Best Goldberry Studios Podcasts (2024)

1
Malcolm Guite's "St. Nicholas" 3:17

1h ago3:17

3:17

Today’s poem pays tribute to the great lover of children and the poor, whose day serves as a festive waystation on the journey to Christmas. Happy reading! Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
8.5: S.D. Smith and J.C. Smith! 1:41:49

3d ago1:41:49

1:41:49

In this episode we are please to welcome back S.D Smith to the show, as well as his son J.C! S.D. Smith is the author of the Green Ember book series, Mooses with Bazookas, The Found Boys, and together with his son, the Jack Zulu Series. We chatted with the Smiths about what it’s like to write together, what they’re working on next, their favorite s…

1
William Carlos Williams' "The Hunters in the Snow" 11:26

37m ago11:26

11:26

Today’s poem from Williams’ late collection, Pictures from Brueghel, is an ekphrasis on the painting by the same name, and a lesson in disciplined observation. Happy reading. Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
Anne Bradstreet's "Verses upon the Burning of our House" 7:32

2h ago7:32

7:32

“We only live, only suspire/ Consumed by either fire or fire.”…are not lines from today’s poem, but one gets the feeling Bradstreet understood their meaning as well as anyone could. Happy reading. Anne Bradstreet was born Anne Dudley in 1612 in Northamptonshire, England. She married Simon Bradstreet, a graduate of Cambridge University, at the age o…

1
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "Snow-Flakes" 10:57

2h ago10:57

10:57

New-fallen snow can be a kind of blank canvas for the poet. In yesterday’s poem, Stevenson wrote over it in whimsical metaphor and simile; in today’s, Longfellow finds the reflection of his own troubled heart. Happy reading. Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe…

1
The Great Passion: Chapters 1-6 49:57

1h ago49:57

49:57

We’re on to a new book: James Runcie’s The Great Passion, a contemporary book that blends a variety of genres in a really delightful fashion. On this episode we discuss how he pulls it off. Plus: the way music is an ongoing motif in the construction of the story, why it’s such a re-readable book, how Bach is portrayed, and much more. Happy reading!…

1
The Great Passion: Chapters 1-6

1h ago

—

We’re on to a new book: James Runcie’s The Great Passion, a contemporary book that blends a variety of genres in a really delightful fashion. On this episode we discuss how he pulls it off. Plus: the way music is an ongoing motif in the construction of the story, why it’s such a re-readable book, how Bach is portrayed, and much more. Happy reading!…

1
Robert Louis Stevenson's "Winter-Time" 5:24

1h ago5:24

5:24

Today’s poem is a master-class in elementary poetic instruction. Happy reading. Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
Black Friday Ask-Us-Anything Q&A 1:00:11

4h ago1:00:11

1:00:11

You had questions so we answered some. It’s an ask-us-anything episode for the long holiday weekend. Happy Thanksgiving from all of us here at Close Reads! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe…

1
Black Friday Ask-Us-Anything Q&A

2h ago

—

You had questions so we answered some. It’s an ask-us-anything episode for the long holiday weekend. Happy Thanksgiving from all of us here at Close Reads!

1
Craig Arnold's "Meditation on a Grapefruit" 9:13

1h ago9:13

9:13

Craig Arnold, born November 16, 1967 was an American poet and professor. His first book of poems, Shells (1999), was selected by W.S. Merwin for the Yale Series of Younger Poets. His many honors include the 2005 Joseph Brodsky Rome Prize Fellowship in literature, the Amy Lowell Poetry Travelling Scholarship, a Hodder Fellowship, and fellowships fro…

1
Anna Kamieńska's "Small Things" 10:36

1d ago10:36

10:36

Anna Kamienska was a poet, translator, critic, essayist, and editor. She published numerous collections of her own work and translated poetry from several Slavic languages, as well as sacred texts from Hebrew and Greek. Astonishments, a selection of her poetry in translation is available from Paraclete Press. Get full access to The Daily Poem Podca…

1
Jacqueline Woodson's "lessons" 3:23

6m ago3:23

3:23

Today’s poem punctuates the precious value of time spent with family around food. Happy reading. Jacqueline Woodson received a 2023 Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, a 2020 MacArthur Fellowship, the 2020 Hans Christian Andersen Award, the 2018 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, and the 2018 Children’s Literature Legacy Award. She was the 2018–2019 Nat…

