenmcgowan Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gretmcgowan Info/Registration for Ronit's 10-Week Memoir Class Memoir Writing: Finding Your Story https://www.pce.uw.edu/courses/memoir-writing-finding-your-story   – Ronit's writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, Poets & Writers, The Iowa Review, Hippocampus, The Washington Post, Writer's Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named Finalist in the 2021 Housatonic Awards Awards, the 2021 Indie Excellence Awards, and was a 2021 Book Riot Best True Crime Book. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts' 2020 Eludia Award and the 2023 Page Turner Awards for Short Stories.  She earned an MFA in Nonfiction Writing at Pacific University, is Creative Nonfiction Editor at The Citron Review, and teaches memoir through the University of Washington's Online Continuum Program and also independently. She launched Let's Talk Memoir in 2022, lives in Seattle with her family of people and dogs, and is at work on her next book.   More about Ronit: https://ronitplank.com Subscribe to Ronit's Substack: https://substack.com/@ronitplank   Follow Ronit: https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/ https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlank https://bsky.app/profile/ronitplank.bsky.social

Concluimos nuestra conversa el poeta y editor ⁠⁠Carlos Colón Ruiz⁠⁠, de ⁠⁠editorial Pulpo ⁠⁠. Hoy hablamos sobre su proceso editorial, su perspectiva en cuanto a asuntos geopolíticos que chocan con en nuestra libertad de expresión y un montón más. Visita a nuestro auspiciador ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Poets' Passage⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apoya nuestros esfuerzos visitando ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠nuestras redes y tienda.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Prophets, Shepherds, Poets and Kings is a series delving into the history of the people of God found in 1 and 2 Samuel. Beginning with a longed for baby, leading to a cry for a king and the establishment and dissolution of a kingdom, the series will focus on the lives of Samuel, Saul and David. We begin with a woman who longs for a child, and rejoices in an answered prayer as discovered in 1 Samuel 2:1-11. There are segments to enjoy including the reading of the passage, 'The Cloud' and 'What Now?'. This episode was engineered and edited by Aimee Higgins. ------- Show Notes The Outspoken Bible is hosted by Fiona Stewart with Neil Glover and Jen Robertson. All opinions are those of the individual contributors and don't necessarily reflect the view of the Scottish Bible Society as an organisation.  ------- 1 Samuel for You Tim Chester 1 Samuel: Looking on the Heart Dale Ralph Davis https://bibleproject.com/videos/1-samuel/ ------- Get in touch here or by emailing outspoken@scottishbiblesociety.org. ------- In our next episode, we'll continue by hearing about Samuel and Eli in 1 Samuel 3-4:1 -------

Marie Howe's poetry shimmers with the keen attention she pays to language: the language of the body (both the human body and “the beautiful body of the world”), of people's everyday speech, and of religious myth. We are thrilled to offer this conversation between Pádraig and Marie, recorded as an online component of the Greenbelt Festival in England in 2025. Marie reads several poems, and together, they discuss Mary Magdalene as complex everywoman, the “eternal energy” of dead loved ones that fills Marie's life and work, and her current efforts to listen to what the Earth is saying to us.    We invite you to subscribe to Pádraig's weekly Poetry Unbound Substack, read the Poetry Unbound books and his newest work, Kitchen Hymns, or listen to all our Poetry Unbound episodes.  Marie Howe is the former Poet Laureate of New York and the author of five collections of poetry, including Magdalene, The Kingdom of Ordinary Time, and What the Living Do. She won the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry for her 2025 New and Selected Poems, published in the US by W .W. Norton. The same book is published in the UK as What the Earth Seemed to Say by Bloodaxe Books. Find the transcript for this show at onbeing.org. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Waka poetry was all the rage in tenth-century, courtly Japan. Every educated person composed it, emperors and consorts sponsored it, and societal interest in it was at an all-time high. Poets, Patrons, and the Public: Poetry as Cultural Phenomenon in Courtly Japan (Brill, 2025) offers an unprecedentedly broad and vivid portrayal of this season of literary flourishing, revealing the multitude of factors that contributed to it, as well as the social, political, and cultural reasons behind waka's rise.Deftly combining sociological theory and social and intellectual history with insightful readings of a wealth of primary texts—some never before discussed in English—the book is both a history of waka in the Heian period and a study of Heian court society through the lens of waka. Gian Piero Persiani is Assistant Professor at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Jingyi Li is an assistant professor of Japanese Studies at Occidental College, Los Angeles. She is a cultural historian of nineteenth-century Japan. She researches about early modern Japan, literati, and commercial publishing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Waka poetry was all the rage in tenth-century, courtly Japan. Every educated person composed it, emperors and consorts sponsored it, and societal interest in it was at an all-time high. Poets, Patrons, and the Public: Poetry as Cultural Phenomenon in Courtly Japan (Brill, 2025) offers an unprecedentedly broad and vivid portrayal of this season of literary flourishing, revealing the multitude of factors that contributed to it, as well as the social, political, and cultural reasons behind waka's rise.Deftly combining sociological theory and social and intellectual history with insightful readings of a wealth of primary texts—some never before discussed in English—the book is both a history of waka in the Heian period and a study of Heian court society through the lens of waka. Gian Piero Persiani is Assistant Professor at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Jingyi Li is an assistant professor of Japanese Studies at Occidental College, Los Angeles. She is a cultural historian of nineteenth-century Japan. She researches about early modern Japan, literati, and commercial publishing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/east-asian-studies

Waka poetry was all the rage in tenth-century, courtly Japan. Every educated person composed it, emperors and consorts sponsored it, and societal interest in it was at an all-time high. Poets, Patrons, and the Public: Poetry as Cultural Phenomenon in Courtly Japan (Brill, 2025) offers an unprecedentedly broad and vivid portrayal of this season of literary flourishing, revealing the multitude of factors that contributed to it, as well as the social, political, and cultural reasons behind waka's rise.Deftly combining sociological theory and social and intellectual history with insightful readings of a wealth of primary texts—some never before discussed in English—the book is both a history of waka in the Heian period and a study of Heian court society through the lens of waka. Gian Piero Persiani is Assistant Professor at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Jingyi Li is an assistant professor of Japanese Studies at Occidental College, Los Angeles. She is a cultural historian of nineteenth-century Japan. She researches about early modern Japan, literati, and commercial publishing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies

Americana music enthusiasts and concert-goers are constantly in search of the “next big thing.” We all want to be in on the ground floor of watching and artist's rise to fame so we can say we were a fan from “the beginning.” Whether it's seeing Tyler Childers with 20 other people at a dive bar in 2017 or standing next to Wyatt Flores at Laurel Cove watching Jesse Wells play, the undiscovered are always discovered by those who remember running into them along the way. On more than one occasion in the last six months, the “next big thing” label has been said in the same sentence with Emily Jamerson. The younger sister of Sundy Best founder and underground country godfather Nicholas Jamerson, Emily has emerged with songs and stories as moving and thoughtful as her brother's. She has yet to record a full album, but a strong set of singles and some live sessions have made their way to the streaming services. They're consistently good with each new one revealing more of the Prestonsburg, Ky., native's promise. Emily Jamerson joined Jason Falls for an interview with Roots Music Rambler back in late September. Since that time she has continued to build a strong road presence, expanding to a full band for many shows, and her duet with her older brother, “Sunday Dinners” (which she talks about in the interview) started getting radio play. It's on Nicholas's latest album, The Narrow Way. Emily shared more reflections on growing up in the Jamerson household to compliment her older brother's stories he shared with us back in the summer. She also shared the formal and informal advice and encouragement Nicholas has provided along the way, including a book (Michael Singer's The Surrender Experiment), he gave her that helped push past self-doubt and finally write and share her music. And we talked about and listened to some of her latest music like ”Dried Paint” and “Run, Run Baby.” Frank and Falls also chatted about Christmas plans and traditions, plus each shared their Pickin' the Grinnin' pics for recommended music this week. Frank kept with the holiday theme and shared the music of Ottmar Leibert, whose 1990 album Poets & Angels is one of her favorites for this time of year. Falls calls out upstart honky-tonkers Jason Scott & The High Heat who he saw open for The Mavericks and Dwight Yoakam last April.  Watch the Episode on YouTube Download the episode and subscribe at rootsmusicrambler.com, watch the full episode on YouTube, or download wherever you get your podcasts.  Also be sure to help spread the love of the show with Roots Music Rambler's new merch, now available at rootsmusicrambler.com/store. Authentic t-shirts, hats and stickers are now available.  Buckle up for The Hoe-Down and the Throw-Down! It's a new episode of Roots Music Rambler. Notes and links:  Emily Jamerson on Spotify   Emily Jamerson on Facebook Emily Jamerson on Instagram Nicholas Jamerson on Roots Music Rambler Sundy Best on Spotify World Chicken Festival Michael Singer's The Surrender Experiment The Roots Music Rambler Store Roots Music Rambler on YouTube Roots Music Rambler on Instagram Roots Music Rambler on TikTok Roots Music Rambler on Facebook Jason Falls on Instagram Jason Falls on TikTok Francesca Folinazzo on Instagram Pickin' the Grinnin' Recommendations Ottmar Liebert's Poets & Angels Jason Scott & The High Heat on Spotify Subscribe to Roots Music Rambler on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, GoodPods or wherever you get your podcasts.Theme Music: Sheepskin & Beeswax by Genticorum; Copyright 2025 - Falls+Partners. All music on the program is licensed by ASCAP, BMI and SESAC. Roots Music Rambler is a member of the Americana Music Association. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Waka poetry was all the rage in tenth-century, courtly Japan. Every educated person composed it, emperors and consorts sponsored it, and societal interest in it was at an all-time high. Poets, Patrons, and the Public: Poetry as Cultural Phenomenon in Courtly Japan (Brill, 2025) offers an unprecedentedly broad and vivid portrayal of this season of literary flourishing, revealing the multitude of factors that contributed to it, as well as the social, political, and cultural reasons behind waka's rise.Deftly combining sociological theory and social and intellectual history with insightful readings of a wealth of primary texts—some never before discussed in English—the book is both a history of waka in the Heian period and a study of Heian court society through the lens of waka. Gian Piero Persiani is Assistant Professor at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Jingyi Li is an assistant professor of Japanese Studies at Occidental College, Los Angeles. She is a cultural historian of nineteenth-century Japan. She researches about early modern Japan, literati, and commercial publishing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/poetry

