Preston's Poetry Podcast

(Not an) Exam Special - "The Waste Land" by TS Eliot ft. Arjan Hut

Wed, 30 Apr 2025 06:00:00 GMT

It's a big special episode! Poet Arjan Hut and I sit down in front of a tin can to talk TS Eltiot's the Waste Land. It's a mixed language interview, and I'm leaving it that way because The Waste Land is too! If you listen on Apple Podcasts, you can get an automated translated transcript in the app.

We talk collage form, the world in shambles, mixed language poetry, and what we like about this deck-o-tarot-cards poem written in 1922. Enjoy!

Featuring Arjan Hut from Garbielle en Arjan bedoele it net ferkeard

Producer Gustav Worm-Leth

Outro Yentl Tijssens

Recording - Abel

Photo: Niels Westra

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26. Villlanelles pt 2. - Michael Luis Medrano "Villanelle"

Tue, 11 Mar 2025 17:01:00 GMT

Part 2 of 2 on Villanelles, I'll be going stanza by stanza to show how the repetition of Villanelles can be used to create richer emotions. Using a living poet's Villanelle, Michael Luis Medrano harnesses the power of repetition to shed light on Chicano fatherhood.

Bilingual Press/Editorial Bilingüe.

Production Gustav Worm-Leth

Outro Yentl Tijssens

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25. Villanelles pt 1 - Dylan Thomas "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night"

Tue, 11 Mar 2025 17:00:00 GMT

In this episode, I'll be talking about how we can look at poetic forms and discover their internal benefits -- through a difficult form to write called a Villanelle. I'll discuss harnessing the power of repetition with Dylan Thomas' Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night.

Production Gustav Worm-Leth

Outro Yentl Tijssens

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24. Couplets suck! (a Rant) - Robert Louis Stevenson "Land of Nod", Basil Bunting "Briggflatts", and Robert Frost "Nothing Gold Can Stay"

Fri, 20 Dec 2024 07:30:57 GMT

In this episode of Preston's Poetry Podcast ----- I'm wasting your time with a rant about why I (usually) hate couplets. It's also another "screw you" to some 19th-century poets, which is always nice. I'll be comparing the great couplet use of Robert Frost with Robert Louis Stevenson -- "Nothing Gold Can Stay" and "The Land of Nod" (respectively, the latter I hate.) Plus a cameo appearance of one of my favorites, "Briggflatts" by Basil Bunting.

Producer Gustav Worm-Leth

Outro Yentl Tijssens

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23. Free Verse Form - "Small Kindnesses" by Danusha Lameris

Fri, 06 Dec 2024 08:00:41 GMT

We’ve also previously been talking about this dynamic interchange – what Hopkins calls counterpoint — between Form and Function, how truly great poems take on a form not because the form is important in itself but because the structure of the poem somehow reflects the subject matter. So, what about free verse? Today’s poem is a good example about how free verse itself can serve a function. Join me for "Small Kindnesses" by Danusha Lameris!

Used with consent from the author.

Production Gustav Worm-Leth

Outro Yentl Tijssens

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22. Censorship & Controversy - "the mother" by Gwendolyn Brooks

Fri, 22 Nov 2024 10:30:05 GMT

CONTENT WARNING: Abortion

Today I'll be addressing a heavy but beautiful poem by Gwendolyn Brooks, "the mother." Some say it's a pro-, some say it's an anti-abortion poem. It's actually neither -- rather, it's a good example of what the role of the poet is in the middle of controversy, hatred, judgment, peril, and political divide.

Used/Reprinted by Consent of Brooks Permissions

Producer Gustav Worm-Leth

Outro Yentl Tijssens

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21. Tradition (and its limits) - "We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks

Sat, 16 Nov 2024 02:45:32 GMT

In this episode, I will have the immense pleasure of introducing you to one of my all-time favorite poets, Gwendolyn Brooks. We'll be talking about "THE CANON" and how we can look to poets like Gwendolyn Brooks to know where the limits of our reverence for tradition should lie -- with a really cool, short, jazzy poem, "We Real Cool."

Used/Reprinted By Consent of Brooks Permissions.

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Outro Yentl Tijssens

Producer Gustav Worm-Leth

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20. Haiku with Bashō and Ezra Pound

Sun, 12 May 2024 23:19:22 GMT

I'll be rapid-firing haiku! We'll talk about the history of Haiku (Hoku + Haikai) and how to read them! If you wanna check out more on Haiku, check out this great youtube video by Kent Morita and Takahiro Dunn.

Guest starring: a teacher in Ibaraki Prefecture in Japan!

