Access to this video is a benefit for members through PBS Passport.
Up Next
Back to Show
Poetry in America
Hill Country
Season 4
Episode 5
God drives down from the mountains behind the wheel of a Jeep, in this poem by Tracy K. Smith, former U.S. poet laureate. Smith illuminates the ambrosial bounty of Texas Hill Country, where she’s joined by country music singer-songwriter Jimmie Dale Gilmore, members of both Christian and Jewish communities, and host Elisa New.
Sign up now for inspiring and thought-provoking media delivered straight to your inbox.
Support Provided By
Unlock with PBS Passport
25:45
Explore the transformation of America’s long tradition of urban verse by hip hop artists.
Unlock with PBS Passport
25:26
Explore Galway Kinnell's poem with E.O. Wilson, Robert Hass, Laura McPhee and other guests
Unlock with PBS Passport
25:26
Explore Gwendolyn Brooks's poem with John McCain, Anna Deavere Smith, and other guests.
Unlock with PBS Passport
25:27
Explore Robert Pinsky's poem with Stuart Weitzman, Johnson Hartig, and the poet himself.
Unlock with PBS Passport
25:33
Explore W.H. Auden's poem with guests Samantha Power, David Brooks, and Peter Sacks.
Unlock with PBS Passport
25:26
“What happens to a dream deferred?” Bill Clinton, Herbie Hancock, and others weigh in.
Unlock with PBS Passport
25:27
Can a building have a soul? Frank Gehry, Zhang Xin, Robert Polito, and others weigh in.
Unlock with PBS Passport
25:27
Explore Ginsberg's poetry with Bono, US Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera, and others.
Unlock with PBS Passport
25:26
Explore Hayden's poem with Joe Biden, Elizabeth Alexander, Angela Duckworth, and others.
Unlock with PBS Passport
25:27
Can basketball be poetic? NBA players Shaq, Pau Gasol, and Shane Battier weigh in.
Unlock with PBS Passport
25:29
Host Elisa New explores Emily Dickinson's poem with Cyntha Nixon, Yo-Yo Ma, and others.