1379: Arkansabop by Elizabeth Lindsey Rogers - The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily

Episode Overview

Podcast: The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily
Host: Maggie Smith
Episode: 1379: Arkansabop by Elizabeth Lindsey Rogers
Date: October 22, 2025

In this episode, host Maggie Smith uses the arrival of fall as a lens to explore how music and poetry evoke place, memory, and mood. She reflects on the "soundtracks" of different seasons, before introducing and reading the poem "Arkansabop" by Elizabeth Lindsey Rogers. The poem, musical and deeply rooted in Southern imagery, draws inspiration from both place and the music of Lucinda Williams—a musician whose work is strongly associated with the American South. Smith discusses the connection between poetry, music, family, and the evocative power of sensory experiences, setting up the poem as both song-like and vivid.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Emotional Geography of Music and Season (01:30–03:30)

Maggie Smith opens by describing how certain songs and artists are tied to personal memories and specific times of year.
She reflects on how music shifts with the seasons: "Summer is more bright, sunshiny pop, and fall is when it gets darker and colder so the music slows down and mellows out with the weather."
Fall music, for her, includes albums by Neil Young, Son Volt, Bon Iver, and Iron & Wine—works "full of poetry," fitting the autumn mood.
She invites listeners to explore these albums, emphasizing the poetic quality and their sensory associations: "It's the music of bonfire smoke and the crunch of leaves underfoot and a big orange moon rising over the houses." (02:45)

Summertime Sense Memories (03:30–04:10)

Smith shifts to summer, describing it as "the sound of crickets and cicadas, the feeling of cold dew on your feet...the smell of mud and creek water and sunscreen."
Lucinda Williams is highlighted as the quintessential "summer" artist due to her rich instrumentation and Southern imagery.

The Lucinda Williams Connection (04:10–05:05)

Smith shares a personal tidbit: Lucinda Williams’ father, Miller Williams, was a poet and professor. The University of Arkansas even bestows a poetry prize in his honor, showing how "writing runs in the family."
She draws a direct link between Williams’ music, the American South, and the poem featured in the episode.

Introducing "Arkansabop" (05:05–05:40)

Smith frames the poem as "as imagistic and musical as a song, and it's deeply rooted in place."
She notes the poem borrows a refrain from a Lucinda Williams song, highlighting the blending of musical and poetic traditions.

Poem: "Arkansabop" by Elizabeth Lindsey Rogers (05:40–08:00)

Smith reads the poem, offering listeners an immersive experience in its Southern, atmospheric imagery.
Recurring refrain: "I would kiss the diamond back if I knew it would get me to heaven."

The poem is saturated with sensory detail: burning leaves, refinery smells, rainwater, ozone, and "too much sex."
Vividly rendered wildlife and domestic sights: mice "kicked through the oatmeal," "thonic roaches," "cats in a yowling match," neighbor Marilyn "chain smokes towards kingdom come behind these flowered curtains."
The speaker seeks safety and transcendence, juxtaposing danger and desire, home and the wild: "Nowhere safe now but between the sheets."

Notable quote:

"I ask out loud what in creation has inverted this hell on earth? Nowhere safe now but between the sheets." (06:45, Elizabeth Lindsey Rogers, read by Maggie Smith)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On the feeling of fall music:
"It's the music of bonfire smoke and the crunch of leaves underfoot and a big orange moon rising over the houses."
— Maggie Smith (02:45)
On the seasons and music’s mood:
"Summer is more bright, sunshiny pop, and fall is when it gets darker and colder so the music slows down and mellows out with the weather."
— Maggie Smith (03:10)
On Lucinda Williams’ family legacy:
"Fun fact about Lucinda Williams: her father was the poet and literature professor Miller Williams. There's an annual poetry book prize named for him at the University of Arkansas, where he last taught—so writing runs in the family."
— Maggie Smith (04:45)
On the poem’s refrain:
"I would kiss the diamond back if I knew it would get me to heaven."
— Repeated throughout "Arkansabop" (06:10, 07:00, 07:50)

Timestamps for Key Segments

01:30–02:45 — Maggie Smith reflects on the link between music, seasons, and memory
03:10–03:30 — Description of her own fall music playlist
03:50–04:15 — Sensory and musical associations with summer
04:10–05:05 — Lucinda Williams’ musical and poetic lineage
05:05–05:40 — Introduction to "Arkansabop" and its connection to Lucinda Williams
05:40–08:00 — Full reading of "Arkansabop" by Elizabeth Lindsey Rogers
06:10, 07:00, 07:50 — Refrain: "I would kiss the diamond back if I knew it would get me to heaven."