1
Station Eleven: Q&A Episode 1:03:36

31m ago1:03:36

1:03:36

You have questions, we have answers! So join in as Heidi and Sean dig deep into your agreements and disagreements, your concerns and displeasures, your interigations and your impressions. We hope you enjoy, even if you disagree with the takes. Happy listening! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get acc…

1
Station Eleven: Q&A Episode

36m ago

—

You have questions, we have answers! So join in as Heidi and Sean dig deep into your agreements and disagreements, your concerns and displeasures, your interigations and your impressions. We hope you enjoy, even if you disagree with the takes. Happy listening!

1
Blaise Cendrars' "Menus" 9:05

2h ago9:05

9:05

Sometimes a list is much more than a list. Happy reading. Blaise Cendrars (1887–1961) was the pseudonym of Frédéric Sauser, the Swiss son of a French Anabaptist father and a Scottish mother. As a young man he traveled widely, from St. Petersburg to New York and beyond, and these wanderings proved the inspiration of much of his later poetry and pros…

1
Bill Holm's "Bread Soup: An Old Icelandic Recipe" 7:49

34m ago7:49

7:49

Today’s poem opens a week of poetry about food. Happy eating reading. Bill Holm was born in 1943 on a farm outside Minneota, Minnesota. He received a BA from Gustavus Adolphus College in 1965 and an MA from the University of Kansas in 1967. Holm was the author of several poetry collections, including Playing the Black Piano and The Dead Get By with…

1
James Matthew Wilson's "Agricola: A Song for Planting 7:45

1h ago7:45

7:45

Today’s poem, from Wilson’s 2018 The Hanging God, takes a candid look at all the ways we overestimate, misunderstand, misrepresent, and undervalue our own human agency–all while leaning heavily on plenty of unspoken implications about the agency of God. Happy reading. James Matthew Wilson is the Cullen Foundation Chair in English Literature and the…

1
8:4 Laura Martin Floats onto the Show 1:33:42

4h ago1:33:42

1:33:42

We are so excited to welcome Laura Martin onto the show! Laura is the author of many beloved books, including The Edge of Extinction series, Glitch, Float, and her newest novel, Wander Lost. It was such a delight to get to spend some time with her asking your questions about her life and work.This episode also contains a Thanksgiving-themed snack t…

1
Wendell Berry's "The Thought of Something Else" 5:21

32m ago5:21

5:21

Today’s poem, from Berry’s 1969 collection, Openings, doubles as a tribute to one of the loveliest and homiest bookstores in the world. Happy reading. Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
John Masefield's "Cargoes" 13:01

12d ago13:01

13:01

Today’s poem evokes entire worlds of vivid images and complex emotions with little more than a carefully-crafted list. Happy reading. Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
Emily Dickinson's "I fear a Man of frugal Speech" 5:29

43m ago5:29

5:29

Today’s poem was written by Dickinson when she was thirty-three and old enough to know. Happy reading. Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
William Blake's "The Tyger" 13:18

24m ago13:18

13:18

Today’s poem, one of English literature’s most extracted and anthologized, is still best appreciated when read in light of the momentous collection it belongs to. Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
Station Eleven: Chapters 6-9 (to the end)

5h ago

—

Welcome to the conclusion of our conversation of Emily St. John Mandel’s award-winning novel (other than the Q&A episode, which will drop next week). Topics of conversation in this one include: The way the book contemplates whether civilization should be saved—and the way it thinks about civilization writ-large the notion of re-birth and purificati…

1
Station Eleven: Chapters 6-9 (to the end) 55:09

19d ago55:09

55:09

Welcome to the conclusion of our conversation of Emily St. John Mandel’s award-winning novel (other than the Q&A episode, which will drop next week). Topics of conversation in this one include: * The way the book contemplates whether civilization should be saved—and the way it thinks about civilization writ-large * the notion of re-birth and purifi…

1
Jessica Greenbaum's "A Poem for S." 10:53

1h ago10:53

10:53

Today’s poem is also a poem for “ABC”–which is to say, it’s a brilliantly executed example of the alphabetic form known as the abecedarian. Happy reading. Jessica Greenbaum is the author of Inventing Difficulty (Silverfish Review Press, 1998), winner of Gerald Cable Prize; The Two Yvonnes (Princeton University Press, 2012), named by Library Journal…

