[encore] 571: Golden Age by Chris Santiago

Summary

Episode Summary: [Encore] 571: "Golden Age" by Chris Santiago

Podcast: The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily
Host: Major Jackson
Original Release Date: May 20, 2025
Featuring: Ada Limón’s Reading of "Golden Age" by Chris Santiago

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Introduction

In this encore episode of The Slowdown, host Major Jackson delves into the archives to present a cherished poem from former host Ada Limón’s tenure. Major Jackson sets the stage by highlighting Ada’s thoughtful approach and profound appreciation for poetry, ensuring listeners are prepared to engage deeply with the selection.

Major Jackson (01:02):
"We're reaching into the archive to bring you some of our favorites. Here's one from Ada Limone's tenure as host. Her thoughtfulness and deep love of poetry made her time on the show very special. I hope you enjoy this selection from the Archives."

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Poem Reading: "Golden Age" by Chris Santiago

Ada Limón delivers a poignant and reflective rendition of Chris Santiago’s "Golden Age," exploring the intersection of personal memory, media influence, and familial bonds. Her reading captures the emotional depth and intricate layers of the poem, inviting listeners to reflect on their own experiences with media and memory.

Key Themes:

1. Media’s Impact on Memory and Family Dynamics:
   The poem navigates how television and news shape personal and collective memories, acting almost as a silent character within the family structure.

2. Generational Perspectives on Tragedy and Comfort:
   Ada explores the differing ways generations cope with tragedies, such as the Challenger explosion, and how these events are internalized within family relationships.

3. The Dual Nature of Media as Comfort and Intrusion:
   Television serves both as a source of comfort and a reminder of the world's constant turmoil, reflecting the complex relationship individuals have with media consumption.

Notable Quotes:

• On Familial Interactions with Media:
  "My father turns the volume up to 77, 78 each morning. I have to crank the volume back down. His hearing loss could be described as severe to profound." (02:15)

• On Childhood Perception of Media Events:
  "My second week of teaching kindergarten, a girl came in and said she saw a plane on TV fly into a tower. By the end of the day, a colleague had rushed in and announced that we started to bomb Afghanistan." (03:45)

• On the Soothing Nature of Television Noise:
  "The noise of the television soothes everyone on the other side of the house. It tells us someone is watching, but not watching us, not the room where we can finally make love undetected." (04:30)

• Reflections on Historical Events and Personal Memories:
  "The crew of the Challenger were likely conscious the whole way down. I want to lay like this a little longer before getting up, before erasing all traces of intimacy." (05:50)

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Themes & Insights

1. Media as a Silent Witness:
The television in "Golden Age" is portrayed as a constant presence, bearing witness to both personal and global events. It serves as a backdrop to the family's life, influencing their interactions and perceptions without overt intervention.

2. Coping Mechanisms Through Sound and Silence:
Ada highlights how different family members use the television's noise differently—some to mask grief, others to distract from painful realities. This dichotomy underscores the varied ways individuals seek comfort and process trauma.

3. The Intersection of Personal and Historical Narratives:
The poem seamlessly blends personal anecdotes with significant historical events, illustrating how large-scale tragedies become part of the personal narrative fabric, shaping identities and relationships.

4. The Erosion of Intimacy in the Face of External Noise:
As the television soothes yet simultaneously distances, there’s a palpable tension between seeking comfort and maintaining intimate connections. The poem suggests that while media provides a necessary escape, it can also create barriers within personal relationships.

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Conclusion

In this evocative encore episode, Major Jackson and Ada Limón guide listeners through Chris Santiago’s "Golden Age," offering a profound meditation on memory, media, and familial bonds. The poem serves as a mirror reflecting our own interactions with the world around us, inviting deep reflection and connection. Through thoughtful narration and insightful presentation, The Slowdown continues its mission to illuminate the mysteries of our shared human journey through the timeless medium of poetry.

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Additional Information

For those interested in exploring more episodes from The Slowdown, including readings by previous hosts Tracy K. Smith and Ada Limón, as well as guest hosts like Jenny Xie and Mary Oliver, visit slowdownshow.org. Don’t forget to subscribe to the newsletter and follow on Instagram @downdownshow for daily poetry inspiration.

Transcript

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[Major Jackson]

Hey, it's me, Major Jackson. We're reaching into the archive to bring you some of our favorites. Here's one from Ada Limone's tenure as host. Her thoughtfulness and deep love of poetry made her time on the show very special. I hope you enjoy this selection from the Archives.

[Ada Limon]

I'm Ada Limon, and this is the Slowdown. When I was a kid, I loved falling asleep to the sound of the television in the living room. I liked it most because it meant something. Someone was up watching the world, so I didn't have to. The trouble of the world was unfolding on the news, and I could sleep through it. There was something both comforting and eerie about it. A world that never shuts off. As I've aged, I find myself reaching for the remote to constantly push, mute, or turn the TV off when the news gets too loud and terrible. I wonder now how it changes us, the images, the sounds, all that obsessive watching. In today's tender poem, we see how the TV becomes almost another character in a multi generational family. This poem explores how the events of the news and the way we let the world into our homes can define not just who we are, but how we love. Golden Age by Chris Santiago it used to embarrass me when my father talked back to the TV since my mother died. He doesn't talk anymore, but falls asleep in wombed by voices, anchors, procedurals, the invisible labor of Foley artists. My teacher gasped when the Challenger exploded on live tv. We had to wait for the set to warm up from a white hot pinprick of light. It was so heavy, the librarian warned it could crush us. We watched as a column of smoke split in two gasp comes from Old Norse geispa and shares a base with brag, bluster and babble. My second week of teaching kindergarten, a girl came in and said she saw a plane on TV fly into a tower. By the end of the day, a colleague had rushed in and announced that we started to bomb Afghanistan. We are still bombing Afghanistan. My father turns the volume up to 77, 78 each morning. I have to crank the volume back down. His hearing loss could be described as severe to profound. Still, he must feel bathed in those shifting backdrops, those faces, profound from the Latin for before the bottom, in order to remember what to capitalize in McAuliffe. I think of how it contains the chemical symbol for gold. The noise of the television soothes everyone on the other side of the house. It tells us someone is watching, but not watching us, not the room where we can finally make love undetected. I was taught to be silent when praying. She was taught to pray out loud, the way our sons threw up their hands. When we could solve any unhappiness by lifting them up, they would say, up. The crew of the Challenger were likely conscious the whole way down. I want to lay like this a little longer before getting up, before erasing all traces of intimacy. Sometimes I go back out and pour my father a finger of Jura and he pretends he hasn't been sleeping. I've been doing this since I was a boy, sneaking out after bedtime and over my father's shoulder, watching the Cold War unfold. The atomic number for gold is 79. God, he says, when there is a protest, a wildfire, a shooting God, as though there were someone else in the room.

[Major Jackson]

The Slowdown is a production of American Public Media in partnership with the Poetry Foundation. This project is also supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. On the [e-mail] to get a poem delivered to you daily, go to slowdownshow.org and sign up for our newsletter and find us on Instagram @downdownshow and blueskylowdownshow.org.

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[Ada Limon]

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