Best The Lapse Storytellers Podcasts (2024)

1
John Ciardi's "An Emeritus Addresses the School" 10:18

35m ago10:18

10:18

About the creative process itself, John Ciardi argued in the Writer that “it isn’t easy to make a poem,” adding, “It is better than easy: it is joyously, consumingly difficult. As it is difficult, too, though without joy, to face one’s failures.” Noting that the creation of successful verse requires definite skill, he wrote: “I insist that a poet n…

1
Matsuo Bashō's Spring Haiku 9:52

43m ago9:52

9:52

Today’s poems are all about the ineffable experience of spring. Happy reading! The 17th-century Japanese haiku master Bashō was born Matsuo Kinsaku near Kyoto, Japan, to a minor samurai and his wife. Soon after the poet’s birth, Japan closed its borders, beginning a seclusion that allowed its native culture to flourish. It is believed that Bashō’s …

1
Thomas Nashe's "Spring, the sweet spring" 8:00

28m ago8:00

8:00

Today’s poem–an unambiguous paean to spring–suggests Thomas Nashe and T. S. Eliot had very different feelings about the month of April. Happy reading! Thomas Nashe (1567 - c. 1601) –English pamphleteer, poet, dramatist, and novelist– was the first of the English prose eccentrics. Nashe wrote in a vigorous combination of colloquial diction and idios…

1
Edna St. Vincent Millay's "Spring" 8:21

19m ago8:21

8:21

Today’s poem is a more complicated take on spring. Happy reading. Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
E. E. Cummings' "[O sweet spontaneous]" 7:07

3h ago7:07

7:07

E.E. Cummings, in full Edward Estlin Cummings, (born October 14, 1894, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.—died September 3, 1962, North Conway, New Hampshire), American poet and painter who first attracted attention, in an age of literary experimentation, for his unconventional punctuation and phrasing. Cummings’s name is often styled “e.e. cummings” i…

1
Phillis Levin's "End of April 7:45

1h ago7:45

7:45

What started as an early spring is now not long for this world. In an attempt to stave off an early summer, we have a week of poems dedicated to the fairest of the seasons. Happy reading. Phillis Levin (born 1954) is the author of four poetry collections, including May Day (Penguin, 2008). She also served as editor for The Penguin Book of the Sonne…

1
Robert Frost's "Mending Wall" 5:23

11d ago5:23

5:23

Today’s poem is a Robert Frost classic of which everyone always remembers the wrong part. Happy reading! Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
Robert Southey's "His Books" 10:04

5h ago10:04

10:04

Robert Southey was an English poet of the Romantic school, and Poet Laureate from 1813 until his death. Like the other Lake Poets, William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Southey began as a radical but became steadily more conservative as he gained respect for Britain and its institutions. Other romantics such as Byron accused him of siding…

1
Ep 43 - Dune: The Use and Abuse of Religion 58:00

3h ago58:00

58:00

The prophesied Dune episode has arrived! Along for the ride across the sands of Arrakis are Ivan Wolfe and Michael Haycock. Our intrepid panel dissects the film's themes—from the perils of messiah complexes and the seductive power of politics to the manipulation mastery of the Bene Gesserit and the very nature of prophecy itself. We also look at ho…

1
William Butler Yeats' "When You Are Old" 5:17

20h ago5:17

5:17

Today’s poem goes out to all the ‘pilgrim souls.’ Happy reading! Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
John Keats' "How many bards gild the lapses of time" 9:01

5m ago9:01

9:01

In today’s poem, John Keats isn’t worried about authenticity–and that’s just fine. Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
Dorothy Wordsworth's "Loving and Liking" 9:36

42m ago9:36

9:36

Today’s poem reminds us how much is sometimes riding on the proper grammatical distinctions. Born in Cumberland, British Romantic poet and prose writer Dorothy Wordsworth was the third of five children. Her mother died when Wordsworth was six, and she moved to Halifax to live with her aunt. In 1781 she enrolled in Hipperholme Boarding School. When …

1
Emily Dickinson's "Tell all the truth but tell it slant–" 3:59

6d ago3:59

3:59

Today’s poem is almost too bright for our infirm delight. Happy reading! Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
H. D.'s "Eurydice" 6:19