Waka poetry was all the rage in tenth-century, courtly Japan. Every educated person composed it, emperors and consorts sponsored it, and societal interest in it was at an all-time high. Poets, Patrons, and the Public: Poetry as Cultural Phenomenon in Courtly Japan (Brill, 2025) offers an unprecedentedly broad and vivid portrayal of this season of literary flourishing, revealing the multitude of factors that contributed to it, as well as the social, political, and cultural reasons behind waka's rise.Deftly combining sociological theory and social and intellectual history with insightful readings of a wealth of primary texts—some never before discussed in English—the book is both a history of waka in the Heian period and a study of Heian court society through the lens of waka. Gian Piero Persiani is Assistant Professor at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Jingyi Li is an assistant professor of Japanese Studies at Occidental College, Los Angeles. She is a cultural historian of nineteenth-century Japan. She researches about early modern Japan, literati, and commercial publishing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/japanese-studies

Waka poetry was all the rage in tenth-century, courtly Japan. Every educated person composed it, emperors and consorts sponsored it, and societal interest in it was at an all-time high. Poets, Patrons, and the Public: Poetry as Cultural Phenomenon in Courtly Japan (Brill, 2025) offers an unprecedentedly broad and vivid portrayal of this season of literary flourishing, revealing the multitude of factors that contributed to it, as well as the social, political, and cultural reasons behind waka's rise.Deftly combining sociological theory and social and intellectual history with insightful readings of a wealth of primary texts—some never before discussed in English—the book is both a history of waka in the Heian period and a study of Heian court society through the lens of waka. Gian Piero Persiani is Assistant Professor at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Jingyi Li is an assistant professor of Japanese Studies at Occidental College, Los Angeles. She is a cultural historian of nineteenth-century Japan. She researches about early modern Japan, literati, and commercial publishing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Waka poetry was all the rage in tenth-century, courtly Japan. Every educated person composed it, emperors and consorts sponsored it, and societal interest in it was at an all-time high. Poets, Patrons, and the Public: Poetry as Cultural Phenomenon in Courtly Japan (Brill, 2025) offers an unprecedentedly broad and vivid portrayal of this season of literary flourishing, revealing the multitude of factors that contributed to it, as well as the social, political, and cultural reasons behind waka's rise.Deftly combining sociological theory and social and intellectual history with insightful readings of a wealth of primary texts—some never before discussed in English—the book is both a history of waka in the Heian period and a study of Heian court society through the lens of waka. Gian Piero Persiani is Assistant Professor at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Jingyi Li is an assistant professor of Japanese Studies at Occidental College, Los Angeles. She is a cultural historian of nineteenth-century Japan. She researches about early modern Japan, literati, and commercial publishing.

All The Everything is Lian's solo show where she dives deep into a topic, often woven around a myth or fairytale that she's been journeying with. The LIVE making of All The Everything is recorded live on YouTube… to join Lian for the one: Make sure you're subscribed to our Moonly News email list and are a member of our Facebook group and we'll let you know when the next one is happening. Lian explores what creates a soulful Christmas, beginning with the way the season stirs old memories and sudden tenderness, then circling through the frantic pace that pulls so many of us away from what we actually long for. She speaks about ancient midwinter traditions flickering beneath the surface of modern life, the hush that falls when the light begins to change, and the quiet ache that arrives when we slow down enough to notice what is really happening inside us. From there the conversation moves into the practices that help you hold your ground in the middle of family dynamics, sensory overwhelm and the expectations that seem to gather in the dark of December, settling finally on how vision, community and small daily gestures shape the kind of Christmas you actually want to live. Listen if you have ever felt both joy and dread rising together, wondered why familiar patterns return each year, or longed for a holiday that welcomes every part of you. We'd love to know what YOU think about this week's show. Let's carry on the conversation… please leave a comment wherever you are listening or in any of our other spaces to engage. What you'll receive from this episode: How the old rhythms under Christmas reveal themselves once you stop trying to perform the holiday and start listening for what is already moving beneath it Why acknowledging longing, memory and discomfort can create a steadier, warmer Christmas than pushing for cheer ever could What happens when you root your Christmas in real soulful practices rather than pressure, and how this transforms the way you experience community, self-care and the season itself The Soul Practices Lian invited you into:

Sarah Gallucci joins Let's Talk Memoir for a conversation about being the child of a teen mom, early influences on our ideas of love and relationships, pressure to have sex, having nothing left to give a relationship, feeling like you need to getting sex over with, manipulative sex, coercive sex, giving a partner a hall pass, when relationships become incredibly messy, nonconsensual sex that becomes coercive sex, TEDx talks, blogging and going viral, the hey day of mommy blogging, pivoting from journalism to reporting on our own life, when the culture shifts, writing real sex, strategies to writing about sex, why writing real sex is imperative to literature for safety, going viral, how we experience pleasure, inaccurate, writing about real sex, measuring the brokenness of a marriage, when family stops speaking to us after publication, writing from a raw, unprocessed place, writing when you're in the thick of it, choosing self-publishing over traditional publishing, the autonomy of self-publishing, the aftermath of divorce, and Laid: A Memoir of Love, Sex, and Marriage.   Also in this episode: -trusting your truth Books mentioned in this episode: -Hunger by Roxanne Gay -Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay -Wild by Cheryl Strayed -Pushed by Sapphire   Sarah Gallucci is the author of Laid: A Memoir of Love, Sex, and Marriage. She has written reported features for CNN, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Harper's Bazaar, among others. Sarah works as a professor at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, North Carolina. She is also a speaker, and has given two TEDx talks. Most importantly, Sarah is the mother of two with storytelling, creative healing, and pasta in her blood.   Connect with Sarah: Website: www.SarahGallucci.com Instagram: @_Sarah_Gallucci_ TikTok: @_Sarah_Gallucci_ Threads: @_Sarah_Gallucci_ Book: https://www.amazon.com/Laid-Memoir-Love-Sex-Marriage/dp/B0DVCBXVZ7/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0 Talks: https://www.sarahgallucci.com/speaking   – Ronit's writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, Poets & Writers, The Iowa Review, Hippocampus, The Washington Post, Writer's Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named Finalist in the 2021 Housatonic Awards Awards, the 2021 Indie Excellence Awards, and was a 2021 Book Riot Best True Crime Book. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts' 2020 Eludia Award and the 2023 Page Turner Awards for Short Stories.  She earned an MFA in Nonfiction Writing at Pacific University, is Creative Nonfiction Editor at The Citron Review, and teaches memoir through the University of Washington's Online Continuum Program and also independently. She launched Let's Talk Memoir in 2022, lives in Seattle with her family of people and dogs, and is at work on her next book.   More about Ronit: https://ronitplank.com Subscribe to Ronit's Substack: https://substack.com/@ronitplank   Follow Ronit: https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/ https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlank https://bsky.app/profile/ronitplank.bsky.social   Background photo credit: Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash Headshot photo credit: Sarah Anne Photography Theme music: Isaac Joel, Dead Moll's Fingers

