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After two years, two seasons and 443 episodes, Major Jackson is stepping down from the host chair. 


A Farewell to Major Jackson

To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.


Supported in Part by National Endowment for the Arts

Raising poetry to a more visible and influential position in American culture.


Produced in Partnership With the Poetry Foundation

Announcements

1391: Never-ending Birds by David Baker

Today’s poem is Never-ending Birds by David Baker. 


Today’s poem is Never-ending Birds by David Baker.
The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem is one I’ve carried around in my mind for years, one whose language I flash to instinctively when I see a flock of birds, especially a murmuration of starlings. I think of the phrase “never-ending birds”—a phrase coined not by the speaker of this poem, but by the speaker’s child.” 
Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp 

The Slowdown

1390: The Poem Climbs the Scaffold and Tells You What It Sees by Natasha Oladokun

Today’s poem is The Poem Climbs the Scaffold and Tells You What It Sees by Natasha Oladokun.


Today’s poem is The Poem Climbs the Scaffold and Tells You What It Sees by Natasha Oladokun.
The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “There is power in naming, as today’s poem reminds us. Once you’ve seen the violence tucked inside the place name Lynchburg, barely hidden at all—hidden in plain sight—I don’t think you’ll be able to see or say the word the same way again. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it. Nor should you.”
Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp 

1389: Sehnsucht by Michael Dumanis

Today’s poem is Sehnsucht by Michael Dumanis.


Today’s poem is Sehnsucht by Michael Dumanis.
The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem introduced me to a new word for longing or yearning—and it showed me a way to use that expansive desire as a frame for the magic of everyday life.” 
Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp 

The Slowdown

Latest Episode

Recent Episodes

1391: Never-ending Birds by David Baker

1390: The Poem Climbs the Scaffold and Tells You What It Sees by Natasha Oladokun

1389: Sehnsucht by Michael Dumanis

Announcements

A Farewell to Major Jackson

Supported in Part by National Endowment for the Arts

Produced in Partnership With the Poetry Foundation

Other APM Podcasts

Truth Be Told

Ripple

The Splendid Table

The Slowdown

Latest Episode

Recent Episodes

1391: Never-ending Birds by David Baker

1390: The Poem Climbs the Scaffold and Tells You What It Sees by Natasha Oladokun

1389: Sehnsucht by Michael Dumanis

Get a poem handpicked by Maggie Smith every weekday. The email includes an abridged version of Maggie’s introduction.

Announcements

A Farewell to Major Jackson

Supported in Part by National Endowment for the Arts

Produced in Partnership With the Poetry Foundation

Other APM Podcasts

Truth Be Told

Ripple

The Splendid Table