Valerie Hsiung selects poems that disorient as they open us to the vital, visceral present. She introduces Roberto Tejada and the poem as a breaking fever (“Kill Time Objective”), Jennifer Elise Foerster as a channel for a multiplicity of lost voices (“Hokkolen: I become the canyon, its dreaming eye”), and Mei-mei Berssenbrugge narrowing the senses to expand what remains (“Slow Down Now”). To close, Hsiung reads from her sequence “a-begging,” her voice responding to the room where she’s recording.

Watch the full recordings of Tejada, Foerster, and Berssenbrugge reading for the Poetry Center on Voca:
Roberto Tejada (January 12, 2023)
Jennifer Elise Foerster (April 27, 2023)
Mei-mei Berssenbrugge (March 13, 2010)

Voca is now fully captioned, with interactive transcripts and captions available for all readings! Read more about the project here, or try out this new feature by visiting Voca.