Read a poem, talk about the poem, read the poem again
Close Talking is a podcast hosted by good friends Connor McNamara Stratton and Jack Rossiter-Munley. The format is simple: in each episode the two read a poem, discuss it, and then read it again. The pop culture references and good-natured ribbing sit easily alongside literary theories on this poetry podcast anyone can enjoy. Connor and Jack enjoy poetry almost as much as they enjoy each other’s company, making each episode part rigorous analysis, part poetry-based hang session.
“Wow, this is the kind of close reading I show up for.”
Connor and Jack do not share their notes with each other before recording, so their discussions are always lively and fresh. They also don’t always agree on a single interpretation of a poem. Sometimes they even agree on an interpretation only to find out later from the poet it was not intended (see Episode 24 on “Sentence” by Eduardo C. Corral). The poem selection is broad and goes beyond the established poetic cannon. Alongside episodes on Emily Dickinson, Percy Bysshe Shelley, John Ashbery, and Walt Whitman there are discussions on works by living luminaries such as Kaveh Akbar, Justin Phillip Reed, Solmaz Sharif, Safia Elhillo, Ocean Vuong, and Chen Chen among many others. For any teachers working to #teachlivingpoets, Close Talking can be a valuable resource.
“This is incredible. What an incredible thing. You’ve taught me so much about my poem. Even just hearing you read it was illuminating. What a gift...Thank you for your attention, your time, your insights. I’m bowled over.”
Close Talking (represented by Connor) was featured alongside the literary podcasts The Racist Sandwich, LitHub’s fiction/non/fiction, Good Muslim/Bad Muslim, and Between the Covers on the panel Literary Podcasting: The Good, the Bad, and the Books at the 2019 Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference.
You can listen to Close Talking on iTunes, Stitcher, and Soundcloud.
Find Close Talking on Facebook and Twitter or send an e-mail to closetalkingpoetry@gmail.com. Visit closetalking.com for more.