The Line Break

Bob Is Getting Married (Bob Is Getting Married!)

It is the month of Bob's nuptials! The dudes actually pre-recorded a whole episode, but Chris's hard drive broke. He's working on getting it fixed, and that episode will air later. For now, please enjoy a few love poems to get your summer started.

The Pain Of Leaving Two Places At Once feat. Mckendy Fils-Aimé

It's still National Poetry Month, for a few more days. What better way to celebrate than to be joined by poet with a debut collection dropping soon? Our guest today is Mckendy Fils-Aimé, author of the forthcoming Sipèstisyon from YesYesBooks. We talk influence and coming up in the slam world, and then Mckendy reads "Parkside & Ocean" by b ferguson as well as his own poem, "sipèstisyon." Oh, and there's some talk about the icons of 90s NBA. Order Sipèstisyon: https://www.yesyesbooks.com/product-page/sip%C3%A8stisyon-by-mckendy-fils-aim%C3%A9 MCKENDY FILS-AIMÉ is a New England based Haitian American poet, organizer, and teaching artist. He has received fellowships from Callaloo, Cave Canem, The Watering Hole, CantoMundo, and Periplus. Over the span of nearly two decades, Mckendy has represented New England in several regional and national poetry slams, making numerous semi-final and final stage appearances. Mckendy’s work has been featured or is forthcoming in Best New Poets, Adroit, Muzzle, Obsidian, the Academy of American Poets’ Poem-a-Day series, and elsewhere. sipèstisyon (YesYes Books, 2026) is his debut poetry collection.

AWP Recap, or, it is not my life's intention to be miserable

For the third year in a row, Bob and Chris went to AWP. Beyond having a blast in one of the country's coolest cities, we also bought some books! Today, Bob reads "Destiny: Or, From The Tour Abolie" by Bruno Darío (translated by Kit Schluter), Chris reads "Nulliparous (PFP)" by Chiara Di Lello, and then the dudes make NBA Finals picks.

love, the future, and other indignities

Do you believe in poetry magic? Once again, our poems are magically in conversation, without any pre-planning. Bob reads “The Regency Fete” by Rita Dove, Chris reads "star / date" by upfromsumdirt, and then the dudes discuss Chris Paul's retirement.

do that poetry thing with nuance and rigor

Poetry helps us see the world. Whether it's giving permission to look closer or making us see old things anew, a few surprising language choices and enjambments can really alter yr brain. This week, Bob reads "cellular memory" by Mónica Teresa Ortiz, Chris reads "Pastoral, 1992" by Joe Wilkins, and the guys talk about whether the new NBA broadcasters are working out or not.