Poetry Off the Shelf

Producer Helena de Groot talks to poets about language, dreams, love and loss, identity, connection, anger, discomfort, the creative process, the state of the world and the world of the soul. Hard conversations are welcomed—laughter is, too.

Spirit Times

Violeta Orozco on the US presidential election, leaving Mexico, and her connection to deep time.

11-19
42:41

Fool’s Errand

Idra Novey on exile, stereotypes, and making art the center of your life.

11-11
46:48

Painting From Life

Garth Greenwell on shame, small acts of love, and the patch of snow inside us.

11-08
01:01:11

Trial and Error

Helena and Nicholson Baker on drawing your loved ones, the horrors of the world, and finding your way back to beauty.

10-24
55:15

Misclassified

Tyler Mills on the truth, how to love a cockroach, and her grandfather's silence about the bomb.

10-22
50:42

Rise Together

Perry Janes on Hollywood, ego, and trying not to break his NDA.

10-18
57:31

Where I Live

A.B. Spellman on Jim Crow, alligator suede shoes, and shaking up the art of the castle.

10-08
01:05:02

Ecology of Love

Camille Dungy on her garden, writing from the provinces, and the poetry of Anne Spencer. 

09-19
52:31

Good For the World

Dorothea Lasky on The Shining, writing what you fear, and the ferocity of color.

08-08
46:10

A Stone Worth Addressing

Merlin Sheldrake on fungi, creativity, and the queerness of nature.

08-08
53:09

Habitual Sins

Elisa Gonzalez on bisexuality, humor, and working in finance.

08-08
58:28

The Magical Element

E.J. Koh on distance, broken English, and writing poems that forgive.

07-30
49:40

Style All the Way Down

Joyelle McSweeney on sound, style icons, and the Ovidian landscape of her ear canal.

05-21
52:40

The Fire in Which We Burn

Sara Henning on radical truth, obsessive forms, and letting go of grief. 

05-07
53:27

My Heart and Its Borders

 Philip Metres on middle age, writer's block, and praying for the people of Palestine.

04-23
01:04:46

My Awesome Stoma

April Gibson on chronic illness, religion, and being a teenage mother.

04-09
44:38

Working-Class Superheroes

Declan Ryan on his father's construction job, tenderness between boxers, and the inevitable tragic end.

03-26
46:52

All the Shiny Knives

Monica Rico on cooking, grunt work, and the heat at General Motors.

03-12
54:46

Let Light Form

Nam Le on commerce, irony vs. sincerity, and being in the Arctic. 

02-27
01:09:50

Stay in Character

Gregory Pardlo on improv, therapy, and driving around with his father’s ashes.

02-13
45:53

Faru jack

It is like Helena de Groot creates a really open, reflective space for poets to dig deep. I like that there's a balance between tough conversations and lighter moments—makes it feel genuine https://pureshayari.com/.

11-12 Reply

Kasia Klimczak

I can relate to her because I am going through a lot of the same ways about myself. And I find that I am writing more of my own poetry that is mostly negative and I have a hard time accepting it. Mostly of all I think I am doing everything wrong.

06-19 Reply

Kasia Klimczak

I have a Polish background. And I loved this podcast. This one. ❤️

06-12 Reply

All Things Love

These podcasts are great. I learn something new every day. As a podcaster myself, I can draw inspiration from these events. 🤗

03-18 Reply

Death Doula ☠

And if you can’t shape your life the way you want, at least try as much as you can not to degrade it by too much contact with the world, by too much activity and talk. Try not to degrade it by dragging it along, taking it around and exposing it so often to the daily silliness of social events and parties, until it comes to seem a boring hanger-on. C.P. Cavafy

03-03 Reply

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