Production Gustav Leth

Outro Yentl Tijssens

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19. Ekphrasis 2.2 - "Landscape with the Fall of Icarus", William Carlos Williams

Sun, 28 Apr 2024 14:01:00 GMT

In this two-part miniseries about two poets' takes on Pieter Bruegel's The Fall of Icarus (c. 1560), I'll be looking at William Carlos Williams' sober take in his Landscape with the Fall of Icarus.

Intro: Johnny Loves Me

Production Gustav Worm-Leth

Outro Yentl Tijssens

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18. Ekphrasis 2.1- "Musee des Beaux Arts" by WH Auden

Sun, 28 Apr 2024 14:00:43 GMT

In this two-part mini-series on Ekphrastic poems, we'll be looking at the first of two poets to write ekphrastic poems about Pieter Bruegel's The Fall of Icarus (c. 1560), starting with WH Auden's Musee des Beaux Arts.

Producer: Gustav Worm-Leth

Outro: Yentl Tijssens

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17. Ekphrastic Poems - "Cloud Study" by (and featuring!) Donald Platt

Thu, 18 Apr 2024 10:21:24 GMT

We've got a very special episode today by living poet Dr. Donald Platt (Purdue Univ.). We'll be discussing Ekphrastic poems, which are poems written about a work of art. Today's poem, called Cloud Study after John Constable's 1820s Study of Clouds, will be read by the poet himself!

You can purchase Platt's Swansdown from the publisher, Grid Books here!

Audio and Poem used by Author's permission.

Production Gustav Worm-Leth

Outro Yentl Tijssens

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16. Form Follows Function 2 - "Miniver Cheevy" by Edwin Arlington Robinson

Mon, 08 Apr 2024 23:34:56 GMT

In this episode, I'll be revisiting my grand idea that poetic form follows function. We'll be looking at Edwin Arlington Robinson's great loser, Miniver Cheevy, to address how he uses a system of sound in poetry called prosody to make his point. By the end of this episode, you should have a clearer idea of how I think the form of a poem out to match the content, even enhance it!

NOTE: This episode was recorded on different equipment than usual. Let me know if you love it or hate it.

Production Gustav Worm-Leth

Outro Yentl Tijssens

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15. Form Follows Function - "My Own Heart" by Gerard Manley Hopkins

Mon, 08 Apr 2024 23:34:34 GMT

We'll be looking at a poem I revisit often. It has stuck with me through the years, and still to this day delivers. I quote it all the time. It's a poem that will enrich your life -- but poetically speaking, it's a good introduction to poetic form(s) because many of Hopkins' works have a kind of congruence and synchronicity between the content and the form. It's My Own Heart Let Me More Have Pity On.

NOTE: This episode was recorded on different equipment than usual. Let me know if you love it or hate it.

Production Gustav Worm-Leth

Outro Yentl Tijssens

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(Not an) Exam LIVE Special - "Leaves of Grass" by Walt Whitman ft. Tsead Bruinja

Tue, 12 Mar 2024 20:35:43 GMT

What is so special about the work of the American poet and luminary Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892), also known as 'The National Poet of the United States'? And how does his literature provide an answer to complex issues? In this special live edition of Preston's Poetry Podcast, poet and writer Preston Losack (originating from Dallas, Texas) welcomes poet Tsead Bruinja, and together they dive into the world of poetry while exploring his monumental work, Leaves of Grass. Tsead and Preston will read excerpts from this timeless masterpiece, share their insights, and discuss Tsead's experience translating America's Bard. Immerse yourself in a sensory journey that is just as captivating, sensual, and inspiring today as it was in 1855.

Grasbladen vertaald door 21 dichters (Querido, 2005)

Sponsored by: Explore the North, Leeuwarden UNESCO City of Literature, Culturele Apotheek

Featuring (former) Dichter des Vaderlands (2019-2020), Tsead Bruinja

Outro composed: Yentl Tijssens

Producer: Gustav Worm-Leth

And Nicole.

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14. Romanticism 2 - "The Good, Great Man" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Wed, 31 Jan 2024 15:34:16 GMT

In this episode following the one on Wordsworth, I'll be looking at a not-favorite of mine, The Good Great Man by the giant Samuel Taylor Coleridge. I'll be talking about things I do not like about the poem, as well as some other features of Romantic ideas... ...to demystify them, I guess.