4d ago6:19

6:19

Today’s poem features a failed resurrection and a response that spirals through all the customary stages of grief. Hilda Doolittle was born on September 10, 1886, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. She attended Bryn Mawr College, where she was a classmate of Marianne Moore. Doolittle later enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania, where she befriended E…

1
C. S. Lewis' "Stephen to Lazarus" 5:04

19d ago5:04

5:04

Clive Staples Lewis (1898–1963) was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably one of the most influential writers of his day. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English Literature at Oxford University until 1954, when he was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University, a posit…

1
Paul Ruffin's "We Write Nasty Notes at the Academic Conference" 6:26

14d ago6:26

6:26

Find somebody to watch the kids while you giggle through today’s poem. Happy reading. Respected editor, publisher, writer and poet, Paul Ruffin often relied upon his experiences growing up in the South as a foundation for his stories. He was born in Millport, Alabama, and grew up outside Columbus, Mississippi. After serving in the U.S. Army, Ruffin…

1
A. E. Stallings' "Dead Language Lesson" 9:51

7d ago9:51

9:51

Today’s poem ponders what love makes of language. Happy reading. A.E. (Alicia) Stallings is the Oxford Professor of Poetry. She grew up in Decatur, Georgia, and studied classics at the University of Georgia and Oxford University. Her poetry collections include Like (2018), a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize; Olives (2012), which was nominated for a …

1
Scott Cairns' "Musée" 9:29

20d ago9:29

9:29

Today’s poem is inspired by one of our favorites here at the Daily Poem. Librettist, essayist, translator, and author of ten poetry collections, Scott Cairns is Curators’ Distinguished Professor Emeritus at University of Missouri. His poems and essays have appeared in Poetry, Image, Paris Review, The Atlantic Monthly, The New Republic, and both hav…

1
Ted Kooser's "After Years" 7:05

23d ago7:05

7:05

Ted Kooser, who worked in insurance for thirty-five years before becoming U.S. Poet Laureate, turns 85 today. Many happy returns of the day to him, and happy reading to the rest of you! Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
T. S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" 9:25

20d ago9:25

9:25

Have you measured out your life in coffee spoons? Feeling like a pair of ragged claws today? Afraid to eat messy food while other people are watching? Or are you just channeling a little too much Polonius? If so, today’s poem–the classic modernist anthem of insecurity and isolation (and mermaids)–will feel very familiar. Happy reading! (And for an …

1
William Shakespeare's "It Was a Lover and His Lass" 7:54

13d ago7:54

7:54

Happy birthday to the Bard! NB: Anyone itching to dig deeper into Shakespeare’s plays should look no further than one of our sister podcasts, The Play’s the Thing! Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
Louise Glück's "The Wild Iris" 9:24

14d ago9:24

9:24

Louise Glück was born in New York City in 1943. She is the author of numerous poetry collections, including Winter Recipes from the Collective (2021); Faithful and Virtuous Night (2014), which won the National Book Award; Poems: 1962-2012 (2012), winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize; and The Wild Iris (1992), which won the Pulitzer Prize; and…

1
Francis Thompson's "The Hound of Heaven" 11:38

16d ago11:38

11:38

Francis Thompson was born in Northwest England in 1859. The son of Catholic converts, as a boy he was initially educated for the priesthood. When he was 18, at his parents' insistence, he entered Owens College in Manchester to follow in his father's footsteps and study medicine. But before long, he left for London hoping to pursue what he believed …

1
William Ernest Henley's "Invictus" 10:09

27d ago10:09

10:09

Today’s poem–benign anthem of the resilient human spirit or a hymn to radical autonomy?–has divided audiences for more than a century. Born in Gloucester, England, poet, editor, and critic William Ernest Henley was educated at Crypt Grammar School, where he studied with the poet T.E. Brown, and the University of St. Andrews. His father was a strugg…

1
Ep 42 - Short: The Most Reluctant Convert 21:26

18d ago21:26

21:26

After two seasons of being snuck into almost every episode, CS Lewis finally takes center stage as we discuss the 2021 film The Most Reluctant Convert. Find out what we enjoyed about Lewis's conversion story and how his arguments connect to a Latter-day Saint worldview. View the Show Notes Audio mastering by Liz Busby Associate Links: Links to prod…

