The Pens and Poison Podcast

Liza Libes
  • 4.5 (2)
  • BOOKS
  • UPDATED MONTHLY

This is not your ordinary literature podcast. Join writer Liza Libes as she explores the state of humanities education, the publishing industry, and the literary world at large through a series of spicy interviews, hot takes, and literary ramblings.

Episodes

  1. 6D AGO

    Can Literature Save Us from Bad Political Ideas? | Ricardo Lugo | The Pens and Poison Podcast EP 11

    Welcome back to the Pens and Poison Podcast!This is not your ordinary literature podcast. Join me as I explore the state of humanities education, the publishing industry, and the literary world at large through a series of spicy interviews, hot takes, and literary ramblings.On today’s episode, we talk to Ricardo Lugo, the founder of Bibliotecando, a platform that explores literature and cultural criticism. We discuss the evolution of Lugo's platform, his favorite authors, the challenges of translation, and the intersection of literature with political realities. Our conversation explores the flaws of utopian ideals, the role of competition in human nature, and the importance of slowing down in a fast-paced world.

    44 min

  2. 06/04/2025

    College, Writing, AI—Oh, My! | Peter Biles | The Pens and Poison Podcast EP 9

    Welcome back to the Pens and Poison Podcast! This is not your ordinary literature podcast. Join me as I explore the state of humanities education, the publishing industry, and the literary world at large through a series of spicy interviews, hot takes, and literary ramblings. On today’s episode, I talked to Peter Biles, the author of the short story collection Last November. His writing has been featured in Plough, The Gospel Coalition, Dappled Things, and several others. He writes a Substack called Battle the Bard.

    47 min

  3. 05/23/2025

    Education & Publishing | The Librarian of Celaeno | The Pens and Poison Podcast EP 8

    Welcome back to the Pens and Poison Podcast! This is not your ordinary literature podcast. Join me as I explore the state of humanities education, the publishing industry, and the literary world at large through a series of spicy interviews, hot takes, and literary ramblings. On today’s episode, I talked to the Librarian of Celaeno, who writes the Substack The Library of Celaeno. Join us for an insightful conversation on education, publishing, and the state of reading as a whole.

    1 hr

  4. 05/17/2025

    Cancel Culture, Comedy, and Hot Literary Takes | Baz | The Pens and Poison Podcast EP 7

    Welcome back to the Pens and Poison Podcast! This is not your ordinary literature podcast. Join me as I explore the state of humanities education, the publishing industry, and the literary world at large through a series of spicy interviews, hot takes, and literary ramblings. On today’s episode, I spoke to Baz, the founder of The Split Ticket Substack (not to be confused with the Split Ticket WAR Numbers site), a politics Substack read by more than 17,000 subscribers craving analysis that refuses to toe either party line. A former FAANG software engineer and self-confessed polling obsessive, Baz blends Bayesian stats, campaign history, and a healthy disdain for tribal punditry to reveal the structural forces really moving voters. Split Ticket publishes twice weekly “outside-the-echo-chamber” essays that puncture media narratives, challenge readers’ priors, and spark devil’s-advocate discussions across the spectrum.

    59 min

  5. 05/09/2025

    Poetry & Things | Joseph Massey | The Pens and Poison Podcast EP 6

    Welcome back to the Pens and Poison Podcast! This is not your ordinary literature podcast. Join me as I explore the state of humanities education, the publishing industry, and the literary world at large through a series of spicy interviews, hot takes, and literary ramblings. On today’s episode, I talked to poetry mogul and Substack afficionado Joseph Massey, the author of America Is the Poem (The Exile Press, 2025), Decades: Selected Poems (The Exile Press, 2024), and many other books. Joseph’s poems have been translated into French, Dutch, Bengali, Finnish, Czech, and Portuguese. He lives in Upstate New York. Joseph writes Dispatches From the Basement on Substack.

