#PoetryMonth Why Poetry (with Matthew Zapruder)
In honour of Ntional #PoetryMonth Matthew Zapruder is a poet, editor at large for Wave Books, guitarist in the rock band The Figments, and associate professor in the Saint Mary’s College of California MFA Program in Creative Writing. His recent book, Why Poetry is a call to reignite our love affair with poetry. He argues that the way we have been educated has stopped us from being able to enjoy poetry. Our misconceptions prevents us from engaging with poems leading us to feel confused and incapable of connecting to the work.
Zapruder has written several collections of poetry and his poems are represented in several anthologies. Adaptations of Zapruder's poetry have been performed at Carnegie Hall, he collaborated with painter Chris Uphues on For You in Full Bloom (2009), and co-translated, with historian Radu Ioanid, Eugen Jebeleanu’s collection Secret Weapon: Selected Late Poems (2008). He has received a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Lannan Foundation Residency Fellowship, the William Carlos Williams Award from the Poetry Society of America, and the May Sarton Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Matthew Zapruder discusses poetry and his book with Jacke Wilson on The History of Literature.
April Snow - Matthew Zapruder
Today in El Paso all the planes are asleep on the runway. The world is in a delay. All the political consultants drinking whiskey keep their heads down, lifting them only to look at the beautiful scarred waitress who wears typewriter keys as a necklace. They jingle when she brings them drinks. Outside the giant plate glass windows the planes are completely covered in snow, it piles up on the wings. I feel like a mountain of cell phone chargers. Each of the various faiths of our various fathers keeps us only partly protected. I don’t want to talk on the phone to an angel. At night before I go to sleep I am already dreaming. Of coffee, of ancient generals, of the faces of statues each of which has the eternal expression of one of my feelings. I examine my feelings without feeling anything. I ride my blue bike on the edge of the desert. I am president of this glass of water.
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#PodcastReview: Storytelling For Adults
I am an avid listener of podcasts, be they news, business, politics, health, economics, culture, literature, education, drama, and more. Sometimes it feels as if I don't have the time to read. Therefore, I love having the opportunity to hear stories while I am doing something enjoyable, such as cleaning, organising, or cooking. Here are two that I am enjoying right now. When I don't have time to read for pleasure, I can listen!
LeVar Burton Reads
I grew up watching LeVar Burton host Reading Rainbow and perform as Geordi La Forge on Star Trek: The Next Generation. His is a fantastic example of a beautifully trained and unique voice, clear, expressive, authentic, and immediately recognisable. As an Actor, Director, Educator & Cofounder of the award-winning digital library for children Skybrary App, it comes as no surprise that LeVar is the face (and voice) of great literature. The first short story I listened to was "What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky" by Lesley Nneka Arimah (the fifth episode of the podcast). I was hooked.
http://www.levarburtonpodcast.com/
Tales
These are not your Disney-style fairy tales. If you like fairy stories but want to hear them in their original, great gory detail, this may be the podcast for you.
Vanessa Richardson is the co-host and researcher of several other podcast shows on the Parcast network, experienced in weaving together storytelling, voice acting, and psychology to educate and entertain listeners.
https://www.parcast.com/tales/
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