Portland, Oregon's twice monthly live open mic performance event, Slamlandia, yields the work of three queer poets: Joshua Merritt, Evey Rothwell and Ret (produced by Brian DeShazor). Plus December birthdays including anthropologist Margaret Mead and historic queer moments from the declassification of homosexuality as a disease to the dawn of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” on the Rainbow Rewind (written and produced by Sheri Lunn and Brian DeShazor). And in NewsWrap: Kazakhstan's so-called “LGBTQ propaganda” bill is on an indefinite hold while the Senate takes more time to study the measure, Egypt and Iran object when their World Cup teams are chosen to play in host Seattle, Washington's “Pride Match,” Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony is being charged with allowing and participating in a banned LGBTQ Pride parade, the Arlington, Texas City Council votes to remove “sexual orientation” and “gender identity and expression” from the city's anti-bias policies to placate the Trump administration, the official portrait of four-star Admiral Rachel Levine in the Health and Human Services Department deadnames the first transgender person ever confirmed by the U.S. Senate, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Ret and Sarah Montague (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the December 15, 2025 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

We'll stay on the theme of mothers and their impact on us for our next segment- a poem about life lessons, from the universe… and mom. Here's Eva Chen reading from her poem "A Lesson From My Mother About the Origins of Life." 

Photo by David Klein on Unsplash Published 15 December 2025 e535 with Michael M and Andy – adversarial poetry to jailbreak LLMs, iFixit's FixBot, power of digital twins, putting the breaks on Rewind, Nintendo Virtual Boy and a whole lot more. Michael M and Andy start things off with a most intriguing concept – adversarial poetry.  By using ‘memetic language', researchers formulated prompts with imagery and metaphor instead of direct operational phrasing to trick LLMs into providing unsafe responses.  Michael makes the point that AI prompts are becoming more and more like spells or incantations.  See the show notes below for a link to the paper for any budding AI poet laureate wannabes.  Perhaps Jabberwocky can be used in a snicker snack way.   Switching to another AI use case, Andy and Michael discuss the iFixit FixBot. The FixBot provides expert advice and guidance for repairs, by talking to the human who likely needs both hands to effect the repair. Next up are a couple of stories on digital twins, and how they leverage game technology. By taking sufficient data points to create a digital twin, multiple attempts can be made virtually to see the improvement before applying the capability to the non-digital twin. Andy is reminded of an article that outlines the affinity between the metaverse and digital twin concepts. Nvidia has a concept of this in their Omniverse capability. Another example of a digital twin with a game overlay is the Job Simulator Game. This game is written as a 2050 historical virtual reality environment allowing the player to experience what it was like to have a job in 2020. This fun VR historical reenactment experience is one of the stories that Tobi Lütke discussed in his recent interview with the Acquired team. Staying on the VR simulation theme, Andy and Michael take a look at the Rats Play Doom game which trains rats in an immersive way to play Doom. In the last section of the episode, the team takes a look at some metaverse news. Meta has acquired limitless.ai and is shutting down Rewind on the Mac, and is also shifting more investment from the metaverse to AI. Wrapping up the episode, Michael and Andy look at the Nintendo Virtual Boy and Xteink 4. What poetry would you write to prompt an LLM? Have your bots

Poet and educator Dorian Hairston encourages all writers—from his high school students to adults—to make their writing fresh and new.Dorian believes "if we can just find ways as artists to be interesting... we give ourselves a fighting chance at allowing love to blossom in our lives and surviving whatever we must."Keep your writing interesting with help from Dorian's favorite writing prompts. He uses these exercises in his own work as well as with students.About Dorian HairstonDorian Hairston is a poet, educator, and former college athlete from Lexington, KY. His first collection of poetry, Pretend the Ball is Named Jim Crow, explores the life and legacy of Josh Gibson, the greatest catcher to play the game of baseball. He is an Affrilachian Poet, and his work has appeared in Anthology of Appalachian Writers and Black Bone: 25 Years of the Affrilachian Poets. While he enjoys reading and writing poetry, what he loves most is cooking for his family, playing some good music, and dancing often.

Regarded as the pinnacle of Persian literature, his works are a household item for Persian-speaking families and read during the Yalda winter solstice festival and Nowruz spring equinox festival. He was also widely known amongst European intellectuals, with even Engels mentioning him to Marx in a letter.   Hafez lived in Shiraz under the waning Mongol Ilkhanate and at his death in 1390, the region was being incorporated into Timur's empire. What more do we know about Hafez's socio-political and cultural context? There are many mythical tales about Hafez. What can we know about his life? The influence of Hafez can't be underestimated. Tell us about his works. And what translations and secondary resources do you recommend? It should be pointed out that there are wonderful illustrated versions including one owned by the Cartier family of jewellers. And finally let's end with a sample and translation.    Further reading Hafez and the Religion of Love in Classical Persian Poetry. Edited by Leonard Lewioshn. Faces of Love: Hafez and the Poets of Shiraz by Dick Davis(partial) Poems from the Divan of Hafiz by Gertrude Bell (partial) The Divan-I Hafiz by Wilberforce Clarke (complete translation)   Ali Hammoud: https://alihammoud7.substack.com/    We are sponsored by IHRC bookshop. Listeners get a 15% discount on all purchases. Visit IHRC bookshop at shop.ihrc.org and use discount code AHP15 at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. Contact IHRC bookshop for details. 

How do writers develop their voice, showing us what is important in life?ADA LIMÓN (24th U.S. Poet Laureate, Startlement, The Carrying) explains that her poetry begins with a bodily sensation or curiosity, not an idea. She values the space and breath poetry offers for unknowing and mystery, finding solace in the making and the mess, not in answers. She discusses being free on the page to be her whole, authentic, complicated self.JAY PARINI (Author, Filmmaker, Borges and Me) calls poetry the prince of literary arts—language refined to its apex of memorability. He recounts how his road trip with Borges around Scotland restored him from depression and anxiety following the Vietnam War death of his friend.JERICHO BROWN (Pulitzer Prize-winning Poet, The Tradition, How We Do It: Black Writers on Craft, Practice, and Skill) discusses the rhythm of black vernacular and capturing "symphonic complexity of black life". He shares how he's found a way not to think about personal risk as he's writing.ADAM MOSS (Fmr. Editor, New York Magazine; Author, The Work of Art) relates David Simon's concept of the bounce, in which creativity gains momentum as it is passed between people.VIET THANH NGUYEN (Pulitzer Prize-winning Author, The Sympathizer; To Save and to Destroy) discusses his path to expansive solidarity and capacious grief and how it works against the state's power to divide and conquer. He emphasizes that literature is crucial because authoritarian regimes abuse language; a commitment to the beauty of language is a commitment to truth, and fear is often an indicator of a truth that needs to be spoken.To hear more from each guest, listen to their full interviews.Episode Websitewww.creativeprocess.info/podInstagram:@creativeprocesspodcast

How do writers develop their voice, showing us what is important in life?ADA LIMÓN (24th U.S. Poet Laureate, Startlement, The Carrying) explains that her poetry begins with a bodily sensation or curiosity, not an idea. She values the space and breath poetry offers for unknowing and mystery, finding solace in the making and the mess, not in answers. She discusses being free on the page to be her whole, authentic, complicated self.JAY PARINI (Author, Filmmaker, Borges and Me) calls poetry the prince of literary arts—language refined to its apex of memorability. He recounts how his road trip with Borges around Scotland restored him from depression and anxiety following the Vietnam War death of his friend.JERICHO BROWN (Pulitzer Prize-winning Poet, The Tradition, How We Do It: Black Writers on Craft, Practice, and Skill) discusses the rhythm of black vernacular and capturing "symphonic complexity of black life". He shares how he's found a way not to think about personal risk as he's writing.ADAM MOSS (Fmr. Editor, New York Magazine; Author, The Work of Art) relates David Simon's concept of the bounce, in which creativity gains momentum as it is passed between people.VIET THANH NGUYEN (Pulitzer Prize-winning Author, The Sympathizer; To Save and to Destroy) discusses his path to expansive solidarity and capacious grief and how it works against the state's power to divide and conquer. He emphasizes that literature is crucial because authoritarian regimes abuse language; a commitment to the beauty of language is a commitment to truth, and fear is often an indicator of a truth that needs to be spoken.To hear more from each guest, listen to their full interviews.Episode Websitewww.creativeprocess.info/podInstagram:@creativeprocesspodcast

