Podcast
The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily
Hosted by American Public Media · EN
Host Maggie Smith is your daily poetry companion. Poetry is one of the greatest tools we have to wield our own attention — to consider our own lives and the lives of others, to help us live creatively and compassionately, to use that attention to lean into wonder, and joy, and truth, and to find hope — to keep hoping. The Slowdown community knows that reflecting on a poem, every weekday, can connect us to our inner world and the world around us. Listen as you make your morning coffee, as you go on a walk in your neighborhood, as you pull away from the to-do list, as you resist the dismal, endless scroll to share five minutes of perspective through the lens of poetry, from poets old and new, well-loved and emerging onto the scene. Brought to you by American Public Media, in partnership with the Poetry Foundation.
434episodes
Episodes
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1555: Kindness by Naomi Shihab Nye
Yesterday00:06:18Summary readyToday’s poem is Kindness by Naomi Shihab Nye. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Wherever you live, you don’t have to be nice. But please be kind. We need more genuine, altruistic kindness in this world. So, how can you be more kind? By helping others without being performative about it, and without needing recognition. By letting people know you’re thinking of them, by reaching out when you know someone is struggling, and by practicing simple acts of kindness: holding a door open, letting someone go ahead of you in line, offering a sincere compliment. And one more thing: You can take in the wisdom of today’s poem and pass it along.” This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Power your daily dose of poetry at Slowdownshow.org/donate
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1554: Nobody's Job by Ronna Bloom
2d ago00:05:28Summary readyToday’s poem is Nobody's Job by Ronna Bloom.The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “We call an ending “resonant” because it does what a bell does: After it’s rung, the vibration lingers. It reverberates. It sticks with you long after you’ve read the piece, humming in your head. Today’s poem is beautiful start to finish, but the ending astonished me. It moved me to tears, which caught me by surprise! If you don’t know this poem, I’m envious that you get to experience it for the first time.”This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Power your daily dose of poetry at Slowdownshow.org/donate
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1553: When you have to remind me to do the dishes by Isaac Pickell
3d ago00:05:38Summary readyToday’s poem is When you have to remind me to do the dishes by Isaac Pickell.The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “When I think back to my own upbringing and what I learned from my mother and father, almost none of it has to do with growing up as a girl. I got my work ethic, sense of humor, and sense of fairness from both of them. I remind myself of all of that whenever I wonder if my son is getting what he needs from me. And I remind myself that he has a village around him.” This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Power your daily dose of poetry at Slowdownshow.org/donate
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1552: Mother Church No. 3 by Robin Coste Lewis
4d ago00:06:30Summary readyToday’s poem is Mother Church No. 3 by Robin Coste Lewis.The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “It’s incredible to me that less than two hours from my home in the Midwestern suburbs is an enormous ancient earthwork. But that’s the thing about history — it layers on top of itself in unexpected ways. No matter where you live in the United States, you live on land that has long been home to Indigenous people.”This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support us today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
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1551: Laurelhurst by David Biespiel
1w ago00:07:14Summary readyToday’s poem is Laurelhurst by David Biespiel.The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem makes its many, intentional observations at the pace of a good, long walk.” This show is made possible by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
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1550: The Interpretation of Dreams by Kate Farrell
1w ago00:06:29Summary readyToday’s poem is The Interpretation of Dreams by Kate Farrell. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “The grand adventures or scary disasters that happen in our sleep are most interesting to the dreamers themselves, because a dream is a window into the subconscious. It’s a little peek into what your mind is actually chewing on, maybe without you even realizing it. You thought you were over that thing a friend said to you, or that awkward situation at work, but when it popped up in your dream, you realized no, it’s still on your mind.” This show is made possible by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
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1549: Thirst Trap by Caleb Curtiss
1w ago00:06:41Summary readyToday’s poem is Thirst Trap by Caleb Curtiss. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “People post seductive selfies for all kinds of reasons. They might want validation in the forms of likes and comments. They might be single and hoping to meet someone online. They might be trying to build a following, or promote a product. Someone’s face or body is going to grab a lot more eyes on social media than text on a plain background. Which means we’re often attaching our bodies to our labor or art. Regardless of how you feel about this, it is, in a way, deeply intimate.” This show is made possible by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
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1548: You're Supposed to Enjoy Dying by Colin Pope
1w ago00:06:40Summary readyToday’s poem is You're Supposed to Enjoy Dying by Colin Pope. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “There are so many things to fear — spiders, snakes, heights, deep water, the dark. I have a friend who is so fearful of rats, you can’t even say the word in her presence. I’d say that most of these fears are rational. Snakes and spiders can bite, and some are venomous. You could drown in deep water or fall from a great height. The one thing that humans seem almost universally afraid of is also the only part of life that is certain: death.” This show is made possible by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
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1547: Northern Flicker Reconsidered by Susan Rich
2w ago00:05:50Summary readyToday’s poem is Northern Flicker Reconsidered by Susan Rich. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Once, during a Q&A after a reading, a woman raised her hand to ask, ‘What’s with all the birds in your poems?’ I had to laugh. She was right: the hawks, grackles, and starlings of my neighborhood have called and swooped into many of my poems. I told her that birds are wildlife that we all have access to, no matter where we live. Birds are everywhere … in cities, in suburbs, in the country. They make cameo appearances in many of my poems, and sometimes they’re even the stars.” This show is made possible by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
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1546: Pocket Dial by James Davis May
2w ago00:05:34Summary readyToday’s poem is Pocket Dial by James Davis May. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes... "It’s a strangely intimate thing, the pocket dial. When we’re on the receiving end, we find ourselves listening from a tucked away place close to someone’s body. It’s a pitfall of carrying our devices with us. Previous generations, generations who grew up without cell phones, didn’t have to contend with things like pocket dials."This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation and get access to the sponsor-free version of The Slowdown today. slowdownshow.org/donate
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