7 episodes
Sharpen Your Tongue Francesca Capossela and Tory Dickerson
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- Arts
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5.0 • 6 Ratings
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Welcome to Sharpen Your Tongue, a podcast aimed at making poetry accessible and fun. Each episode, we’ll do a deep dive into a favorite poem, investigating its rhythm and imagery, and breaking down how and why that particular work enchants us.
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Episode Seven: Aubade by Philip Larkin
For a very special seventh episode, we are joined by Galway writer Caileigh Ryan to discuss Philip Larkin's famous meditation on death, Aubade. Listen now as we drink hot whiskeys and consider how the poem treats death as a lover, whether Larkin should be read in an Irish accent, and why this piece is so well-loved.
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Episode Six: Late Summer After a Panic Attack by Ada Limón
Ada Limón's "Late Summer After a Panic Attack" is a poem rich in disquiet and suburban claustrophobia. Join us as we discuss Limón's mastery of stillness, and whether or not we should get these lines as a tattoo: "What if I want to go devil instead?/ Bow down to the madness that makes me."
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Episode Five: Another Elegy by Jericho Brown
"Always be closing,
Said our favorite professor before
He let the gun go off in his mouth"
In our fifth episode, join us for a discussion of "Another Elegy" by 2020 Pulitzer Prize winner Jericho Brown. We talk about sunsets, mountains, and idioms, as well as the form of the elegy and the poem's motto: "always be closing."
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Episode Four: One Art by Elizabeth Bishop
With this episode, we hope to reintroduce you to the much-studied "One Art" by Elizabeth Bishop. Tune in to hear us discuss poetic form (specifically villanelles), self-aware writing, and the art of losing.
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Episode Three: They Don't Love You Like I Love You by Natalie Diaz
Today on Sharpen Your Tongue we talk about "They Don't Love You Like I Love You" from Natalie Diaz's Pulitzer-prize-winning collection, Postcolonial Love Poem. Join us for a cocktail recipe crafted by the poet herself as we discuss Beyoncé, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and literary allusions.
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Episode Two: Perhaps the World Ends Here by Joy Harjo
In our second episode, we talk about "Perhaps the World Ends Here," a beautiful poem written by the current U.S. poet laureate, Joy Harjo. Join us for cocktails and a fun discussion about the understated power and communal nature of this piece's main image — the kitchen table.
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Customer Reviews
What I have been waiting foryears
This podcast is exactly what the doctor ordered. Two smart, compelling, and hilarious women, early in their careers as writers, who read and reflect in each episode on a single poem. Their interpretations are deep and Francesca and Tory don’t waste time. While the dialogue doesn’t feel rushed, their many insights flow quickly, like fast streams that meet rivers and rivers that find oceans. It is a great format that provides enough time enough for many lines and details get close attention, yet the podcasts wind up efficiently in 30 minutes. Finally I love the wordplay in the title and concept with the two encouraging us to sharpen our tongues both for speaking meaningful words and imbibing interesting cocktails. Will these two truly find it within themselves to find a different drink to pair each poem they read?? I will listen to each episode to find out. Thank you guys!