1
8.3: Glenn McCarty Tumbles onto the Show 1:39:54

3h ago1:39:54

1:39:54

We are so pleased to welcome back Glenn McCarty to Withywindle! We first talked with Glenn back in 2021 on one of our first episodes, and now he’s back to talk all things Tumbleweed—including the brand-new book, THE GOLDEN ROAD OF TUMBLEWEED THOMPSON. Of course, this episode is also chock-full of snacks, stories, and nonsense. Enjoy! A special than…

1
A Programming Update for Mid November

6h ago

—

Autumn Landscape with Four Trees (1885) by Vincent van Gogh; Vincent van Gogh, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Hello friends, It’s a rainy, dreary, wonderful day here in Concord—a bookstore day. Of course, this means (oxymoronically) that the shop is actually pretty quiet as people avoid going outside. Southerners aren’t naturally inclined to …

1
Rhina P. Espaillat's "Changeling" 7:28

5h ago7:28

7:28

Rhina P. Espaillat was born in the Dominican Republic under the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo. After Espaillat’s great-uncle opposed the regime, her family was exiled to the United States and settled in New York City. She began writing poetry as a young girl—in Spanish and then English—and has published in both languages. Espaillat’s numerous poe…

1
Sylvia Plath's "Gold Mouths Cry" 10:43

15h ago10:43

10:43

In today’s poem, Plath (who died at 30) contrasts the transience of youth and nature with the seeming permanence of art and artifice. (I even make time for a brief shout-out to a not-so-transitory Golden Mouth.) Happy reading. Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe…

1
from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "Hiawatha's Wooing" 6:26

1d ago6:26

6:26

Today’s poem is a selection from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s American epic, The Song of Hiawatha. The passage is structured beautifully so that two divergent streams of imaginative thought suddenly flow together into a single, tangible reality. Happy reading. Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe…

1
Charles Wolfe's "The Burial of Sir John Moore after Corunna" 5:54

2d ago5:54

5:54

Today's poem is an enduring memorial for a hastily interred hero. Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
Station Eleven: Parts 5-6 50:50

9d ago50:50

50:50

Welcome back to our discussion of Emily St. John Mandel’s award-winning, best-selling contemporary novel, Station Eleven. In this episode we discuss the characters’ longing for connection—both to their old world and to other people (and the question of hope that the book raises therein). Happy listening! This is a public episode. If you’d like to d…

1
Station Eleven: Parts 5-6

3d ago

—

Welcome back to our discussion of Emily St. John Mandel’s award-winning, best-selling contemporary novel, Station Eleven. In this episode we discuss the characters’ longing for connection—both to their old world and to other people (and the question of hope that the book raises therein). Happy listening!…

1
Kenneth Grahame's "A Song of Mr. Toad" 4:22

6d ago4:22

4:22

Kenneth Grahame (8 March 1859 – 6 July 1932) is best remembered for the classic of children's literature The Wind in the Willows (1908). Scottish by birth, he spent most of his childhood with his grandmother in England, following the death of his mother and his father's inability to look after the children. After attending St Edward's School in Oxf…

1
8.2: Daniel Nayeri - Onward and Upward 2:04:00

17d ago2:04:00

2:04:00

We are thrilled to have Daniel Nayeri back on the podcast as our guest. As you know, Daniel is a talented author and publisher, known for his captivating storytelling and innovative approach to publishing. We talk about his newest book, DRAWN ONWARD, as well as his forthcoming HOW TO TELL A STORY. Daniel brings his warm demeanor, thoughtful reflect…

1
Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "A Common Inference" 6:44

7d ago6:44

6:44

Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935) wrote fiction and nonfiction works including several collections of poetry and her most famous short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper” (1892). Her poems address the issues of women’s suffrage and the injustices of women’s lives. She was also the author of Women and Economics (1898), Concerning Children (1900), The H…

1
Robert Morgan's "Bellrope" 9:12

19d ago9:12

9:12

“The line through the hole in the dark…trembling/with its high connections.” Robert Morgan (born 1944) is an American poet, short story writer, non-fiction author, biographer, and novelist. He studied at North Carolina State University as an engineering and mathematics major, transferred to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as an Engl…