Summary & Takeaways

This episode intertwines music, season, memory, and poetry, illustrating how art helps us anchor ourselves in the world and navigate our emotions. Maggie Smith’s reflections and Elizabeth Lindsey Rogers’ poem together become an evocative meditation on place, longing, and the sensory textures of life in the American South. In drawing connections between Lucinda Williams' music and the imagery of "Arkansabop", the episode highlights how poetry and song both root us—and transport us—through memory and imagination.

Transcript

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C (1:30)

Foreign I'm Maggie Smith, and this is the Slowdown. I associate certain songs and even musical artists with people and places and times. Hearing a song may take me back to a particular moment, but also some songs fit into the cycle of the year. There is music that feels like spring to me, and summer and fall and winter. Now that fall is upon us, I'm back on my fall tracks. Even my kids are making their own playlists for the season. I don't know exactly what's on them, but when I asked my son, he said indie stuff with chill vibes that made me laugh. But I think I get it. Summer is more bright, sunshiny pop, and fall is when it gets darker and colder so the music slows down and mellows out with the weather. When I think of fall, I think of records like Neil Young's Harvest and Son Volt's Trace. I'm going back to Bonavert's perfect first record for Emma Forever Ago. I'm queuing up Iron and Wines, the Creek Drank the Cradle. If you don't know these records. I hope you'll look them up. There's a lot of poetry in those songs and and they feel very fall to me. It's the music of bonfire smoke and the crunch of leaves underfoot and a big orange moon rising over the houses, scrolling back to the season we just left. Summer makes me think of different artists. Summer to me is the sound of crickets and cicadas, the feeling of cold dew on your feet when you walk barefoot across the lawn, the smell of mud and creek water and sunscreen. One artist that feels very summer to me is Lucinda Williams. It's her instrumentation and her imagery and her focus on place. So many of her songs are songs of the American South Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Arkansas. Fun fact about Lucinda Williams her father was the poet and literature professor Miller Williams. There's an annual poetry book prize named for him at the University of Arkansas, where he last taught, so writing runs in the family. Today's poem is as imagistic and musical as a song, and it's deeply rooted in place. The poem borrows a refrain from a Lucinda Williams song. Arkanze Bop by Elizabeth Lindsay Rogers with Lucinda Williams Faulkner County Reeks of burning leaves Other days smelt from the refinery A whiff of manure when the breeze turns just right all seasons this air is heavy with rainwater, ozone like burnt sugar and too much sex I would kiss the diamond back if I knew it would get me to heaven after mice kicked through the oatmeal and those thonic roaches slipped out from the drain Their undercarriages like baskets knotted with mistakes Four wings a dark and rotting wood I ask out loud what in creation has inverted this hell on earth? Nowhere safe now but between the sheets I would kiss the diamond back if I knew it would get me to heaven. Cats in a yowling match below the bedroom window While next door Marilyn kicks off her stilettos Chain smokes towards kingdom come behind these flowered curtains four feet lift from the dusty floor we hiss until our tongues touch Rub away all earthly trouble I would kiss the diamond back if I knew it would get me to heaven. The Slowdown is a production of American Public Media in partnership with the Poetry Foundation. To get a poem delivered to you daily, go to slowdownshow.org and sign up for our newsletter. Find us on Instagram @downdownshow and blueskylowdownshow.org Foreign hello Slowdown listeners. Poetry Magazine has a special offer just for you. Subscribe to one year of Poetry Magazine today and receive their limited edition tote bag for $39. That's the cost of one Loboo. You'll receive 10 beautifully curated print magazines of contemporary poetry, unlimited digital access via the Poetry Magazine app, and a tote bag to carry it all. Subscribe today@poetrymagazine.org Slowdown25 to receive this special offer.