Production Gustav Worm-Leth

Outro Yentl Tijssens

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13. Romanticism - "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" (aka the 'Daffodils' poem) by William Wordsworth

Tue, 12 Dec 2023 00:46:34 GMT

In this episode, I'll be introducing you to what the Romanticism movement was through the Romantic poet of the English language, William Wordsworth, and his 'Daffodils' poem. We'll be talking about his famous definition of poetry, which lasts to this day. Like it or hate it (and if you're here, you probably aren't a big fan), Romanticism still forms the way we think today. Romantic poems are often where the stigma and stereotypes around poetry come from, so we'll be discussing some main ideas and conventions of the movement to put those scary romantics in context!

Outro composed by Yentl Tijssens

Produced by Gustav Leth

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Halloween Special - Uncanny Valley & "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe

Tue, 31 Oct 2023 08:12:10 GMT

Happy Halloween from PPP with a very spooky reading of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" and guest intro from YouTube horror channel The Ghost of 94! I'll be talking about the way that pairing it with Tell-tale Heart often causes us to misinterpret the poem. Listen ... if you dare!

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12. Aubade 2 - "aubade beginning in handcuffs" by torrin a. greathouse

Sat, 21 Oct 2023 14:31:00 GMT

As a follow-up to last episode on Aubades with John Donne, I'll be featuring a modern Aubade, "aubade beginning in handcuffs", to show how contemporary poets like torrin a. greathouse press the Aubade form to be even steamier -- and yet much more tender and vulnerable -- than Donne's.

Visit torrin a greathouse's website or buy their latest collection, Wound from the Mouth of a Wound (Milkweed, 2020)

Content warning: Artistic use of homophobic pejoratives; sexual subject matter.

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11. Aubade 1 - "The Sun Rising" by John Donne

Sat, 21 Oct 2023 14:30:31 GMT

I'll be introducing you to a specific kind of poem that not many people know about: the (steamy) Aubade. We'll be close reading 16th-century Metaphysical Poet John Donne's frustrated ranting at the sun, "The Sun Rising" to find out Donne's ideas of What's more important than science?

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10. What's Art for? - "Ozymandias" by Percy Bysshe Shelley [cameo by Pres. John F. Kennedy]

Fri, 13 Oct 2023 05:01:21 GMT

After finishing the original nine-episode curriculum, I'll be diving into Romantic Poet Percy Shelley's "Ozymandias," asking the question, What is art for? or Why are the arts important? I'll be sharing why I think "Ozymandias" is primarily about the longevity and importance of the arts over and against other interpretations -- with a cameo from President John F. Kennedy.

Produced by Gustav W Leth

Outro composed by Yentl Tijssens

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09. Sound - "Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carroll

Fri, 06 Oct 2023 04:51:42 GMT

At the conclusion of the first few 'Introduction to Poetry' episodes, I'll be doubting almost everything I've taught you. You'll see what I mean when we take a look at Lewis Carroll's "Jabberwocky".

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08. Free Verse - "In The Desert" by Stephen Crane

Wed, 04 Oct 2023 05:00:10 GMT

We started talking about Free Verse in last episode, but we'll be looking at another one. This time, a short narrative poem, "In the Desert" by Red Badge of Courage author Stephen Crane. We'll be talking about the bridge between poetry and prose, as well as how much we like ourselves.

Produced by Gustav Worm Leth

Outro composed Yentl Tijssens

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07. Conceit - "To A Locomotive in Winter" by Walt Whitman

Fri, 29 Sep 2023 06:00:00 GMT

Finally, Walt Whitman lands on this show. The opposite of Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman has much to teach us about trying to 'understand' poems and look for symbols. We'll be screaming his "To A Locomotive in Winter" from the rooftops to learn all about it.

Also, here's a link to Joy Harjo's Poet Warrior audiobook read by the poet herself.

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06. Silence - "I'm Nobody! - Who are you?" by Emily Dickinson

Wed, 27 Sep 2023 04:01:56 GMT

We'll be continuing to talk about how to read poems today using the reclusive, puzzling, pensive Emily Dickinson. Learn about how to read punctuation, as well as how and why to write nothingness into your poems. To read the poem, click here.

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05. Enjambment - Sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare

Fri, 22 Sep 2023 05:10:00 GMT

Another sonnet for you today, as well as some tips on how to read old poetry. Sometimes how we read makes it harder for us to understand. We'll be talking about all of this and more using Shakespeare's (possibly) hilarious poem, Sonnet 130.

Produced by Gustav Leth

Outro composed by Yentl Tijssens

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04. Sonnets - "Pied Beauty" by Gerard Manley Hopkins

Fri, 22 Sep 2023 05:00:23 GMT

In this episode, I'll be following up with more good examples of rhyme using Gerard Manley Hopkins' "Pied Beauty". I'll also be introducing you to both sonnet forms -- yes. I've boiled it down to only two kinds (without all the rules).