1
John Donne's "No Man Is an Island" 7:28

19d ago7:28

7:28

What do John Donne, Paul Simon, and AC/DC have in common? Today’s poem. Happy reading! Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
Walt Whitman's "Pioneers! O Pioneers!" 10:04

1M ago10:04

10:04

Today it’s Whitman (and Dylan) on the march of progress. Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
Wendell Berry's "The Plan" 4:33

26d ago4:33

4:33

Today’s poem imagines what you might do when you’re through paying taxes. Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
Seamus Heaney's "A Basket of Chestnuts" 12:16

1M ago12:16

12:16

Today’s poem is an ekphrasis on a portrait of the poet himself–all that the portrait does and doesn’t capture or convey. Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
Billy Collins' "Candle Hat" 9:10

25d ago9:10

9:10

Today’s poem is a lighter take on the self-portrait ekphrasis. What is it about the self-portrait that is so intriguing to poets, anyway? Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
Elizabeth Jennings' "Rembrandt's Late Self-Portraits" 10:50

26d ago10:50

10:50

Elizabeth Jennings (1926-2001) was born in Boston, Lincolnshire but moved to Oxford at the age of six where she lived for the rest of her life. She studied at St. Anne’s College, Oxford and worked in advertising, at the City Library and briefly in publishing before becoming a full-time writer. Her consistent devotion to poetry yielded over twenty b…

1
Richard Howard's "Gustave Dore" 6:06

27d ago6:06

6:06

Richard Howard (born Oct 13, 1929, died march 31, 2022) was credited with introducing modern French fiction—particularly examples of the Nouveau Roman—to the American public; his translation of Charles Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du Mal (1984) won a National Book Award in 1984. A selection of Howard’s critical prose was collected in the volume Paper Tr…

1
Edwin Markham's "The Man With the Hoe" 12:51

28d ago12:51

12:51

ekphrasis: “Description” in Greek. An ekphrastic poem is a vivid description of a scene or, more commonly, a work of art. Through the imaginative act of narrating and reflecting on the “action” of a painting or sculpture, the poet may amplify and expand its meaning. Once internationally famous as the author of the poem "The Man with the Hoe," Edwin…

1
Lewis Carroll's "The Walrus and the Carpenter" 7:21

1M ago7:21

7:21

Today’s poem is in honor of April being (according to now-outdated tradition) the last prudent month till Autumn in which to eat oysters. Happy reading! Self-effacing, yet having an expressive critical ability; reveling in the possibilities of fancy, though thoroughly at home with the sophisticated nuances of logic and mathematics, Lewis Carroll (C…

1
Derek Walcott's "Sea Grapes" 10:25

1M ago10:25

10:25

West Indian poet and playwright Derek Walcott made his debut as an 18-year-old with In a Green Night. For many years he divided his time among Saint Lucia; Boston University, where he taught; and Trinidad, where he managed a theater. Walcott also worked as an artist and combined his poetry with painting in the volume Tiepolo’s Hound (2005). Walcott…

51
George Herbert's "The Church-floore" 10:32

2M ago10:32

10:32

In today’s poem: George Herbert meditating on the simple profundity of a single, sustained metaphor. Happy reading. Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

651
Ogden Nash's "Very Like a Whale" 5:16

2M ago5:16

5:16

Today’s poem–a layered, jokingly-serious response to one of last week’s–comes from Ogden Nash, dubbed the ‘Laurate of Light Verse.’ Which banner would you rally under–Nash or Byron? One of the most widely appreciated and imitated writers of light verse, Frediric Ogden Nash was born in Rye, New York, on August 19, 1902, to Edmund Strudwick and Matti…

1
Gerard Manley Hopkins' "That Nature is a Heraclitean Fire and of the Comfort of the Resurrection" 8:29

2M ago8:29

8:29

A joyous Eastertide and happy reading to you all! Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