How do writers develop their voice, showing us what is important in life?ADA LIMÓN (24th U.S. Poet Laureate, Startlement, The Carrying) explains that her poetry begins with a bodily sensation or curiosity, not an idea. She values the space and breath poetry offers for unknowing and mystery, finding solace in the making and the mess, not in answers. She discusses being free on the page to be her whole, authentic, complicated self.JAY PARINI (Author, Filmmaker, Borges and Me) calls poetry the prince of literary arts—language refined to its apex of memorability. He recounts how his road trip with Borges around Scotland restored him from depression and anxiety following the Vietnam War death of his friend.JERICHO BROWN (Pulitzer Prize-winning Poet, The Tradition, How We Do It: Black Writers on Craft, Practice, and Skill) discusses the rhythm of black vernacular and capturing "symphonic complexity of black life". He shares how he's found a way not to think about personal risk as he's writing.ADAM MOSS (Fmr. Editor, New York Magazine; Author, The Work of Art) relates David Simon's concept of the bounce, in which creativity gains momentum as it is passed between people.VIET THANH NGUYEN (Pulitzer Prize-winning Author, The Sympathizer; To Save and to Destroy) discusses his path to expansive solidarity and capacious grief and how it works against the state's power to divide and conquer. He emphasizes that literature is crucial because authoritarian regimes abuse language; a commitment to the beauty of language is a commitment to truth, and fear is often an indicator of a truth that needs to be spoken.To hear more from each guest, listen to their full interviews.Episode Websitewww.creativeprocess.info/podInstagram:@creativeprocesspodcast

How do writers develop their voice, showing us what is important in life?ADA LIMÓN (24th U.S. Poet Laureate, Startlement, The Carrying) explains that her poetry begins with a bodily sensation or curiosity, not an idea. She values the space and breath poetry offers for unknowing and mystery, finding solace in the making and the mess, not in answers. She discusses being free on the page to be her whole, authentic, complicated self.JAY PARINI (Author, Filmmaker, Borges and Me) calls poetry the prince of literary arts—language refined to its apex of memorability. He recounts how his road trip with Borges around Scotland restored him from depression and anxiety following the Vietnam War death of his friend.JERICHO BROWN (Pulitzer Prize-winning Poet, The Tradition, How We Do It: Black Writers on Craft, Practice, and Skill) discusses the rhythm of black vernacular and capturing "symphonic complexity of black life". He shares how he's found a way not to think about personal risk as he's writing.ADAM MOSS (Fmr. Editor, New York Magazine; Author, The Work of Art) relates David Simon's concept of the bounce, in which creativity gains momentum as it is passed between people.VIET THANH NGUYEN (Pulitzer Prize-winning Author, The Sympathizer; To Save and to Destroy) discusses his path to expansive solidarity and capacious grief and how it works against the state's power to divide and conquer. He emphasizes that literature is crucial because authoritarian regimes abuse language; a commitment to the beauty of language is a commitment to truth, and fear is often an indicator of a truth that needs to be spoken.To hear more from each guest, listen to their full interviews.Episode Websitewww.creativeprocess.info/podInstagram:@creativeprocesspodcast

How do writers develop their voice, showing us what is important in life?ADA LIMÓN (24th U.S. Poet Laureate, Startlement, The Carrying) explains that her poetry begins with a bodily sensation or curiosity, not an idea. She values the space and breath poetry offers for unknowing and mystery, finding solace in the making and the mess, not in answers. She discusses being free on the page to be her whole, authentic, complicated self.JAY PARINI (Author, Filmmaker, Borges and Me) calls poetry the prince of literary arts—language refined to its apex of memorability. He recounts how his road trip with Borges around Scotland restored him from depression and anxiety following the Vietnam War death of his friend.JERICHO BROWN (Pulitzer Prize-winning Poet, The Tradition, How We Do It: Black Writers on Craft, Practice, and Skill) discusses the rhythm of black vernacular and capturing "symphonic complexity of black life". He shares how he's found a way not to think about personal risk as he's writing.ADAM MOSS (Fmr. Editor, New York Magazine; Author, The Work of Art) relates David Simon's concept of the bounce, in which creativity gains momentum as it is passed between people.VIET THANH NGUYEN (Pulitzer Prize-winning Author, The Sympathizer; To Save and to Destroy) discusses his path to expansive solidarity and capacious grief and how it works against the state's power to divide and conquer. He emphasizes that literature is crucial because authoritarian regimes abuse language; a commitment to the beauty of language is a commitment to truth, and fear is often an indicator of a truth that needs to be spoken.To hear more from each guest, listen to their full interviews.Episode Websitewww.creativeprocess.info/podInstagram:@creativeprocesspodcast

Negar Mortazavi and Vali Nasr had a book talk at the Busboys and Poets bookstore in Washington, to discuss Nasr's latest book “Iran's Grand Strategy”

A vivid, fast moving, cinematic look at Robert Browning on the anniversary of his 1889 Death in Venice. A London-born poet who reinvented the dramatic monologue, eloped with Elizabeth Barrett in a Marylebone romance worthy of a thriller and returned in triumph to Maida Vale and ultimately to Poets' Corner. Lots of juicy Victorian detail, great lines, and the irresistible contrast of a life shaped in London and a final act written on the Grand Canal.

Continuamos hablando con el poeta y editor ⁠Carlos Colón Ruiz⁠, de ⁠editorial Pulpo ⁠. Profundizamos en su tesis sobre la filosofía del viaje, cómo sus estudios en ciencias políticas y literatura comparada han informado su perspectiva tanto a la hora de leer como al momento de crear. Visita a nuestro auspiciador ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Poets' Passage⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apoya nuestros esfuerzos visitando ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠nuestras redes y tienda.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Acompáñanos este 20 de Diciembre a las 6 de la tarde en el Centro Cultural Carmen Solá en el evento ⁠Poesía con amor que sana⁠ donde recaudaremos fondos para la entidad Amor que Sana, quienes trabajan con la población de personas sin hogar en el sur de Puerto Rico.

Elizabeth Rynecki and Tony Kaplan join Let's Talk Memoir for a conversation about multi-disciplinary approaches to memoir, the different skills we need for storytelling modalities, their new podcast That Sinking Feeling: Adventures in ADHD and Ship Salvage, searching for answers to family stories, the documentary about Elizabeth's great grandfather who perished in the Holocaust, drawing connections, how to weave two very disparate things, being humble, the hoops we jump through to get a project made, ADHD and autism, capturing a spectrum of voices, respecting privacy, consuming art in all its formats to enrich your own creativity, Elizabeth's memoir Chasing Portraits: A Great Granddaughter's Quest for Her Lost Art Legacy. Also in this episode: -steep learning curves -mother-son challenges -the importance of vulnerability in storytelling   Books mentioned in this episode: -Story of a Poem: A Memoir by Matthew Zapruder -I Am I Am I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death by Maggie O'Farrell -Unraveling by Peggy Orenstein -The Souvenir by Louise Steinman Documentaries mentioned in this episode: -Crip Camp by Nicole Newham and James LeBrecht -Shermans' March by Ross McElwee Elizabeth Rynecki's narrative non-fiction memoir, Chasing Portraits: A Great Granddaughter's Quest for Her Lost Art Legacy was published by NAL/Penguin Random House in 2016 and received a Kirkus Starred Review. She wrote, produced, and appeared in the documentary film, Chasing Portraits. She's been featured in the New York Times, been a guest on NPR affiliate stations, and been a speaker at bookstores, libraries, book festivals, and film screenings around the world. Her podcast, That Sinking Feeling: Adventures in ADHD and Ship Salvage is available everywhere you get podcasts. She's working on a novel inspired by real events. Elizabeth has a BA in Rhetoric from Bates College and an MA in Rhetoric and Communication from UC Davis. She lives in Oakland, California with her husband, two sons, and three black cats. Website: https://www.elizabethrynecki.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erynecki/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/erynecki.bsky.social Substack: https://substack.com/@elizabethrynecki?utm_source=user-menu Threads: https://www.threads.com/@erynecki That Sinking Feeling: Adventures in ADHD and Ship Salvage on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/that-sinking-feeling/id1789191829 Tony Kaplan is an Emmy-nominated documentary director, cinematographer and filmmaker. He has more than 20 years of experience as a creative lead working within the film industry, and he produced and edited “That Sinking Feeling,” a podcast about the unlikely intersection of ADHD and ship salvage.    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaplantony Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/user210636356 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wraplan – Ronit's writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, Poets & Writers, The Iowa Review, Hippocampus, The Washington Post, Writer's Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named Finalist in the 2021 Housatonic Awards Awards, the 2021 Indie Excellence Awards, and was a 2021 Book Riot Best True Crime Book. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts' 2020 Eludia Award and the 2023 Page Turner Awards for Short Stories.  She earned an MFA in Nonfiction Writing at Pacific University, is Creative Nonfiction Editor at The Citron Review, and teaches memoir through the University of Washington's Online Continuum Program and also independently. She launched Let's Talk Memoir in 2022, lives in Seattle with her family of people and dogs, and is at work on her next book. More about Ronit: https://ronitplank.com Subscribe to Ronit's Substack: https://substack.com/@ronitplank Follow Ronit: https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/ https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlank https://bsky.app/profile/ronitplank.bsky.social Background photo credit: Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash Headshot photo credit: Sarah Anne Photography Theme music: Isaac Joel, Dead Moll's Fingers

Is Plato prescribing what he says in the Republic as literal guidance on how to run a state, or is this all just an extreme allegory for the ordering of the soul? Listen to us debate this exact question on this episode of Unlimited Opinions, discussing what messages in art ought to be outlawed; the relation of moral character and beauty; the different classes of citizens; and much more!Follow us on X!Give us your opinions here!

