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The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily: Daily Summaries Delivered
by American Public Media
Host Maggie Smith is your daily poetry companion. Poetry is one of the greatest tools we have to wield our own attention — to consider our own lives and the lives of others, to help us live creatively and compassionately, to use that attention to lean into wonder, and joy, and truth, and to find hope — to keep hoping. The Slowdown community knows that reflecting on a poem, every weekday, can connect us to our inner world and the world around us. Listen as you make your morning coffee, as you go on a walk in your neighborhood, as you pull away from the to-do list, as you resist the dismal, endless scroll to share five minutes of perspective through the lens of poetry, from poets old and new, well-loved and emerging onto the scene. Brought to you by American Public Media, in partnership with the Poetry Foundation.
Latest Episodes
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- Today6 min
1569: Someday by Mary Oliver
Today’s poem is Someday by Mary Oliver. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “You have one of our listeners to thank for today’s poem — well, one of our listeners for suggesting it, and the beloved Mary Oliver for writing it.” This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
- Yesterday6 min
1568: Panegyric by Leila Farjami
Today’s poem is Panegyric by Leila Farjami. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Poems that engage with war and grief are texts that communicate to us in ways that news articles about war, and loss, and grief cannot. An article might tell us what happened, who died, how many casualties there were. It should provide facts as to who, what, where, when, and how. It might even attempt the why. But a poem sings to us. A poem sits with us. Holds us, even.” This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
- 2 days ago6 min
1567: Assistance by Abbie Kiefer
Today’s poem is Assistance by Abbie Kiefer. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “I famously have a brown thumb, as they call it. For as much as I love trees and appreciate flowers when I see them, I haven’t thought to plant and tend to them myself. For as much as I love fresh cucumber and zucchini and herbs, I’ve never planted them. Maybe someday that will change. Maybe someday gardening will call to me and be just what I need. In today’s poem, gardening is exactly what the speaker needs.” This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
- 5 days ago6 min
1566: What I Wanted to Keep Private by Melissa Crowe
Today’s poem is What I Wanted to Keep Private by Melissa Crowe.The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “I think self-compassion is the most challenging kind of compassion. We are so hard on ourselves, aren’t we? We humans carry around so much guilt and shame. We ruminate about breakups and arguments. We think about the things we said in anger that we wish we could take back. We think about the things we didn’t say and wish we had. We replay the past despite being unable to change it.The speaker of today’s poem confesses something — and in doing so, with self-compassion and self-forgiveness, sets it down.” This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
- 6 days ago6 min
1565: bilingual by Mckendy Fils-Aimé
Today’s poem is bilingual by Mckendy Fils-Aimé. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “You know we love language at The Slowdown. We spend time every weekday celebrating the power of words! And language isn’t just a tool for communication or self-expression, it’s a part of who we are. Language and culture are deeply intertwined. Language connects us to our elders and to previous generations. It connects us to our homeland, no matter how far away it may be. It connects us to our roots.” This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
- 1 weeks ago5 min
1564: Young Widow at the Kitchen Window by Donna Spruijt-Metz
Today’s poem is Young Widow at the Kitchen Window by Donna Spruijt-Metz.The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “We know holidays and anniversaries will be difficult: Mother’s Day after you lose your mom, birthdays after your loved one is gone, Thanksgiving with the family around the table and some beloveds missing. We know this pain.But grief isn’t something we can schedule. It’s not reserved for certain days or times. Grief sneaks up on us in the smaller moments. Or, maybe it doesn’t sneak up on us at all, because it’s been with us all along. It may feel like a rogue wave breaking over us, knocking us down, leaving us gasping — but really it’s the water we swim in, day in and day out. That may sound like a dark, depressing thought, but I don’t think of it that way. Grief is with us all the time because love is with us all the time. Grief touches every part of our lives, because love touches every part of our lives. The more you love someone, the more you grieve their absence.” This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
- 1 weeks ago5 min
1563: Return Path by Lesley Wheeler
Today’s poem is Return Path by Lesley Wheeler.The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “The multiple repetitions and the circular nature of the villanelle make it a good form for poems that grapple with an insistent memory, an unresolved emotion, or a feeling of being trapped. But the form can be a container for any kind of subject matter in which repetition feels essential. So much of life is repetition, after all, isn’t it? We perform the same actions again and again, day after day. This might sound mundane, but when repetition is reverent, it also forms rituals — repetitions which give our lives meaning. Today’s poem is a villanelle, and its use of the word ‘circuit’ makes the repetition especially apropos.”This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
- 1 weeks ago5 min
1562: Listening to Vespertine for Twenty Hours Straight by Derrick Austin
Today’s poem is Listening to Vespertine for Twenty Hours Straight by Derrick Austin.The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “If you’re lucky, you have friends who might sense the shift in your emotional weather: the clouds rolling in, the sky darkening. If you’re very lucky, those friends might know what to do without being asked or prompted. They might come over with takeout and offer a listening ear. They might pick you up and take you to the movies or to a concert, to get you out of your bubble. Or maybe they come over and just simply exist with you. Maybe sitting next to you, maybe watching TV, maybe not talking at all, all without expecting you to be cheerful or even sociable. Their presence is calming in itself. Their unconditional love and acceptance, even when you’re not sparkling.”This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
About The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily
Host Maggie Smith is your daily poetry companion. Poetry is one of the greatest tools we have to wield our own attention — to consider our own lives and the lives of others, to help us live creatively and compassionately, to use that attention to lean into wonder, and joy, and truth, and to find hope — to keep hoping. The Slowdown community knows that reflecting on a poem, every weekday, can connect us to our inner world and the world around us. Listen as you make your morning coffee, as you go on a walk in your neighborhood, as you pull away from the to-do list, as you resist the dismal, endless scroll to share five minutes of perspective through the lens of poetry, from poets old and new, well-loved and emerging onto the scene. Brought to you by American Public Media, in partnership with the Poetry Foundation.
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