651
Andrew Marvell's "A Dialogue, between the Resolved Soul and Created Pleasure" 8:12

2M ago8:12

8:12

Due to the inconsistencies and ambiguities within his work and the scarcity of information about his personal life, Andrew Marvell has been a source of fascination for scholars and readers since his work found recognition in the early decades of the twentieth century. Born on March 31, 1621, Marvell grew up in the Yorkshire town of Hull, England, w…

1
Lord Byron's "The Destruction of Sennacherib" 14:00

1M ago14:00

14:00

English peer and poet George Gordon Byron was one of the bad boys of the Romantic movement and, by some accounts, the first ‘celebrity.’ Like countless celebrities who would come after, he was embroiled in a number of romantic scandals and never accused of being overly pious (to put it Britishly). Nevertheless, he was moved by a number of stories f…

1
Ep 41 - Pride and Prejudice: Agency Under Constraints 58:58

1M ago58:58

58:58

Do Latter-day Saints have a particular affinity for Pride and Prejudice? Maybe so, maybe not, but we're on the case to find out! Guest Katherine Cowley, author of The Secret Life of Miss Mary Bennet, joins us in discussing various imaginative adaptations of Pride and Prejudice. From Pakistan to spy dramas to crossovers with Mormon culture, explore …

51
Louis Simpson's "American Poetry" 8:29

1M ago8:29

8:29

Poet, editor, translator, and critic Louis Simpson was born in Jamaica to Scottish and Russian parents. He moved to the United States when he was 17 to study at Columbia University. After his time in the army, and a brief period in France, Simpson worked as an editor in New York City before completing his PhD at Columbia. He taught at colleges such…

1
A. E. Housman's "Loveliest of Trees (Shropshire Lad II)" 12:49

2M ago12:49

12:49

Alfred Edward Housman was born in Fockbury, Worcestershire, England on March 26, 1859 and was the eldest of seven children. A year after his birth, Housman’s family moved to nearby Bromsgrove, where the poet grew up and had his early education. In 1877, he attended St. John’s College, Oxford and received first class honours in classical moderations…

1
Two by John Robert Lee 10:10

2M ago10:10

10:10

John Robert Lee was born, and lives in St Lucia. He is the author of three collections of poetry, Elemental, (2008), Collected Poems 1975-2015, (2017), and Pierrot, (2020). His poems are included in a number of international anthologies and periodicals including The Penguin Book of Caribbean Verse, The Oxford Book of Caribbean Verse, Poetry Wales, …

1
Billy Collins' "Marginalia" 7:12

2M ago7:12

7:12

Today’s poem takes the peripheral and makes it the primary. Happy reading! Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
Ezra Pound's "The River-Merchant's Wife: A Letter" 9:45

2M ago9:45

9:45

Today’s poem from Ezra Pound (a poet with his own colorful history of exile) is after the style of Li Po, featured last week. Ezra Pound was born in Hailey, Idaho, on October 30, 1885. He completed two years of college at the University of Pennsylvania and earned a degree from Hamilton College in 1905. After teaching at Wabash College for two years…

751
Robert Frost's "Out, Out–" 11:22

2M ago11:22

11:22

Today’s poem answers the question you never thought to ask: ‘What do Macbeth and a buzz saw have in common?’ Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
Poem-Prayers by Robert Herrick 8:59

2M ago8:59

8:59

Some poets wind up writing prayers by accident; others do it on purpose. Today’s poems from Robert Herrick–“Grace For a Child” and “His Prayer for Absolution”–are of the latter variety. Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

751
Two by Robert P. Tristram Coffin 8:38

2M ago8:38

8:38

Today’s poems–”The Hill Place” and “Day’s Diamond”–come from Robert P. Tristram Coffin. Coffin (1892-1955) grew up in Brunswick, Maine on a “saltwater farm.” He attended Bowdoin, Princeton, and Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar before, as well as after, serving two years in World War I. He taught at Wells College in Aurora, New York …

801
David Lehman's "The Ides of March" 13:13

2M ago13:13

13:13

Today’s poem marks the ides (or idus) or March, a day classically associated with the settling of debts (and maybe old scores, too). One of the foremost editors, literary critics, and anthologists of contemporary American literature, David Lehman is also one of its most accomplished poets. Born in New York City in 1948, Lehman earned a PhD from Col…

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