Word Machine - 5 Things I Learned Today

Both of the Northern Californian poets lull you into deeper connections through plain intelligence and surprising poetic turns

The early 20th Century Alexandrian poet Cavafy and our contemporary American poet Linda Gregg

Two poems discussing the inner life, the lived experience of pain and loss

Separated by 1,200 years and half the globe, Armantrout and Li Po each address their own presence and absence

Both Sandburg and Vallejo imagine their own deaths, and that is an audacious and political move. Poet, librarian and publisher Yago Cura reads for us and talks about the choice between lyricism and politicism.

"Vespers" by Louise Glück and "After Summer Fell Apart" by Yusef Komunyakaa

Two poems from two 20th Century poets put into conversation