The Language of the Cat

A Space for Feeling and Thinking

Jane Clarke joins Seán Hewitt for the final episode in this season of The Glimpse, discussing the power of writing with restraint, dry stone walls, and bringing queerness to the Irish pastoral tradition. Jane reads her poem “Spalls” and Natasha Trethewey’s “Incident.”

A Chorus of Selves

Poet Gustav Parker Hibbett joins host Seán Hewitt for a chat about metamorphosis poems, trusting the rhythm of the body, and Joni Mitchell’s artistic betrayal. Parker reads their poem “Joni Mitchell dresses up as me (parts one and two)” and Donika Kelly’s poem “Love Poem: Chimera.”

Are You with Me?

Poet Stephen Sexton speaks with host Seán Hewitt about the need for mystery, the exoticism of American English, and making meaning with the reader. Stephen reads his poem “The Capital of Heaven” and Oni Buchanan’s poem “The Only Yak in Batesville, Virginia.”

The Language of the Cat

Poet Martina Evans and host Seán Hewitt take part in a wide-ranging conversation on the connection between place and voice, the pressure of living, sun worship, and, of course, cats. Martina reads her poem “The Day My Cat Spoke to Me” and Frank O’Hara’s “A True Account of Talking to the Sun at Fire Island.”

A Dizzying Range of Meaning

Poet Kit Fryatt joins host Seán Hewitt for a conversation about erasure and rearrangement, poetic edgelord and chancer Ezra Pound, and poetry’s transitional moment between the medieval and modern eras. Kit reads his poem “bodyservant” and Thomas Wyatt’s “They fle from me.” Note: Thomas Wyatt's poem is presented in its original form.