National Poetry Month: April 30, 2026

Introduction to Literature: Poetry Sampler

I’m teaching an online asynchronous introduction to literature class this summer and - blessedly! - we have arrived at the poetry section of the course. I always encourage students, readers, friends, anybody who will listen to read poetry aloud. It is an oral tradition, a multisensory experience. You can’t get poetry speed reading it off the microscopic pages of some arduous anthology (shout out The Norton Introduction to Literature Portable 15th Edition though). You have to hear it to feel it. So join me, my students, in hearing what they are reading this week! Featured poems: * “I wandered lonely as a cloud” - Wordsworth (pg. 432) * “The sky is low” - Dickinson (pg. 436) * “I celebrate myself” - Whitman (pg. 461) * “Persimmons” - Li-Young Lee (pg. 478) * “I Invite My Parents to a dinner Party” - Chen Chen (pg. 480) * “Pilgrimage” - Natasha Trethewey (pg. 489) * “Down to my elbows” - Jose Olivarez (pg. 498) * “My Papa’s Waltz” - Theodore Roethke (pg. 512) * two poems by William Carlos Williams (pg. 516) * “Ode to the West Wind” - Percy Bysshe Shelley (pg. 577) * “Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night” - Dylan Thomas (pg. 591) * “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening” - Robert Frost (pg. 643) * “I, Too” - Langston Hughes (pg. 647) * “The Raven” - Poe (pg. 657) * “Words Are Birds” [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/91108/words-are-birds] - Francisco X. Alarcón (not in book, follow link) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tonyisapoet.substack.com [https://tonyisapoet.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

National Poetry Month: April 30, 2026

A sloppy send-off of National Poetry Month 2026 with some original poems. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tonyisapoet.substack.com [https://tonyisapoet.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

National Poetry Month: April 29, 2026

Nick Axene joins the pod for the month’s penultimate episode celebrating National Poetry Month 2026 with a recitation and conversation about his excellent - and criminally un-titled! - poem about his guitar. You can see Nick’s poem in the Spring 2026 issue of [https://www.ohiodominican.edu/student-life/clubs-organizations/gesture.html]Gesture [https://www.ohiodominican.edu/student-life/clubs-organizations/gesture.html], found at this link. [https://www.ohiodominican.edu/student-life/clubs-organizations/gesture.html] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tonyisapoet.substack.com [https://tonyisapoet.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

National Poetry Month: April 28, 2026

A few choice cuts from Billy Collins’ latest collection, Dog Show to celebrate (belated) Desi’s birthday and an upcoming newsletter on recent books by “America’s favorite poet.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tonyisapoet.substack.com [https://tonyisapoet.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

National Poetry Month: April 27, 2026 LIVE!

Last night, ODU I hosted a poetry reading to celebrate the long and wonderful history of Ohio Dominican’s literary magazine, Gesture, and the future of Her wonderful writers. In this podcast you’ll hear a few cuts from the magazine’s history as well as a bit of an artist’s statement for what the literary arts means to me. Once the University gets around to publishing the full audio from the event I’ll share it in the feed! It was super fun! Enjoy! If you are curious to learn more about Gesture, check it out here. [https://www.ohiodominican.edu/student-life/clubs-organizations/gesture.html] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tonyisapoet.substack.com [https://tonyisapoet.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]