    35 min

  6. 04/15/2025

    Audiobooks | B.J. Harrison | The Pens and Poison Podcast EP 5

    Welcome to the Pens and Poison Podcast! This is not your ordinary literature podcast. Join writer Liza Libes as she explores the state of humanities education, the publishing industry, and the literary world at large through a series of spicy interviews, hot takes, and literary ramblings.  On today’s episode, Liza talks to BJ Harrison, host of The Classic Tales Podcast and audiobook connoisseur. In 2007, when his Classic Tales Podcast hit the scene, listeners were enthusiastic and voracious. The show peaked as the #3 podcast in iTunes. Pretty soon, Audible came calling to talk about a new program called ACX. Now, over 800 audiobooks later, he continues to impress critics and listeners alike. Audiofile says he narrates with “gusto” and “enthusiasm”. TIME opts for “soothing”. One thing is clear – BJ tempers his formidable narrator toolbox for the task at hand. It’s always thrilling to discover where he’ll take us next. __________________________________________________________________________ Special thank you to composer Nathaniel Lindstrom for providing the track “Quartz Moth” for today’s sound effects.  __________________________________________________________________________ You can learn more about me and my work with poetry here—  Website: https://lizalibes.com/  Twitter:  https://twitter.com/pensandpoison  Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/otherpoeticponderings  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pensandpoison/  Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pensandpoison/  Substack: https://pensandpoison.substack.com/  __________________________________________________________________________ Check out our first podcast episode here: Episode 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wU9CdpSCGw&t=50s  __________________________________________________________________________ Hungry for some poetry analysis?  Wallace Stevens "The World as Meditation": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-EmEIe9c5k T.S. Eliot "The Waste Land": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTPlOR6nsOc&t=535s  Sir Philip Sidney "Astrophil & Stella":  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H5Ygms2uKc  __________________________________________________________________________

    34 min

  7. 09/21/2024

    Telepathy in Literature | Alex Moffett | The Pens and Poison Podcast EP 4

    Welcome to the Pens and Poison Podcast! This is not your ordinary literature podcast. Join writer Liza Libes as she explores the state of humanities education, the publishing industry, and the literary world at large through a series of spicy interviews, hot takes, and literary ramblings. On today’s episode, Liza talks to author and professor Alex Moffett, who teaches English literature at Providence College. Professor Moffett specializes in British and Irish Modernism and Utopian and Dystopian Fiction. He is currently working on a project about representations of telepathy in literature that covers classic texts like Jane Eyre and Dracula.And don’t forget to pick up your copies of Dracula and Jane Eyre here:*Dracula: https://amzn.to/4e6hncdJane Eyre: https://amzn.to/3XzGsFs__________________________________________________________________________Special thank you to composer Nathaniel Lindstrom for providing the track “Quartz Moth” for today’s sound effects. __________________________________________________________________________You can learn more about me and my work with poetry here— Website: https://lizalibes.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/pensandpoison Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/otherpoeticponderings Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pensandpoison/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pensandpoison/ Substack: https://pensandpoison.substack.com/ __________________________________________________________________________Check out our first podcast episode here:Episode 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wU9CdpSCGw&t=50s __________________________________________________________________________Hungry for some poetry analysis? Wallace Stevens "The World as Meditation": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-EmEIe9c5kT.S. Eliot "The Waste Land": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTPlOR6nsOc&t=535s Sir Philip Sidney "Astrophil & Stella": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H5Ygms2uKc __________________________________________________________________________* All items purchased through my Amazon affiliate links are subject to commission.

    49 min

  8. 08/01/2024

    The English Alliterative Tradition | Eric Weiskott | The Pens and Poison Podcast EP 3

    Welcome to the Pens and Poison Podcast! This is not your ordinary literature podcast. Join writer Liza Libes as she explores the state of humanities education, the publishing industry, and the literary world at large through a series of spicy interviews, hot takes, and literary ramblings.  On today’s episode, Liza talks to author and professor Eric Weiskott, who teaches English literature at Boston College. Eric is the author of the poetry chapbook Chanties: An American Dream and the scholarly monograph Meter and Modernity in English Verse, 1350-1650. His writing on literature, politics, and higher education appears in The Atlantic, Vox, and the Chronicle of Higher Education. Today, Eric teaches us about the English alliterative tradition as we discuss and analyze two Medieval works: Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.  You can learn more about his work on his website here: https://ericweiskott.com/.  And don’t forget to pick up your copies of Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight here:* Beowulf: https://amzn.to/3znIgJf Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: https://amzn.to/4cLwMxN __________________________________________________________________________ Special thank you to composer Nathaniel Lindstrom for providing the track “Quartz Moth” for today’s sound effects.  __________________________________________________________________________ You can learn more about me and my work with poetry here—  Website: https://lizalibes.com/  Twitter:  https://twitter.com/pensandpoison  Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/otherpoeticponderings  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pensandpoison/  Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pensandpoison/  Substack: https://pensandpoison.substack.com/  __________________________________________________________________________ Check out our first podcast episode here: Episode 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wU9CdpSCGw&t=50s  __________________________________________________________________________ Hungry for some poetry analysis?  Wallace Stevens "The World as Meditation": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-EmEIe9c5k T.S. Eliot "The Waste Land": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTPlOR6nsOc&t=535s  Sir Philip Sidney "Astrophil & Stella":  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H5Ygms2uKc  __________________________________________________________________________ * All items purchased through my Amazon affiliate links are subject to commission.

