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...
Latest episodes
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7 min
1351: [encore] The Happy Middle by Hedgie Choi
Today’s poem is The Happy Middle by Hedgie Choi. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem walloped me with its authentic intelligence…
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6 min
1350: [encore] Real Estate by Richard Siken
Today’s poem is Real Estate by Richard Siken. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem unpacks some of what happens when families cha…
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6 min
1349: [encore] Sati by Vandana Khanna
Today’s poem is Sati by Vandana Khanna. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem is a persona poem from the point of view of a Hindu…
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6 min
1345: [encore] Arrangements by Adrienne Chung
Today’s poem is Arrangements by Adrienne Chung. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem speaks to the things we are drawn to, and to…
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6 min
1344: [encore] Cento Between the Ending and the End by Cameron Awkward-Rich
Today’s poem is Cento Between the Ending and the End by Cameron Awkward-Rich. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “In times that feel divisive…
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13 min
Alynda Segarra: Holes by Eileen Myles (Extended Version)
Today’s poem is Holes by Eileen Myles, with special guest Alynda Segarra of Hurray for the Riff Raff.Alynda Segarra is a singer-songwriter and frontperson of the band Hurray for th…
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8 min
Alynda Segarra: Holes by Eileen Myles
Today’s poem is Holes by Eileen Myles, with special guest Alynda Segarra of Hurray for the Riff Raff. Alynda Segarra is a singer-songwriter and frontperson of the band Hurray for t…
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6 min
1342: [encore] And Then It Was Less Bleak Because We Said So by Wendy Xu
Today’s poem is And Then It Was Less Bleak Because We Said So by Wendy Xu. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “When the world is on fire, it…
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6 min
1339: [encore] Wind-Related Ripple in the Wheatfield by Mikko Harvey
Today’s poem is Wind-Related Ripple in the Wheatfield by Mikko Harvey. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Who might I have been—or with whom…
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6 min
1338: [encore] Are you bringing fruits, plants, seeds, by Karen Llagas
Today’s poem is Are you bringing fruits, plants, seeds, by Karen Llagas. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem looks at the anxiet…
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17 min
R.K. Russell: They/Them by Danez Smith (Extended Version)
Today’s poem is They/Them by Danez Smith, with special guest R.K. Russell. R.K. Russell is an NFL legend, writer, and social justice advocate who made history by becoming the first…
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7 min
R.K. Russell: They/Them by Danez Smith
Today’s poem is They/Them by Danez Smith, with special guest R.K. Russell. R.K. Russell is an NFL legend, writer, and social justice advocate who made history by becoming the first…
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6 min
1337: [encore] New York Address by Linda Gregg
Today’s poem is New York Address by Linda Gregg. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this encore episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem captures that feeling when you’ve ju…
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6 min
1335: [encore] Bonfire Opera by Danusha Laméris
Today’s poem is Bonfire Opera by Danusha Laméris. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this encore episode, Maggie writes… “Yes, I have new lines around my eyes and new gli…
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6 min
1334: [encore] Étude by Amy Gerstler
Today’s poem is Étude by Amy Gerstler. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this encore episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem is a celebration of sound, and also a celebrat…
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9 min
David Duchovny: Dream Song 1 by John Berryman (Extended Version)
Today’s poem is Dream Song 1 by John Berryman, with special guest David Duchovny. You know him from his breakout role as Fox Mulder on The X-Files, as well as appearances on other…
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7 min
David Duchovny: Dream Song 1 by John Berryman
Today’s poem is Dream Song 1 by John Berryman, with special guest David Duchovny. You know him from his breakout role as Fox Mulder on The X-Files, as well as appearances on other…
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5 min
1333: [encore] Crossing the Line by E. Ethelbert Miller
Today’s poem is Crossing the Line by E. Ethelbert Miller. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem reads to me like a love poem, a tr…
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7 min
1430: [encore] Earth Shovel by Dan Albergotti
Today’s poem is Earth Shovel by Dan Albergotti. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem, which looks at the fragility of our planet,…
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6 min
1359: [encore] Lotioning My Mother’s Back by Ama Codjoe
Today’s poem is Lotioning My Mother’s Back by Ama Codjoe. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “The world feels like a hard place right now—a n…