1
Gwendolyn Brooks' "First fight. Then fiddle." 8:54

13d ago8:54

8:54

Today’s poem is about politics (but this, too, shall pass). Happy reading. Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
Thomas Hardy's "The Shadow on the Stone" 12:01

9d ago12:01

12:01

Today’s poem is a reluctant reckoning with the present absence created by grief. Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
Station Eleven: Parts 3-4

10d ago

—

Welcome back to our discussion of Emily St. John Mandel’s award-winning, best-selling contemporary novel, Station Eleven. Topics of conversation on this first episode include: the winding way in which the book reveals itself the moral universe (and telos) that the book seems to be setting forth Mandel’s unique ability to craft characters which seem…

1
Station Eleven: Parts 3-4 59:48

1M ago59:48

59:48

Welcome back to our discussion of Emily St. John Mandel’s award-winning, best-selling contemporary novel, Station Eleven. Topics of conversation on this first episode include: * the winding way in which the book reveals itself * the moral universe (and telos) that the book seems to be setting forth * Mandel’s unique ability to craft characters whic…

1
Luci Shaw's "Judas, Peter" 6:54

12d ago6:54

6:54

Luci Shaw was born in 1928 in London, England, and has lived in Canada, Australia and the U.S.A. A graduate of Wheaton College, she became co-founder and later president of Harold Shaw Publishers, and since 1988 has been a Writer in Residence at Regent College, Vancouver, Canada. Shaw has lectured in North America and abroad on topics such as art a…

1
8.1: John Hendrix - The Man, The Myth(maker), The Legend 1:46:38

1M ago1:46:38

1:46:38

Welcome to Season 8 of Withywindle! Let’s goooooo! We’re kicking things off this season with a very special guest, John Hendrix. John is the author and illustrator of many superb books, including his new book, The Mythmakers, which is a graphic novel biography of two literary lions (wizards?): C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. It follows the remarkabl…

1
Jonathan Swift's "A Beautiful Young Nymph Going to Bed" 4:15

14d ago4:15

4:15

In today’s poem, while everyone else is dressing up to become something terrible, the acerbic Jonathan Swift gives us a domestic horror story in reverse. Happy reading. Anglo-Irish poet, satirist, essayist, and political pamphleteer Jonathan Swift was born in Dublin, Ireland. He spent much of his early adult life in England before returning to Dubl…

1
Kenn Nesbitt's "Halloween Party" 3:07

1M ago3:07

3:07

Today’s poem is the stuff real nightmares are made of. Happy reading. Nesbitt’s poetry for children is “irrepressible, unpredictable, and raucously popular,” in the words of former Children’s Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis. Nesbitt’s poems frequently deal with humorous, relatable situations that verge on the madcap. He is the author of numerous boo…

1
William Shakespeare's "Advice to Laertes" (from Hamlet I.3) 4:18

16d ago4:18

4:18

Today’s poem is some of the greatest ironic advice ever offered on the stage–do as Polonius says, not as he does, and you’ll be just fine. Happy reading. Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
Bob Hicok's "O My Pa-Pa" 17:11

1M ago17:11

17:11

Bob Hicok was born in 1960 in Michigan and worked for many years in the automotive die industry. A published poet long before he earned his MFA, Hicok is the author of several collections of poems, including The Legend of Light, winner of the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry in 1995 and named a 1997 ALA Booklist Notable Book of the Year; Plus Shipping …

1
Station Eleven: Parts 1 & 2

17d ago

—

Welcome to a new series here on Close Reads, in which we’re digging into Emily St. John Mandel’s award-winning, best-selling contemporary novel, Station Eleven, a book which became eerily prescient during peak Covid days. Topics of conversation on this first episode include: the experience of reading a book which fictionalized events which almost s…

1
Station Eleven: Parts 1 & 2 54:01

1M ago54:01

54:01

Welcome to a new series here on Close Reads, in which we’re digging into Emily St. John Mandel’s award-winning, best-selling contemporary novel, Station Eleven, a book which became eerily prescient during peak Covid days. Topics of conversation on this first episode include: * the experience of reading a book which fictionalized events which almost…

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