Thom Francis introduces us to poets Susan Kress and Will Nixon. Both of whom were finalists in the 2025 Stephen A. DiBiase Poetry Prize Contest. ——– The 2025 Stephen A. DiBiase Poetry Prize winners and finalists were recently announced with many poets from the Capital Region and Hudson Valley included in the list. The DiBiase contest was created in 2015 to offer a more inclusive and welcoming alternative to traditional poetry competitions. There are no entry fees, no line or page limits, and no restrictions on subject matter, form, publication history, or age, making it especially appealing to younger poets. Each year, approximately $2,500 in prize money is awarded, with $500 going to the first-place winner and the rest distributed among top finishers. Last week we heard from finalist Howard Kogan, who shared his poem, “Mourning Becomes Her.” This week we will hear from Hudson Valley Writers Guild members Susan Kress and Will Nixon. First up is Susan Kress. Her poem “Fire-Proof Box” was an Honorable Mention in this years contest. Before she reads her poem, she tells me more about the inspiration of the piece. Susan Kress was born and educated in England and now lives in Saratoga Springs, NY, having taught at Skidmore College for many years. Her poems appear in Nimrod International, The Southern Review, New Ohio Review, Salmagundi, New Letters, South Florida Poetry Journal, Valparaiso Poetry Review, Third Wednesday, Gyroscope Review, La Presa, and other journals. The next poet up to the mic is Will Nixon who will read his poem “Orpheum.” Will Nixon is the author of the poetry collections, “My Late Mother as a Ruffed Grouse” and “Love in the City of Grudges.” With Michael Perkins he is the co-author of “Walking Woodstock: Journeys into the Wild Heart of America's Most Famous Small Town.” He has also written “The Pocket Guide to Woodstock.” He now lives in Kingston, NY. For more information on the 2026 Stephen A DiBiase Poetry Prize and to read the poems from previous winners, finalists, and honorable mentions, go to https://dibiasepoetry.com.

Pastor Nate Hobert continues our series showing how a small story of redemption is both an invitation and a call to a greater story of redemption. Resources: "Judges to Poets" Class notes, Waltke. "Andy Crouch: Radical Loyalty in our Fractured World," podcast. "Boaz and Ruth" Sermon, Bart Garrett.

Raised in Kentucky now residing in Asheville,NC Nickole Brown -- poet, writing teacher, and animal rescue volunteer -- shares her love for our wild animal and farmed animal kin with "In Tune to Nature" host Carrie Freeman in this lovely 50-minutes conversation. We enjoy hearing Nickole reading the emotive poem "Mercy" from her award-winning chapbook "To Those Who Were our First Gods" and three poems as essays from her book "The Donkey Elegies." Carrie discusses the many clever, compassionate, and compelling messages found within each poem that truly helps us hear and see fellow animals for the beautiful individuals they are. We question how our society may be diminishing the worth of other animal communities, as we sometimes do with fellow humans. Hopefully we can build solidarity between humans of all classes and animals of all other species. You can read some of Nickole's poetry and find all her books at her website https://www.nickolebrown.org/ . And eco writers/poets may want to check out the Hellbender Gathering of Poets, a conference she has organized in the Western NC mountains (named after the Hellbender salamander in the Appalachian mountains that she loves). "In Tune to Nature" is a weekly hour-long radio show airing Wednesdays at 6pm Eastern Time on 89.3FM-Atlanta radio and streaming worldwide on wrfg.org (Radio Free Georgia, a nonprofit indie station) hosted by me, Carrie Freeman, or friend Melody Paris. The show's website and my contact info can be found at https://wrfg.org/intunetonature/  While there, consider donating to Radio Free Georgia, a 50+ year old progressive, non-commercial, indie radio station, run largely by volunteers like me. Take care of yourself and others, including other species, like donkeys! Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on In Tune to Nature do not necessarily reflect those of WRFG, its board, staff or volunteers. Photo Credit: Donald Schuster took this lovely image of Nickole and Gulliver Background audio captured by Carrie of birdsong in Suches, GA and a hawk in Atlanta.

Send us a text!We recently sat down with John Lovell, founder of Warrior Poet Society, to talk about why Christians have to be ready to defend their people, especially after the assassination of Charlie Kirk. John is not only skilled in personal defense, but is a pastor and father who has talked about the need for Christian homeschooling, the recovery of robust masculinity, and the poison of feminism. Did you know supporters of the show get ad-free video and audio episodes delivered early and access to our patron exclusive show the After Hours and interactive live streams with Eric and Brian?      https://www.patreon.com/thekingshallThis episode is sponsored by: Lux Coffee Company; Caffeinating the New Christendom with artisan roast coffee. Get 15% off your coffee with code "NCP15". https://luxcoffee.co/Armored Republic: Making Tools of Liberty for the defense of every free man's God-given rights - Text JOIN to 88027 or visit: https://www.ar500armor.com/ Talk to Joe Garrisi about managing your wealth with Backwards Planning Financial.      https://backwardsplanningfinancial.com/Visit KeepwisePartners.com or call Derrick Taylor at 781-680-8000 to schedule a free consultation.      https://keepwise.partners/Small batch, hand-poured candles. Welcome to the resistance. https://resistancecandles.com/Visit Muzzle-Loaders.com and get 10% off your first order when you use the coupon code KINGSHALL at checkout.      https://muzzle-loaders.com/Go to Mt Athos for sustainably sourced goat dairy protein and other performance products. Listeners of the show get a 20% discount site-wide with code "NCP20".    https://athosperform.com/Support the show:https://www.patreon.com/thekingshall

Throughout history, the words of poets have often ignited change or unsettled those in power. In England particularly, poetry has both celebrated and criticised the country's greatest triumphs and darkest hours. Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and Professor Catherine Clarke dive into the radical heart of poetry, where language has given rise to courage and resistance. MORE:John Donne: England's Greatest Love PoetListen on AppleListen on SpotifyBloody Massacres and the Puritan PoetListen on AppleListen on SpotifyPresented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Max Wintle, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcastSign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. You can take part in our listener survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sarah Chauncey joins Let's Talk Memoir for a conversation about her many careers in writing, working on a memoir and deciding not to publish, framing the story we want to tell, experiencing ourselves as a part of living system, going deeper and becoming more vulnerable, taking responsibility for our wellbeing and mental health, not seeing oneself as a limited, pursuing inner peace, reading subtextual energy on the page, different forms of storytelling, patterns in memoir, searching for emotional transformation and change, and getting to the heart of spiritual and awakened memoir. Also in this episode: -the great mystery -no longer being a character -deciding not to be too public   Books mentioned in this episode: -Working by Studs Terkel -The Situation and the Story by Vivian Gornick -Mariette in Ecstasy by Ron Hansen  -Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life by Marshall B. Rosenberg -The Power of Vulnerability by Brene Brown Sarah Chauncey is a veteran writer and developmental editor, as well as the author of P.S. I Love You More Than Tuna, the first gift book for adults grieving the loss of a pet. In the early part of her career, she wrote for VH1, Comedy Central and other TV outlets, as well as entertainment websites and music magazines. Later, she pivoted to storytelling for organizations including NASA, McAfee and Intel. Sarah writes the Resonant Storytelling Substack, which offers guidance on craft and process for creative nonfiction writers. She also writes The Counterintuitive Guide to Life, which helps readers develop mental health resilience by developing self-awareness; and More Than Tuna, which offers support for those grieving the loss of a pet. In recent years, she's written for Tiny Buddha, Lion's Roar, Modern Loss, Eckhart Tolle's website, Jane Friedman's blog and the Brevity blog.    Connect with Sarah: Website: https://www.sarahchauncey.com/ Substack: https://substack.com/@sarahchauncey Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahkchauncey/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahchauncey/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarah.k.chauncey   – Ronit's writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, Poets & Writers, The Iowa Review, Hippocampus, The Washington Post, Writer's Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named Finalist in the 2021 Housatonic Awards Awards, the 2021 Indie Excellence Awards, and was a 2021 Book Riot Best True Crime Book. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts' 2020 Eludia Award and the 2023 Page Turner Awards for Short Stories.  She earned an MFA in Nonfiction Writing at Pacific University, is Creative Nonfiction Editor at The Citron Review, and teaches memoir through the University of Washington's Online Continuum Program and also independently. She launched Let's Talk Memoir in 2022, lives in Seattle with her family of people and dogs, and is at work on her next book. More about Ronit: https://ronitplank.com Subscribe to Ronit's Substack: https://substack.com/@ronitplank   Follow Ronit: https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/ https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlank https://bsky.app/profile/ronitplank.bsky.social   Background photo credit: Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash Headshot photo credit: Sarah Anne Photography Theme music: Isaac Joel, Dead Moll's Fingers

