Preston's Poetry Podcast

Preston Losack

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Poetry is for everybody. In every episode, Preston guides you through a poem, breaking through the intimidation that so often surrounds poetry. Explore the concepts, techniques, sounds, and emotions that unlock new ways of understanding how poems work—and why they matter. If you’ve ever felt lost in a maze of stanzas or wanted greater insight into an intricate line, this podcast is for you.

04/30/2025

(Not an) Exam Special - "The Waste Land" by TS Eliot ft. Arjan Hut

It's a big special episode! Poet Arjan Hut and I sit down in front of a tin can to talk TS Eltiot's the Waste Land. It's a mixed language interview, and I'm leaving it that way because The Waste Land is too! If you listen on Apple Podcasts, you can get an automated translated transcript in the app. We talk collage form, the world in shambles, mixed language poetry, and what we like about this deck-o-tarot-cards poem written in 1922. Enjoy! Featuring Arjan Hut from Garbielle en Arjan bedoele it net ferkeard Producer Gustav Worm-Leth Outro Yentl Tijssens Recording - Abel Photo: Niels Westra Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
03/11/2025

26. Villlanelles pt 2. - Michael Luis Medrano "Villanelle"

Part 2 of 2 on Villanelles, I'll be going stanza by stanza to show how the repetition of Villanelles can be used to create richer emotions. Using a living poet's Villanelle, Michael Luis Medrano harnesses the power of repetition to shed light on Chicano fatherhood. "Villanelle" by Michael Luis Medrano, from Born in the Cavity of Sunsets (page 4) by Michael Medrano, © 2009 Bilingual Press/Editorial Bilingüe. Production Gustav Worm-Leth Outro Yentl Tijssens Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
03/11/2025

25. Villanelles pt 1 - Dylan Thomas "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night"

In this episode, I'll be talking about how we can look at poetic forms and discover their internal benefits -- through a difficult form to write called a Villanelle. I'll discuss harnessing the power of repetition with Dylan Thomas' Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night. Production Gustav Worm-Leth Outro Yentl Tijssens Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
12/20/2024

24. Couplets suck! (a Rant) - Robert Louis Stevenson "Land of Nod", Basil Bunting "Briggflatts", and Robert Frost "Nothing Gold Can Stay"

In this episode of Preston's Poetry Podcast ----- I'm wasting your time with a rant about why I (usually) hate couplets. It's also another "screw you" to some 19th-century poets, which is always nice. I'll be comparing the great couplet use of Robert Frost with Robert Louis Stevenson -- "Nothing Gold Can Stay" and "The Land of Nod" (respectively, the latter I hate.) Plus a cameo appearance of one of my favorites, "Briggflatts" by Basil Bunting. Producer Gustav Worm-Leth Outro Yentl Tijssens Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
12/06/2024

23. Free Verse Form - "Small Kindnesses" by Danusha Lameris

We’ve also previously been talking about this dynamic interchange – what Hopkins calls counterpoint — between Form and Function, how truly great poems take on a form not because the form is important in itself but because the structure of the poem somehow reflects the subject matter. So, what about free verse? Today’s poem is a good example about how free verse itself can serve a function. Join me for "Small Kindnesses" by Danusha Lameris! Used with consent from the author. Production Gustav Worm-Leth Outro Yentl Tijssens Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
11/22/2024

22. Censorship & Controversy - "the mother" by Gwendolyn Brooks

CONTENT WARNING: Abortion Today I'll be addressing a heavy but beautiful poem by Gwendolyn Brooks, "the mother." Some say it's a pro-, some say it's an anti-abortion poem. It's actually neither -- rather, it's a good example of what the role of the poet is in the middle of controversy, hatred, judgment, peril, and political divide. Used/Reprinted by Consent of Brooks Permissions Producer Gustav Worm-Leth Outro Yentl Tijssens Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
11/16/2024

21. Tradition (and its limits) - "We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks

In this episode, I will have the immense pleasure of introducing you to one of my all-time favorite poets, Gwendolyn Brooks. We'll be talking about "THE CANON" and how we can look to poets like Gwendolyn Brooks to know where the limits of our reverence for tradition should lie -- with a really cool, short, jazzy poem, "We Real Cool." Used/Reprinted By Consent of Brooks Permissions. ----- Outro Yentl Tijssens Producer Gustav Worm-Leth Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
05/12/2024

20. Haiku with Bashō and Ezra Pound

I'll be rapid-firing haiku! We'll talk about the history of Haiku (Hoku + Haikai) and how to read them! If you wanna check out more on Haiku, check out this great youtube video by Kent Morita and Takahiro Dunn. Guest starring: a teacher in Ibaraki Prefecture in Japan! Production Gustav Leth Outro Yentl Tijssens Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Poetry is for everybody. In every episode, Preston guides you through a poem, breaking through the intimidation that so often surrounds poetry. Explore the concepts, techniques, sounds, and emotions that unlock new ways of understanding how poems work—and why they matter. If you’ve ever felt lost in a maze of stanzas or wanted greater insight into an intricate line, this podcast is for you.

Creator

Preston Losack
Years Active

2023 - 2025
Episodes

30
Rating

Explicit
Copyright

© Preston Losack
Show Website

Preston's Poetry Podcast