    1h 1m

  9. 07/01/2024

    Bilingual Poetry | Jean Pierre Rueda | The Pens and Poison Podcast EP 2

    Welcome to the Pens and Poison Podcast! This is not your ordinary literature podcast. Join writer Liza Libes as she explores the state of humanities education, the publishing industry, and the literary world at large through a series of spicy interviews, hot takes, and literary ramblings.  On today’s episode, Liza talks to Costa Rican poet Jean Pierre Rueda about bilingual poetry and his newest poetry collection “Amor Entre Aguaceros/Love Between Downpours” from Alegría Publishing. His book is a heartfelt dedication to all those compelled to rely on their imagination to reconnect with their homelands when migration circumstances prevent physical return. You can pick up your copy of Amor Entre Aguaceros here: https://alegria-life.myshopify.com/products/amor-entre-aguaceros-love-between-downpours-by-jean-pierre-rueda.  Let us know in the comments what you think of Jean Pierre’s work and don’t forget to pick up your copy of Amor Entre Aguaceros!  Special thank you to composer Nathaniel Lindstrom for providing the track “Quartz Moth” for today’s sound effects.  __________________________________________________________________________ You can learn more about me and my work with poetry here—  Website: https://lizalibes.com/  Twitter:  https://twitter.com/pensandpoison  Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/otherpoeticponderings  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pensandpoison/  Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pensandpoison/  Substack: https://pensandpoison.substack.com/  __________________________________________________________________________ Check out our first podcast episode here: Episode 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wU9CdpSCGw&t=50s  __________________________________________________________________________ Hungry for some poetry analysis?  Wallace Stevens "The World as Meditation": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-EmEIe9c5k T.S. Eliot "The Waste Land": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTPlOR6nsOc&t=535s  Sir Philip Sidney "Astrophil & Stella":  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H5Ygms2uKc  __________________________________________________________________________

    46 min

  10. 05/06/2024

    The Decline of the Humanities | Yan Margolin | The Pens and Poison Podcast EP 1

    Welcome to the Pens and Poison Podcast! This is not your ordinary literature podcast. Join writer Liza Libes as she explores the state of humanities education, the publishing industry, and the literary world at large through a series of spicy interviews, hot takes, and literary ramblings.  On today’s episode, Liza Libes talks to Yan Margolin, attorney at law, who comes with some interesting takes on the current state of academia and humanities education. Join us as we fight it out about Theodor Adorno and Mary Shelley and feel free to let us know whom you agree with most in the comments!  If you want more of Yan, you can check out his recent interview with Nick Shirley here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZFGbQvVmlU&t=803s  Special thank you to composer Nathaniel Lindstrom for providing the track “Quartz Moth” for today’s sound effects. You can learn more about me and my work with poetry here—  Website: https://lizalibes.com/  Twitter:  https://twitter.com/pensandpoison  Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/otherpoeticponderings  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pensandpoison/  Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pensandpoison/  __________________________________________________________________________ Hungry for some poetry analysis?  Wallace Stevens "The World as Meditation": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-EmEIe9c5k T.S. Eliot "The Waste Land": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTPlOR6nsOc&t=535s  Sir Philip Sidney "Astrophil & Stella":  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H5Ygms2uKc  __________________________________________________________________________

    1h 4m
  • 10 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

4.5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

This is not your ordinary literature podcast. Join writer Liza Libes as she explores the state of humanities education, the publishing industry, and the literary world at large through a series of spicy interviews, hot takes, and literary ramblings.

Information