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Poetry in America
Poems about Motherhood by Sharon Olds and Bernadette Mayer
Season 3
Episode 6
Sharon Olds’s “The Language of the Brag” and Bernadette Mayer’s “The Desires of Mothers to Please Others in Letters” are exuberant, boisterous tributes to motherhood. Both poets join host Elisa New, actor Donna Lynne Champlin, writer Emily Oster, activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali, obstetrician Lorna Wilkerson, and co-founders of Our Bodies Ourselves to explore the miracle, and mess, of creating new life.
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DJ Spooky, Joshua Bennett, & more discuss A.R. Ammon’s “Cascadilla Falls” with Elisa New.
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Gloria Estefan & more read Richard Blanco’s "Looking for The Gulf Motel" with Elisa New.
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25:11
Tony Kushner, David Strathairn & more read Whitman’s “The Wound-Dresser” with Elisa New.
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26:46
Join host Elisa New to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Walt Whitman’s birth.
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26:49
Williams' poem “This is Just to Say” is only 28 words and ireads like a refrigerator note.
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27:01
Explore the mingled beauty and horror of war, with this Yusef Komunyakaa poem.
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26:46
Stephen Sondheim blends lyrics and music in his poem "Finishing the Hat".
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26:46
In Doty's poem “This Your Home Now,” a barber shops sparks a meditation on love and more.
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26:46
Explore Moore’s great poem of marine life, with Al Gore, Jorie Graham, and others.
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26:46
Katie Couric, Mary Chapin Carpenter and others explore Elizabeth Bishop's poem "One Art".
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26:46
Maxine Hong Kingston, Randy Komisar and others explore Marilyn Chin's "Urban Love Poem".
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25:27
Contemplate the physical—and figurative—journeys charted by all immigrants.