Produced by Gustav Leth.

Outro composed by Yentl Tijssens.

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03. Rhyme - "Recuerdo" by Edna St. Vincent Millay

Fri, 22 Sep 2023 04:02:00 GMT

In this episode, I'll be talking about different types of rhyme and how rhyme helps get us past the density of poetry, using Edna St. Vincent Millay's catchy poem about a summer fling, "Recuerdo". We'll even get to hear the poet herself!

Produced by Gustav Leth

Outro composed by Yentl Tijssens

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02. Syntax - "Everything good between men and women" by C.D. Wright

Fri, 22 Sep 2023 04:01:00 GMT

I'll be revisiting the idea that poetry is concentrated and how poets manage to achieve that concentration by everything that doesn't directly work toward the goal. I'll be looking at "Everything good between men and women" from CD Wright's Steal Away (Copper Canyon Press, 2003). [Used with permission from publisher]

You can purchase Wright's collection, Steal Away, here and support one of the finest Poetry Publishers around!

Produced by Gustav Leth

Outro composed by Yentl Tijssens

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01. Concentration - "The Red Wheelbarrow" by William Carlos Williams

Fri, 22 Sep 2023 04:00:00 GMT

In this episode, I'll be introducing the main idea that will help set some expectations and parameters around poetry. Understanding this point will help you know where you stand against this (not-) Goliath of poetry! I'll be looking at "The Red Wheelbarrow" by William Carlos Williams.

Produced by Gustav Leth

Outro composed by Yentl Tijssens.

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00. Trailer - What's this all about?

Wed, 13 Sep 2023 19:10:42 GMT

The full launch of Preston's Poetry Podcast is coming soon -- here's what to expect come launch day and how to join in the fun.

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Preston's Poetry Podcast

(Not an) Exam Special - "The Waste Land" by TS Eliot ft. Arjan Hut

26. Villlanelles pt 2. - Michael Luis Medrano "Villanelle"

25. Villanelles pt 1 - Dylan Thomas "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night"

24. Couplets suck! (a Rant) - Robert Louis Stevenson "Land of Nod", Basil Bunting "Briggflatts", and Robert Frost "Nothing Gold Can Stay"

23. Free Verse Form - "Small Kindnesses" by Danusha Lameris

22. Censorship & Controversy - "the mother" by Gwendolyn Brooks

21. Tradition (and its limits) - "We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks

20. Haiku with Bashō and Ezra Pound

19. Ekphrasis 2.2 - "Landscape with the Fall of Icarus", William Carlos Williams

18. Ekphrasis 2.1- "Musee des Beaux Arts" by WH Auden

17. Ekphrastic Poems - "Cloud Study" by (and featuring!) Donald Platt

16. Form Follows Function 2 - "Miniver Cheevy" by Edwin Arlington Robinson

15. Form Follows Function - "My Own Heart" by Gerard Manley Hopkins

(Not an) Exam LIVE Special - "Leaves of Grass" by Walt Whitman ft. Tsead Bruinja

14. Romanticism 2 - "The Good, Great Man" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

13. Romanticism - "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" (aka the 'Daffodils' poem) by William Wordsworth

*Halloween Special* - Uncanny Valley & "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe

Happy Halloween from PPP with a very spooky reading of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" and guest intro from YouTube horror channel The Ghost of 94! I'll be talking about the way that pairing it with Tell-tale Heart often causes us to misinterpret the poem. Listen ... if you dare!

12. Aubade 2 - "aubade beginning in handcuffs" by torrin a. greathouse

11. Aubade 1 - "The Sun Rising" by John Donne

10. What's Art for? - "Ozymandias" by Percy Bysshe Shelley [cameo by Pres. John F. Kennedy]

09. Sound - "Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carroll

08. Free Verse - "In The Desert" by Stephen Crane

07. Conceit - "To A Locomotive in Winter" by Walt Whitman

06. Silence - "I'm Nobody! - Who are you?" by Emily Dickinson

05. Enjambment - Sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare

04. Sonnets - "Pied Beauty" by Gerard Manley Hopkins

03. Rhyme - "Recuerdo" by Edna St. Vincent Millay

02. Syntax - "Everything good between men and women" by C.D. Wright

01. Concentration - "The Red Wheelbarrow" by William Carlos Williams

00. Trailer - What's this all about?

Halloween Special - Uncanny Valley & "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe