Audio by Adam

(photo: Chehalis Hegner)

Perhaps no one has done more to spread  the spirit and craft of poetry more than Naomi Shihab Nye, a Palestinian American whose award winning books for both adults and children explore themes of  loss and exile, the pace of modern life, family ties and  spirituality – often with humor.  I spoke with her while she visited New York in her capacity as chancellor of the Academy of American Poets.   (Photo: Chehalis Hegner)

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This is a story about some of the most beautiful short poetry I have ever come across. Edited by the poet Jane Hirshfield (see “Given Sugar, Given Salt” elsewhere in this blog), it is a collection of short erotic haiku-like poems written by Ono No Komachi and Izumi Shikibu, who were part of the Japanese medieval court.  The themes – transience, love, loneliness, and erotic longing – are eternal, but the words come across both artful and vividly personal (not to mention steamy) across the centuries.

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For nearly 60 years, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gary Snyder has combined an environmental awareness shaped by America’s Far West with a Zen Buddhist perspective that celebrates and reveres the natural world.

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 19:56 — 18.3MB)

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In which the California poet (and Buddhist) discusses her poetry with Adam, and reads excerpts from several of her poems with explanations….

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 8:35 — 7.9MB)

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