Hi there, Today I am delighted to be arts calling humorist, poet, and essayist Kurt Luchs! (kurtluchs.com) About our guest: Kurt Luchs was born in Cheektowaga, New York, grew up in Wheaton, Illinois, and has lived and worked all over the United States, mostly in publishing and media. Currently he's based in Kalamazoo, Michigan. His first poetry publication came at age sixteen in the long-gone journal Epos, right next to a poem by Bukowski. He has also written comedy for television (Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher and the Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn) and radio (American Comedy Network), as well as contributing humor to the New Yorker, the Onion and McSweeney's Internet Tendency, among others. He is author of the poetry collections Death Row Row Row Your Boat (Sagging Meniscus, 2024), Falling in the Direction of Up (SM, 2021), and the humor collection It's Funny Until Someone Loses an Eye (Then It's Really Funny) (SM, 2017). His poetry chapbooks include One of These Things Is Not Like the Other (Finishing Line Press 2019), and The Sound of One Hand Slapping (SurVision Press 2022). He won a 2022 Pushcart Prize, a 2021 James Tate Poetry Prize, the 2021 Eyelands Book Award for Short Stories, and the 2019 Atlanta Review International Poetry Contest. He is a Contributing Editor of Exacting Clam. About TRIBUTARIES, now available from Sagging Meniscus Press! https://www.saggingmeniscus.com/catalog/tributaries In Tributaries, Kurt Luchs chooses twenty poems that hold vital meaning for him as a reader and writer—many, but not all, recognized as classics—and pays twofold tribute to them. First, he explores each poem with a deep-diving personal essay on how the poet works their magic upon us. Then he gives a tribute poem of his own, in response to, or inspired by, the poem under discussion. The result is a uniquely well-rounded, multidimensional way of honoring great poems, unlocking more of their treasures for both first-time and long-time lovers of poetry. Poets featured are Wallace Stevens, Robinson Jeffers, David Ignatow, Philip Larkin, D. H. Lawrence, Etheridge Knight, Wislawa Szymborska, Lucille Clifton, Gabriela Mistral, H. D., Jorge Luis Borges, Federico Garcia Lorca, Mary Oliver, Lewis Carroll, Kenneth Koch, Homer, Louise Glück, Robert Bly, Charles Simic and James Tate. Thanks for this amazing conversation, Kurt! All the best! -- Arts Calling is produced by Jaime Alejandro. HOW TO SUPPORT ARTS CALLING: PLEASE CONSIDER LEAVING A REVIEW, OR SHARING THIS EPISODE WITH A FRIEND! YOUR SUPPORT TRULY MAKES A DIFFERENCE. THANKS FOR LISTENING! Much love, j artscalling.com

Writing the "Why Our School?" essay is one of the toughest—and most overlooked—parts of the MBA application. In this episode, GMAC Zach sits down with Jeremy Shinewald, founder of MBA Mission and one of the most trusted voices in MBA admissions, to break down how to turn this high-stakes prompt into a powerful statement of fit. Jeremy explains why this essay is far more than a formality, where most applicants go wrong, and the three core components every strong response must include: your context, your goals, and a bridge that connects those goals to the school's specific resources. He also shares insider tips from two decades of advising thousands of candidates, including how to avoid sounding generic, why authenticity matters more than perfection, and how to demonstrate conviction that resonates with admissions committees. If you want to tell your story with clarity, purpose, and genuine fit, this episode is your roadmap. Featured Resources: mbaMission: https://www.mbamission.com onTrack by mbaMission: https://ontrack.mbamission.com About Our Guest: Jeremy Shinewald is the founder of mbaMission (Poets and Quants 4x top-ranked MBA admissions consulting firm) and is an industry founder, innovator and driver. He is the author of the Complete Start to Finish Guide to MBA admissions and "'What Matters?' and 'What More?': 50 Successful Essays for the Stanford GSB and HBS (and Why They Worked)". He is the creator of onTrack by mbaMission, an asynchronous MBA admissions course and platform which Poets and Quants called, "the most comprehensive MBA admissions resource ever created." Jeremy's thought leadership has led to him being quoted in the WSJ, NYT and many other media outlets. Takeaways: The 'Why Our School' essay is crucial for MBA applications. Applicants often make the mistake of pandering to schools. Authenticity is key; don't try to be someone you're not. Understanding your goals before applying is essential. Researching schools thoroughly can enhance your application. Your personal statement should reflect genuine fit with the school. Communication skills are vital in the application process. Context in your essay should lead to your goals. Don't leave your application to the last minute. Chapters: 00:00 The Journey of Entrepreneurship 00:35 Understanding the MBA Admissions Process 05:25 The Art of Personal Statements 08:19 Crafting the 'Why Our School' Essay 10:36 Crafting Your MBA Goals 15:07 Understanding the School's Fit 18:19 The Importance of Clarity in Goals 20:20 Valuing the 'Why This School' Essay 22:07 Final Thoughts on the Application Process

Kaila Yu joins Let's Talk Memoir for a conversation about how she hated writing at first and has had an accidental career in it, how she had no intention of writing a memoir, selling a book on proposal and pitching off a timely event, racial and sexually motivated hate crime, Asian fetishization and the feeling of being other, her experience as a pin up model in the 90s, sexual assault and the flight, fight, fawn response, dismantling tropes, the male gaze, forms of erasure, internalized racism, putting it all out there, and her new memoir in essays Fetishized: A Reckoning with Yellow Fever, Feminism, and Beauty.   Also in this episode: -feeling invisible -shaping a book with an agent -the marathon that is book promotion Books mentioned in this episode: Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong My Body by Emily Ratajkowski Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends on It by Kamal Ravikant   Kaila Yu is an author with bylines in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Los Angeles Times, Bon Appétit, Conde Nast Traveler, and many more.  Her debut memoir, ‘Fetishized: A Reckoning with Yellow Fever, Feminism, and Beauty,' was published on August 19th, 2025, with Penguin Random House's Crown Publishing. Connect with Kaila: instagram.com/kailayu tiktok.com/@kaila.yu KailaYu.com https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738645/fetishized-by-kaila-yu/   – Ronit's writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, Poets & Writers, The Iowa Review, Hippocampus, The Washington Post, Writer's Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named Finalist in the 2021 Housatonic Awards Awards, the 2021 Indie Excellence Awards, and was a 2021 Book Riot Best True Crime Book. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts' 2020 Eludia Award and the 2023 Page Turner Awards for Short Stories.  She earned an MFA in Nonfiction Writing at Pacific University, is Creative Nonfiction Editor at The Citron Review, and teaches memoir through the University of Washington's Online Continuum Program and also independently. She launched Let's Talk Memoir in 2022, lives in Seattle with her family of people and dogs, and is at work on her next book. More about Ronit: https://ronitplank.com Subscribe to Ronit's Substack: https://substack.com/@ronitplank   Follow Ronit: https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/ https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlank https://bsky.app/profile/ronitplank.bsky.social   Background photo credit: Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash Headshot photo credit: Sarah Anne Photography Theme music: Isaac Joel, Dead Moll's Fingers

Tony: -Carbonation Station: Monster Orange Dreamsicle Wickedly Creamy (Tony) and Waterloo (Jarron) -Dangerous Robots: https://futurism.com/robots-and-machines/whistleblower-fired-warning-robot-crush-skull -Robots for the kids: https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/disney-teases-an-olaf-robot-for-its-parks-151017739.html -Windows is trying to make Explorer faster. Sort of…: https://www.pcgamer.com/software/windows/windows-11-is-going-to-start-quietly-preloading-file-explorer-in-the-background-to-make-it-faster-which-is-a-good-reminder-that-you-should-probably-try-a-different-file-manager-anyway/ -Speculative PC and PC components market says its time to buy parts! (you're already too late for DDR5 RAM but I did indeed panic buy something…) Jarron:  -Missing AirPod features come to Android and Linux, kind of: https://www.theverge.com/news/824953/librepods-apple-airpods-wireless-headphones-android-linux -Sounds like Apple won't be updating the Mac Pro: https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/11/18/gurman-mac-pro -No matter how bad your life is, it can't be worse than this guy's: https://arstechnica.com/health/2025/11/why-you-dont-want-to-get-tuberculosis-on-your-penis/ Owen: -Pebble goes fully open source https://gadgetsandwearables.com/2025/11/24/pebble-open-source/ -Lava Power.  https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/one-america-most-dangerous-volcanoes-134703593.html -Even Microsoft knows Windows AI is not good/safe https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/11/23/060221/microsoft-warns-its-windows-ai-feature-brings-data-theft-and-malware-risks-and Lando: -New Features for X are making it a slightly better place… https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/23/rightwing-influencers-outside-us-x-twitter-tool -Poets are the biggest threat to AI Yet https://www.pcgamer.com/software/ai/poets-are-now-cybersecurity-threats-researchers-used-adversarial-poetry-to-jailbreak-ai-and-it-worked-62-percent-of-the-time/ -Trust the ISPs, I am sure they will do the right thing! https://www.techspot.com/news/110362-fcc-rolls-back-plan-make-cybersecurity-legal-duty.html

Here's Al Robles reading an excerpt from his poem, “Cold Mountain in Chinatown,” which he performed at the Poetry Center at San Francisco State on November 10th, 1976. 

What if the only way to build a restaurant worth running was to make it fun—even in crisis?Andy Shallal didn't set out to be a restaurateur. He left a stable path in medical science, waited tables to get by, and discovered something powerful: hospitality could be a vehicle for joy, justice, and deep human connection.In this episode, Andy shares how he built Busboys and Poets into a mission-driven brand that prioritizes people over profits—and why “fun” is his north star, even through economic collapse and a global pandemic. We get into the power of quitting the wrong path, how food becomes a spiritual force, and why transparency and storytelling matter more than ever.If you've ever wondered whether restaurants can still change lives, this conversation is your answer.To learn more about Busboys and Poets, visit busboysandpoets.com._________________________________________________________Free 5-Day Restaurant Marketing Masterclass – This is a live training where you'll learn the exact campaigns Josh has built and tested in real restaurants to attract new guests, increase visit frequency, and generate sales on demand. Save your spot at restaurantbusinessschool.comFull Comp is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other content:Yelp for Restaurants PodcastsRestaurant expert videos & webinars

Tamara Jong joins Let's Talk Memoir for a conversation about growing up Jehovah's Witness, her mother's untimely passing, losing faith, disguising who we are, trying multiple approaches to a writing practice, navigating material that resists us, becoming vulnerable, the tenderness of losing, learning to trust ourselves, weaving in motherhood and mother figures in our work, finding community and home, spirituality without religion, when we feel comfortable enough to be ourselves, and her new memoir in essays Worldly Girls. Also in this episode: -learning to trust others -leaning into what works for us -feeling compelled to finish books   Books mentioned in this episode: Lit by Mary Karr How to Write an Autobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee Unquenchable Thirst by Mary Johnson    TAMARA JONG is a Tiohtià:ke (Montréal) born writer of Chinese and European ancestry. Her work has been published in the Humber Literary Review, Room Magazine, and The Fiddlehead, and has been both long and shortlisted for various creative non-fiction prizes. She is a graduate of The Writer's Studio at Simon Fraser University, and a former member of Room Magazine's collective. She currently lives and works on Treaty 3 territory, the occupied and ancestral lands of the Haudenosaunee, Anishinabewaki, Attiwonderonk, and Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation (Guelph, ON). Worldly Girls is her first book.   Connect with Tamara: Website: https://www.tamaraljong.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bokchoygurl BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/bokchoygurltjong.bsky.social Twitter: @Bokchoygurl Book*hug's website: https://bookhugpress.ca/shop/author/tamara-jong/worldly-girls-by-tamara-jong/ Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/worldly-girls-tamara-jong/1146964224?ean=9781771669504 Also available on Amazon or ask for it at your local bookstore or your library   – Ronit's writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, Poets & Writers, The Iowa Review, Hippocampus, The Washington Post, Writer's Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named Finalist in the 2021 Housatonic Awards Awards, the 2021 Indie Excellence Awards, and was a 2021 Book Riot Best True Crime Book. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts' 2020 Eludia Award and the 2023 Page Turner Awards for Short Stories.  She earned an MFA in Nonfiction Writing at Pacific University, is Creative Nonfiction Editor at The Citron Review, and teaches memoir through the University of Washington's Online Continuum Program and also independently. She launched Let's Talk Memoir in 2022, lives in Seattle with her family of people and dogs, and is at work on her next book. More about Ronit: https://ronitplank.com Subscribe to Ronit's Substack: https://substack.com/@ronitplank   Follow Ronit: https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/ https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlank https://bsky.app/profile/ronitplank.bsky.social   Background photo credit: Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash Headshot photo credit: Sarah Anne Photography Theme music: Isaac Joel, Dead Moll's Fingers

This week is all poetry—our first all-poetry week of the Immersive Humanities project! After struggling through young Werther, I decided I needed to step back and understand Romanticism as a movement. I offer a brief review of the history leading up to Romanticism; after all, most movements are reactions against what precedes them. The printing press and Protestant Reformation blew open European thought, leading to centuries of philosophical upheaval. Empiricists like Bacon and Hume insisted that knowledge must be tested; rationalists like Descartes and Spinoza trusted pure reason. Kant eventually tried to unite both. Their world gave rise to the Enlightenment—and then came the Romantics, pushing back with emotion, imagination, and nature.That's the world our poets wrote in. This week I used Pocket Book of Romantic Poetry and read Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, and Keats (skipping Novalis and Hölderlin). I loved some poems, disliked others. Blake's mystical, anti-Christian tone left me cold. Wordsworth's childhood wonder won me over. Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner shocked me--it's gripping, almost epic. Byron was brilliant, scandalous, and endlessly readable. His Prisoner of Chillon might have been my favorite poem of the week. Shelley felt dreamlike and visionary, while Keats, to me, seemed talented but young. What did the world lose when he died?Reading these poets in their historical context changed everything. They're passionate, experimental, and surprisingly radical—not quaint! We are missing out when we resort to tired anthologies to get to know these poets--something that I didn't expect to feel so strongly about! Paired with Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony and Chopin's preludes, this week was a revelation.LINKTed Gioia/The Honest Broker's 12-Month Immersive Humanities Course (paywalled!)My Amazon Book List (NOT an affiliate link)That cool Medieval Science Book The Genesis of Science by James HannamCONNECTThe complete list of Crack the Book Episodes: https://cheryldrury.substack.com/p/crack-the-book-start-here?r=u3t2rTo read more of my writing, visit my Substack - https://www.cheryldrury.substack.com.Follow me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cldrury/ LISTENSpotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5GpySInw1e8IqNQvXow7Lv?si=9ebd5508daa245bdApple Podcasts -

