On this episode, Elizabeth, Steven, and Hannah discuss prompts -- pro or con? -- and The Twenty-First Century by Jacob Eigen, the newly published winner of the 2024 APR/Honickman First Book Prize. Also, we dip into the archive for an appreciation of Alicia Jo Rabins' poem "Florida."By The American Poetry Review

Saquon and the Birds get off to a solid start in Brazil. The Pigeons crew and special guest Shamus Clancy from PhillyVoice.com share their reactions to the Eagles' win and week one in the NFL.

A smorgasbord of special guests including Chris Long, Pat Gallen, John Gonzalez and Devan Kaney join the Pigeons crew to provide expert insights and analysis to get us all geeked up for the start of the Birds' season.

We're FINALLY ready for the football season but it's still not here. Fink conducts a fantasy draft during the podcast. Meech tells the story of a broad daylight break in at his neighbor's house.

An historically promising summer has taken a familiarly ominous turn as the Phillies' deep dive continues. Rocky Fowler and Rocky Roto provide both golf and fantasy football insights.

Olympic Observations Part 2 featuring NJ pro surfer extraordinaire Rob Kelly. Eagles Training Camp report. As the Phillies' historic season starts to become more ordinary, with last season's Eagles collapse still fresh in our minds, we ponder the question - do the scars of the past make us incapable of believing in a joyful future?…

Phils flirt with disaster sending fanbase into panic mode. Olympics amaze and remind us how ordinary we are. Meech recaps Wildwood vacation.

The APR team is in a punchy mood on this episode; Elizabeth tries to rein in the conversation as Steven and Hannah riff on topics including Robert Lowell's revision process and the current era of political sloganeering. Also: selections from our July/August 2024 issue, with readings from Leah Umansky and Emily Skaja.…

Phils complete historic first half and show off their magic potion at the All Star Game. Rocky on baseball. Embiid's fatal flaw. Cat tips from Fink.

Phils dominate All-Star game roster and MLB landscape as Daryl Morey and the Sixers continue to add key pieces to the puzzle. The Northeast Boyz return to assess whether it's time to start planning parades.

Is Morey’s makeover of the Sixers enough to make them legit title contenders? Rocky recaps his trip to Georgia... the country.

Paralyzed by the stifling heat, the Pigeons feel the burn of summer in the City.

In this episode, Elizabeth, Hannah, and Steven are thinking about prose poems -- how do they differ from other short forms, like flash fiction or the micro-essay? Poets discussed include Baudelaire, Lydia Davis, Ross Gay, Joe Brainard, Russell Edson, Harryette Mullen, and more. Please take our survey here.…

Philly’s foremost multimedia aficionado gets back to his roots and gets on the mic. Rock star encounters. Processing the process. Sharing chubby phase Philly father-son memories.

Meech makes his triumphant return from a multi-week sabbatical that caused an uproar amongst Pigeons fans. Phils rebound from a bad road trip and are red hot again.

Summer vibes are already high as things in Philly sports look promising... on paper. But is there any reason for concern about the Phils' recent skid, the Sixers free-agency plans or the Eagles being a real contender this season?

It’s Championship Sunday & we’re talking golf with guest Chill Moody live from the PXG store for the Nice Things Invitational launch event. Rocky Fowler takes on Chill Mickelson in closest to the pin.

Getting geeked up about the NFL schedule release. Phils so good it’s scary... seriously.

Phils’ early season tear lessens despondence of Sixer-less NBA playoffs and NFL offseason. Fink turns 24. The golden era of hot dogs is over.

Epic Maxey performance staves off another early exit for Sixers... for one night at least. Controversy abounds as a member of the crew faces allegations that he sold his Sixers tickets to Knicks fans.

The Kunitz Prize deadline (May 15!) is just around the corner and we're thinking about the illustrious list of poets who have won it in the past 15 years. Today we discuss the prize-winning poems by Susan Nguyen and Jared Harèl.By The American Poetry Review

The Pigeons process the outcome of two pivotal events on a massive night in Philly sports - Sixers-Knicks Game 3 and Round One of the NFL Draft.

Philly turns the page after the eclipse and prepares for a massive night in sports. A raucous Flyers Watch Party fails to save the season. The African Warrior dominates in goal.

Join us as we revel in the intricate thought processes of some of our March/April 2024 contributors, Catherine Barnett, Omotara James, and Fritz Ward.By The American Poetry Review

The Fightins show some fight as Harper breaks out of his slump with a hat trick. Meech gives us a controversial take on the Sixers amidst Embiid's return. Fink valiantly attempts to save dollar dogs.

Meech hosts the pod in Jesse’s absence as gambling threatens to destroy sports. Phillies beat writer extraordinaire Todd Zolecki joins the crew for a season preview.

If you aren’t investing 100s of dollars in numerous brackets are you even alive? With March Madness upon us the Pigeons crew discusses their favorite tourney traditions and the best approach to try to win some coin. Former MLB All-Star Greg Vaughn joins the show to talk about the start of the baseball season and what to expect from the Phillies.…

The return of Howie SZN has Eagles fans all hot and bothered again. But are we more excited than we should be?

The struggle to cope with Jason Kelce's retirement and the loss of Dollar Dog Night is real.

Trying to stay busy waiting for something that makes us feel alive again.

The Pigeons crew prematurely embraces the Fool's Spring hoping for a much needed change of season and overall vibes. As the Phils start Spring Training, is it a given that they will be contenders again this season? Can we keep Kelce? He's ours and we don't want to share him. Meech gives us his top 5 rappers of all time.…

In this episode, we're talking about the January/February 2024 issue and appreciating some formal choices in poetry. We touch upon the pantoum, the duplex, and the golden shovel, and have a chat with Dorothy Chan about her deep engagement with the triple sonnet. Plus, January Gill O’Neil reads "Manifesto," from the Jan/Feb 2024 issue.…

The Pigeons search for any semblance of better days ahead as Philly sports fans. Does the Super Bowl suck? Viva Brazil.

Embiid's back to back MVP campaign is slipping away, but is he too focused on winning it all to care? Jesse's absence creates a power struggle amongst the crew members as they attempt to keep the show on the rails.

It was the end of the year, we were a little punchy and so were the poems. We share some of our favorite super-compressed short poems from Etheridge Knight, Kay Ryan, and Jean Valentine, as well as some fiction recommendations for your wintertime reading pleasure. Also, some readings from our November/December 2023 issue by Todd Dillard and Maya C.…

JoJo's 70 point masterpiece diverts attention from Birds' implosion. Jesse addresses his dad's infamous Doug McDermott over Embiid tweet. Meech declares he officially has trust issues with our sports teams.

Epic Birds collapse leaves fanbase stunned, searching for plausible explanations. A Pigeons group therapy session is held to address the mental health impacts. Special guests Jimmy Gorecki and Bryan Armen Graham share their disappointment.

Unprecedented bootleg t-shirt event diverts attention from Eagles playoff angst. Jesse addresses runner guy that called him out for being an irresponsible dog owner in neighborhood Facebook group.

We've been thinking about some great first lines of poems. What makes them great and how do we get there? In this discussion, we touch upon poems by Brigit Pegeen Kelly, Eduardo C. Corral, Brenda Shaughnessy, and Elizabeth Bishop. We also have readings from the magazine by Kayleb Rae Candrilli, Katie Condon, and Dana Isokawa.…

The Pigeons crew gathers at the Coop under the pretense of a Holiday Party in an attempt to mask their anxiety over a pivotal game for the Eagles in Seattle.

Demoralized by the Evil Empire. Making the worst of a decent situation.

We're not panicking, you're panicking. Sphincters tighten as the Birds' habit of winning ugly turns just plain ugly.

This episode is a love letter to Mary Ruefle, as we reflect on a great reading of hers (available on YouTube), from her book Madness, Rack, and Honey.By The American Poetry Review

Birds' imperfect season fuels haters. Fink tailgate performance breakdown. A.J. Daulerio joins.

Live from a very soggy M Lot the Pigeons gather with a raucous crowd to pregame for the epic Eagles-Bills showdown.

Tune in for the second half of our special two-part podcast featuring Major Jackson, who shared selections from his new book Razzle Dazzle: New & Selected Poems (W.W. Norton & Co, 2023) at a recent event at APR's home base, the Philadelphia Ethical Society. Major Jackson is the author of six books of poetry, including_ The Absurd Man_ (2020),_ Roll…

In an effort to find out what's the worst that can happen if we let just about anyone on the show, the Pigeons host their first ever Open Mic Night.

Join us for the first half of a special two-part podcast featuring Kazim Ali, who recently visited us in Philadelphia to read from his new book Sukun: New and Selected Poems (Wesleyan University Press, 2023). KAZIM ALI was born in the United Kingdom and has lived transnationally in the United States, Canada, India, France, and the Middle East. His …

Flying high again, the Pigeons crew basks in the glory of the Birds win over the Cowboys and looks forward to a relaxing bye week. Emotional re-engagement with the Sixers appears inevitable.

Still stinging from the Phillies' collapse, the Pigeons crew tries to convince themselves to get back into the Sixers now that Harden is gone. Dallas sucks too.