Diane Gottlieb, Jennifer Fliss, and Nina B. Lichtenstein join Let's Talk Memoir for a conversation about their work as editors and what they look for in submissions, setting your writing apart, knowing where to omit for maximum impact, the magic of prompts, working with supportive editors, how constraints give us freedom, ordering an essay collection, how stories sustain us, disentangling the artist from politics, allyship, the process of becoming ourselves, celebrating our heritage, the ecosystem of Jewish life, submission calls, and our new anthology Manna Songs: Stories of Jewish Culture and Heritage. Also in this episode: -being seen -writing into joy -being a Jew by choice    Purchase Manna Songs here: https://elj-editions.com/mannasongs/ and wherever you get your books www.Dianegottlieb.com www.Jenniferflisscreative.com https://www.ninalichtenstein.com/   Diane Gottlieb, MSW, MEd, MFA, is the editor of Manna Songs: Stories of Jewish Culture & Heritage, the award-winning anthology Awakenings: Stories of Body & Consciousness, and Grieving Hope. Her writing appears in Brevity, Witness, River Teeth, 2023 Best Microfiction, Smokelong Quarterly, Bellevue Review, Colorado Review, JUDITH, and Jewish Book Council among many other lovely places. She is the winner of Tiferet Journal's 2021 Writing Contest in Nonfiction, and a finalist for Hole in the Head Review's 2024 Charles Simic Poetry Prize and Florida Review's 2023 Editor's Choice Award in Nonfiction. Diane is the Prose/CNF Editor at Emerge Literary and the Special Projects Editor at ELJ Editions. Connect with Diane:  https://elj-editions.com/mannasongs/ dianegottlieb.com @dianegotauthor   Jennifer Fliss (she/her) is a Seattle-based author of the collections, As If She Had a Say and The Predatory Animal Ball. Over 200 of her stories and essays have appeared in F(r)iction, PANK, Hobart, The Rumpus, The Washington Post, and elsewhere. She was a Pen Parentis Fellow and recipient of a Grant for Artist Project award from Artist's Trust.  www.jenniferflisscreative.com https://nupress.northwestern.edu/9780810146259/as-if-she-had-a-say/ https://okaydonkeymag.bigcartel.com/product/the-predatory-animal-ball-by-jennifer-fliss   Nina B. Lichtenstein is a native of Oslo, Norway, and holds a PhD in French literature from UCONN and an MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of Southern Maine's Stonecoast program. She is the founder and director of Maine Writers Studio, and the co-founder and co-editor of In a Flash Lit Mag. Her writing has appeared in various journals, magazines, and outlets, as well as in several anthologies. Her book, Sephardic Women's Voices: Out of North Africa, was published by Gaon Books in 2017, and her memoir, Body: My Life in Parts by Vine Leaves Press in May , 2025. She has three adult sons, and lives in Maine with her husband.  https://www.facebook.com/ninalich/ https://www.instagram.com/vikingjewess/ https://ninablichtenstein.substack.com/ https://www.ninalichtenstein.com/ https://www.mainewritersstudio.com/ https://vineleavespress.myshopify.com/products/body-my-life-in-parts-by-nina-b-lichtenstein – Ronit's writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, Poets & Writers, The Iowa Review, Hippocampus, The Washington Post, Writer's Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named Finalist in the 2021 Housatonic Awards Awards, the 2021 Indie Excellence Awards, and was a 2021 Book Riot Best True Crime Book. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts' 2020 Eludia Award and the 2023 Page Turner Awards for Short Stories.  She earned an MFA in Nonfiction Writing at Pacific University, is Creative Nonfiction Editor at The Citron Review, and teaches memoir through the University of Washington's Online Continuum Program and also independently. She launched Let's Talk Memoir in 2022, lives in Seattle with her family of people and dogs, and is at work on her next book. More about Ronit: https://ronitplank.com Subscribe to Ronit's Substack: https://substack.com/@ronitplank Follow Ronit: https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/ https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlank https://bsky.app/profile/ronitplank.bsky.social Background photo credit: Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash Headshot photo credit: Sarah Anne Photography Theme music: Isaac Joel, Dead Moll's Fingers

Edgar Gomez joins Let's Talk Memoir for a conversation about growing up poor in Florida, wanting to believe in the American dream and realizing it's not accessible, surviving a precarious childhood, reckoning with trauma, grappling with and excavating shame, what queer people want vs. what they get, navigating sex work, the Pulse nightclub tragedy, when to tell family about our memoirs, writing about others with generosity, staying true to our identity, fighting for joy, and their memoir in essays Alligator Tears.   Also in this episode: -staying true to ourselves -growing up NicaRican -navigating queerness   Books mentioned in this episode: Butterfly Boy by Rigoberto Gonzalez Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls by T Kira Madden Their Eyes Were Watching God by Nora Neale Hurston   Edgar Gomez is a queer NicaRican writer born and raised in Florida. He is the author of the memoir High-Risk Homosexual, winner of the American Book Award, a Stonewall Israel-Fishman Nonfiction Book Honor Award, and the Lambda Literary Award. Their sophomore book, Alligator Tears, was released in February 2025 and was called "Triumphant, dazzling, and unfailingly stylish" by Publisher's Weekly. A graduate of the University of California's MFA program, Gomez has written for The LA Times, Poets & Writers, Lithub, New York Magazine, and beyond. He has received fellowships from The New York Foundation for the Arts, The National Endowment for the Arts, and The Black Mountain Institute. He lives between New York and Puerto Rico. Find him across social media @OtroEdgarGomez.   Connect with Edgar: Website: EdgarGomez.net @OtroEdgarGomez on Bluesky and instagram.  Get the book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/743399/alligator-tears-by-edgar-gomez/   – Ronit's writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, Poets & Writers, The Iowa Review, Hippocampus, The Washington Post, Writer's Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named Finalist in the 2021 Housatonic Awards Awards, the 2021 Indie Excellence Awards, and was a 2021 Book Riot Best True Crime Book. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts' 2020 Eludia Award and the 2023 Page Turner Awards for Short Stories.  She earned an MFA in Nonfiction Writing at Pacific University, is Creative Nonfiction Editor at The Citron Review, and teaches memoir through the University of Washington's Online Continuum Program and also independently. She launched Let's Talk Memoir in 2022, lives in Seattle with her family of people and dogs, and is at work on her next book. More about Ronit: https://ronitplank.com   Subscribe to Ronit's Substack: https://substack.com/@ronitplank   Follow Ronit: https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/ https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlank https://bsky.app/profile/ronitplank.bsky.social   Background photo credit: Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash Headshot photo credit: Sarah Anne Photography Theme music: Isaac Joel, Dead Moll's Fingers

Description: We're revisiting one of our most-loved conversations from this show—an exploration of how transformation takes shape in our lives and how we can bravely meet it, even when it's terrifying. In this encore episode, we look back on Jen's conversation with poet and community-builder Joy Sullivan, whose own “chosen change” became a leap toward more sanity, more love, and more joy. After years of living according to scripts written by others, Joy found herself standing at a crossroads, feeling the pull of something deeper and more true. What followed was a radical leap into the unknown—a move that reshaped her life, her faith, and her art, including her book ‘Instructions for Traveling West' – a collection for anyone flinging themselves into their own fresh starts. Together, she and Jen talk about the “incremental scoots” we make before the big leap, the beauty and ache of reinvention, and how stillness can become a sacred space for clarity. Joy shares her story of walking into the unknown and learning to trust her intuition along the way. In this episode, we reflect on: The difference between a change that happens to us and one we choose Embracing loneliness and stillness as paths to self-discovery Lessons that taught Joy to love herself more deeply Why poetry gives language to what we cannot say aloud If you're feeling the pull toward something new but uncertain, this encore offers a gentle reminder that change—though often uncomfortable—is where our truest selves begin to emerge. Thought-provoking Quotes: "If the birds know how to migrate, if bears know when to hibernate, if nature knows when to move forward, it doesn't make any sense for us to not know that also." – Joy Sullivan "It's so important to listen and to follow the rhythms that we're pulled to even if we don't know what we're leaping towards." – Amy Hardin “First you must realize you're homesick for all the lives you're not living. Then you must commit to the road and the rising loneliness.” – Joy Sullivan “You have to be careful what you write down—it performs this kind of beautiful, terrifying magic.” – Joy Sullivan “Don't compare yourself to someone who's mid-leap. There were probably a lot of scoots to the edge before they launched.” – Joy Sullivan “You don't have to get the leap right every time. You just have to be willing to innovate midair.” – Joy Sullivan “I had coded into my psyche what it meant to be a good woman. When I fractured those stories, my life expanded into possibility.” – Joy Sullivan “If I take crumbs and call it a meal, if I stay in rooms where I'm not called beloved, then I'm in a cage of my own making.” – Joy Sullivan Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Flinging Ourselves Into Fresh Starts ft. Joy Sullivan – https://jenhatmaker.com/podcasts/series-61/flinging-ourselves-into-fresh-starts-ft-joy-sullivan/ Sustenance ((A Community of Poets and Writers founded by Joy Sullivan) - https://joysullivanpoet.com/sustenance Necessary Salt (Joy Sullivan's Substack Blog) - https://joysullivan.substack.com/ Instructions For Traveling West: Poems by Joy Sullivan - https://amzn.to/4qZTZ7l Guest's Links: Website - https://joysullivanpoet.com/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/joysullivanpoet/ Twitter - https://x.com/Joy_E_Sullivan Substack - https://joysullivan.substack.com/ Connect with Jen!Jen's Website - https://jenhatmaker.com/ Jen's Instagram - https://instagram.com/jenhatmakerJen's Twitter - https://twitter.com/jenHatmaker/ Jen's Facebook - https://facebook.com/jenhatmakerJen's YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/JenHatmaker The For the Love Podcast is presented by Audacy. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices