Melody or Witchcraft

Kathryn Petruccelli
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Conversations with today's poets and writers about Emily Dickinson and about the scope and sources of creative influence and the relevance of the past. Guests choose a Dickinson poem and one of their own to read. kathrynpetruccelli.substack.com

  1. 4D AGO

    Camille T. Dungy: a velocity in the language

    Camille T. Dungy is the author of America, A Love Story, Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden, and five other books of poetry and prose. She has edited three anthologies, including Black Nature: Four Centuries of African American Nature Poetry. Dungy is currently a University Distinguished Professor at Colorado State University. If you’re reading this somewhere other than Substack, these notes will be abridged and photos will not appear. Join the Ask the Poet Substack (kathrynpetruccelli.substack.com) for complete show notes with images, correct poetry formatting, and regular notices of new episodes. Crumbling is not an instant’s ActA fundamental pauseDilapidation’s processesAre organized Decays — ‘Tis first a Cobweb on the SoulA Cuticle of DustA Borer in the AxisAn Elemental Rust — Ruin is formal — Devil’s workConsecutive and slow —Fail in an instant, no man didSlipping — is Crashe’s law — (The Johnson 997 version of this poem writes it as “Crash’s law,” but is otherwise identical to the Franklin 1010 version above.) as if an etymology my loveCamille Dungy the word sill means threshold.I am standing at your—I place my feet and body on—the place where I can comeor I can go— thresholdmeant a raised ledge to stopthe hay that covered a floorfrom spilling out and scatteringeach time someone openedthe door. hold the thresh inside,my love. when we bed down,let us bed down on this haysoftfloor. think of it— a syllableis a threshold to a word—just as a windowsill— just asa door— love is one syllable—sleep, hope, dream, death, no,yes, all, one— words are openings.every word— some with manyledges. I place my mind and bodyat your— sweep around the doorsillcarefully— my love Other Dickinson poems referenced: Tell all the truth but tell it slant – Some keep the Sabbath going to Church There’s a certain Slant of light, People, songs, books referenced: Jane Hirshfield Charles Chestnutt – read some of his work here. An interview with the biographer of Charles Chestnutt. The Yellow Eyes of Texas James by Percival Everett The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Additional/of interest: Camille’s essay for the Poetry Foundation from several years back entitled “Tell it Slant.” Recorded February 20, 2026. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kathrynpetruccelli.substack.com/subscribe

    37 min
  2. Bonus Bit: Matt Donovan

    MAY 11

    Bonus Bit: Matt Donovan

    Matt and I discuss Hanif Abdurraqib’s work, specifically Matt brings up Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance. There’s a touch of general chatter after the official recording’s end for those of you who (like me) crave a peek behind the curtain, so to speak, and that then leads into some info for Sylvia Plath fans: Matt reveals a new project that the Boutelle-Day Poetry Center at Smith College (Plath’s alma mater) will roll out. “Brooke” referred to in the conversation is Brooke Steinhauser of the Emily Dickinson Museum. “Jen” referred to in our conversation is Jen Jabaily-Blackburn from the Center. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kathrynpetruccelli.substack.com/subscribe

    5 min

  3. MAY 11

    Matt Donovan: filling in the gaps

    Matt Donovan is the author most recently of We Are Not Where We Are (Bull City Press, 2025) which was co-authored with Jenny George, and The Dug-Up Gun Museum (BOA 2022). He is the recipient of a Whiting Award, a Rome Prize in Literature, a Pushcart Prize, and an NEA Fellowship in Literature. Donovan serves as the director of the Boutelle-Day Poetry Center at Smith College. If you’re reading this somewhere other than Substack, these notes will be abridged and photos will not appear. Join the Ask the Poet Substack (kathrynpetruccelli.substack.com) for complete show notes with images, correct poetry formatting, and regular notices of new episodes. The poem as Matt read it and as we discussed it appears as below (which is what you’ll find on the poets.org site from The Further Poems of Emily Dickinson (Little, Brown, and Company, 1929), edited by Martha Dickinson Bianchi and Alfred Leete Hampson). Empty my heart of thee —Its single artery,Begin to leave thee out —Simply extinction’s date. Much billow hath the seamOne Baltic — they,Subtract thyself, in play,And not enough of meIs left to put away —“Myself” meant thee. Erase the root, no tree ;Thee — then no me —The Heavens stripped,Eternity’s wide pocket picked. Below is the version in Thomas Johnson’s 1955 The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson. (You’ll see there are a couple differences – one very significant one in the first line of the second stanza considering my conversation with Matt!) Empty my Heart, of Thee —Its single Artery,Begin, and leave thee out —Simply Extinction’s Date – Much Billow hath the Sea – One Baltic — They –Subtract thyself, in play,And not enough of meIs left – to put away —“Myself” meant Thee – Erase the Root – no Tree –Thee — then – no me —The Heavens stripped –Eternity’s vast pocket, picked – The View from Under Emily Dickinson’s BedMatt Donovan “The Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst rents outthe poet’s bedroom where she wrote.” —New England Public Radio Some chair legs and the legs of the provided writing deskyou ignored. Several inches of wallpaper vine tangleand pink roses clustered just above the room’s cream trim.The heating vent’s grid with its darkness divided intolittle squares and the pleated hem of the white dress wornby a headless mannequin intended as a stand-in for the poet.Isn’t this what you wanted? To pay for an hour alonein this room, and then, for reasons you never tried to name,shimmy-shove your way beneath after the docent leaves?To be scrunched, wedged between floor and slats, badassand weird-ass all at once, craning your neck, taking it in.Maybe don’t sweat the low-hanging why-am-I-doing-thisthat comes knocking if you let it. You’ve made a strange choice,but that’s more than OK, and now this is where you are,unsure where to place your hands or what to do with everythingyou can see from within this cramped space you chose. Other Dickinson poems referenced: A narrow Fellow in the Grass The Installment: Art installment at the Dickinson Homestead (Amherst, Massachusetts) by Matt Donovan and Ligia Bouton: “A Something Overtakes the Mind.” Matt notes the help of Megan Ramsey, Emily Dickinson Museum Collections Manager. Here is a short introductory video about her background and her work cataloguing the collection and managing the warehouse. You’ll be able to find other videos online produced by the museum that look at various pieces held by the museum but that are not necessarily displayed to the public. In addition, on the website, you can virtually look through the collection of objects owned by the museum, from Dickinson’s shawl to tea cups to her nephew’s banjo… People mentioned in the interview: Walt Whitman Jenny George James Wright, his book The Branch Will Not Break Ross Gay Thank you for listening and reading. Please leave a comment! Please rate the podcast wherever you listen! Please consider supporting this work and its future by becoming a paid subscriber to Melody or Witchcraft. New Workshop Opportunity: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kathrynpetruccelli.substack.com/subscribe

    37 min

  4. MAY 4

    Bonus Bit: Kelli Russell Agodon

    Two quick little blips that add to the conversation. In the first, we muse together some more about dream stuff. In the second, Kelli reveals a very special and unique element within her new book, Accidental Devotions. The book’s launch date is May 12, 2026. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kathrynpetruccelli.substack.com/subscribe

    3 min

  5. MAY 4

    Kelli Russell Agodon: led by the dead

    Kelli Russell Agodon‘s next book Accidental Devotions will be published by Copper Canyon Press in May 2026. Her previous collection, Dialogues with Rising Tides, was a finalist for the Washington State Book Awards. Kelli is the cofounder of Two Sylvias Press and teaches in Pacific Lutheran University’s MFA program, the Rainier Writing Workshop. She is also the cohost of the poetry series Poems You Need with Melissa Studdard. If you’re reading this somewhere other than Substack, these notes will be abridged and photos will not appear. Join the Ask the Poet Substack (kathrynpetruccelli.substack.com) for complete show notes with images, correct poetry formatting, and regular notices of new episodes. Best Witchcraft is Geometry To the magician’s mind – His ordinary acts are feats To thinking of mankind. Fact Check: I called the religious fervor that dominated Dickinson’s era the “Second Great Revival” – it’s more commonly referred to as the “Second Great Awakening.” Here’s one place to find out more. And here’s Wikipedia’s version. A fuller version and citation for a quote I referenced: “How do most people live without any thoughts. There are so many people in the world (you must have noticed them in the street) How do they live. How do they get strength to put on their clothes in the morning.” (L342A, August 1870; T.W. Higginson quoting Emily Dickinson in letter to his wife) Kelli and I were both a bit off on the “I’m out with ‘lamps’…” quote. It’s “I’m out with lanterns looking for myself.” That line comes from a letter Dickinson wrote during the time the family was moving back to the Homestead from the house they lived in when she was 9-25 years old. The house sat not far from the Main Street Homestead on North Pleasant Street, Amherst. (It no longer exists.) She was not pleased about the move at the time. She also would not get in a carriage but walked while their belongings were being transferred. Here’s more of the context the quote comes from—she’s likening it to a funeral procession and being her wry self in the process: “I cannot tell you how we moved. I had rather not remember. I believe my ‘effects’ were brought in a bandbox, and the ‘deathless me,’ on foot, not many moments after. I took at the time a memorandum of my several senses, and also of my hat and coat, and my best shoes - but it was lost in the melee, and I am out with lanterns, looking for myself.” (Letter 182, January 20, 1856 to Elizabeth Holland) I comment that Adrienne Rich “was talking about” Emily & Susan possibly being romantically involved back in the 70s. (Or, more specifically, she talks about how ignoring that possibility has stunted our interpretations of ED’s genius.) Rich’s article from 1975, “Vesuvius at Home: The Power of Emily Dickinson,” can be found here. In the article, Rich talks about many important aspects of how Dickinson was—and in some respects still is—portrayed and the damage it does. Here is a bit from early in the article: Virtually all criticism of this poet’s work suffers from the literary and historical silence and secrecy surrounding intense woman to woman relationships—a central element in Dickinson’s life and art; and by the assumption that she was asexual or heterosexually “sublimated.” ... [L]esbian/feminist criticism has the power to illuminate the work of any woman artist, beyond proving her a “practicing lesbian” or not. Such a criticism will ask questions hitherto passed over; will not search obsessively for heterosexual romance as the key to a woman artist’s life and work; will ask how she came to be for herself and how she identified with and was able to use women’s culture, a women’s tradition; and what the presence of other women meant in her life. Books referenced: The Gorgeous Nothings by Marta L. Werner and Jen Bervin. Here is a page with the book/stats on the book. Here’s a lovely page with a bit more about it and nice representation of some of the scans. The Envelope Poems is the small, abbreviated version of Dickinson’s poems on scraps. Other Dickinson poems referenced: Forever – is composed of – Nows The Poets light but Lamps— “Forever might be short” that Kelli mentioned as her opening quote is from this one: To love thee Year by Year —May less appearThan sacrifice, and cease —However, dear,Forever might be short, I thought to show —And so I pieced it, with a flower, now. People mentioned: Thomas Wentworth Higginson Elizabeth Bishop Walt Whitman (Sylvia) Plath Rick Barot Edna St. Vincent Millay (Rainer Maria) Rilke Susan Huntington Gilbert Dickinson Martha “Marty” Silano Kelli talks about correspondences of writers that we have and notes the “Bishop to Lowell” letters. Go to the link to learn about the book Words in Air: The Complete Correspondence between Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell. Terrance Hayes The link will take you to a Britannica article about him which I picked because you can see him wearing two watches in the picture. Linda Bierds (University of Washington) (Jack) Kerouac Langston Hughes Jane Hirshfield Places & other references: Sylvia Beach Hotel’s Emily Dickinson Room that Kelli mentions staying in when writing her earlier book, seems to have been a victim of progress. There are still seven author-themed rooms in the newly branded “Hotel Sylvia” – Maya Angelou and Agatha Christie among them, but things look a bit more standardized. And poor Em doesn’t seem to have made the cut at all. Some background on the Anything that Moves magazine. The Burren is an area in County Clare, in the west of Ireland known for its unusual landscape of dissolving and porous limestone. Maria Popova’s article about Emily & Sue’s letters can be found here. (Small note: in it, Popova mentions Susan and Austin marrying in the “fall,” however, they were married July 1st (1856)). This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kathrynpetruccelli.substack.com/subscribe

    37 min

  6. APR 27

    Victoria Kennefick: the sensitive heart

    Dr. Victoria Kennefick is a writer, poet, editor and teacher who lives in Tralee, Co. Kerry (Ireland). She completed a PhD in Irish and American Literature at University College Cork and was a Fulbright Scholar at Emory University. Her debut collection, Eat or We Both Starve (Carcanet Press, 2021), won the Seamus Heaney First Collection Poetry Prize and the Dalkey Book Festival Emerging Writer of the Year Award. It was shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize, the Costa Poetry Book Award, Derek Walcott Prize for Poetry and the Butler Literary Prize. Her second collection, Egg/Shell (Carcanet Press, 2024) was a Poetry Book Society Choice for Spring 2024 and won the Farmgate Café National Poetry Prize 2025. She was the 2025 Arts Council of Ireland/Trinity College Dublin Writer Fellow. If you’re reading this somewhere other than Substack, these notes will be abridged and photos will not appear. Join the Ask the Poet Substack (kathrynpetruccelli.substack.com) for complete show notes with images, correct poetry formatting, and regular notices of new episodes. Another quick note: The formatting of Dana Levin’s poem from Episode 7 was incorrect and now has been corrected. I cannot live with You – It would be Life – And Life is over there – Behind the Shelf The Sexton keeps the Key to – Putting upOur Life – His Porcelain – Like a Cup – Discarded of the Housewife – Quaint – or Broke – A newer Sevres pleases – Old Ones crack – I could not die – with You – For One must waitTo shut the Other’s Gaze down – You – could not – And I – could I stand byAnd see You – freeze – Without my Right of Frost – Death’s privilege? Nor could I rise – with You – Because Your FaceWould put out Jesus’ – That New Grace Glow plain – and foreignOn my homesick Eye – Except that You than HeShone closer by – They’d judge Us – How – For You – served Heaven – You know,Or sought to – I could not – Because You saturated Sight – And I had no more EyesFor sordid excellenceAs Paradise And were You lost, I would be – Though My NameRang loudestOn the Heavenly fame – And were You – saved – And I – condemned to beWhere You were not – That self – were Hell to Me – So We must meet apart – You there – I – here – With just the Door ajarThat Oceans are – and Prayer – And that White Sustenance – Despair – Valentine Poem for my ValentineVictoria Kennefick Surely by now, you must be familiarwith my heart’s alarming habits – how itexpands beyond the parameters of its rusty cage.How lumps of its slick muscle push throughthe bars in such an unsightly manner – all shinyand hot. I am ashamed of its size and hungeryet still try to offer you its bloody chambers.At times, I quickly shove it in your pocket or satchelwhen you’re not looking. Others, I sneak itinto your tin cigarette box, or lob it into the bootof your car as you drive away from me back to the city(What am I to do?). Sometimes, I even manageto balance it on the tiny freckle tuckedinto the palm of your hand. I’ve secreted itinto envelopes, Friday night dinners, and maybe eveninto poems where it thumps clumsily behindtangible descriptions trying to mask its ooze and bulk.I have tried to hide the lumbering oaf that is my heart, like this –thinking you would find it and see how careless I am with it.How free. Oh! What a grift – because here I must come clean.I have wanted to tell you how desiccated it was.How it had been shrunk to the size of a screw top –dry and crumbling – I never, ever wanted to use it again.Do you understand? I thought I was dead and my pulsethe sound of pebbles caving in on my chest like a grave.I didn’t think it would be painful letting it grow againto the size of the whole world, that it would become a planetlike this, that it would be where you live. People & concepts mentioned: The Master Letters Victoria’s mention of Walt Whitman “shouting at the traffic”perhaps came from here: “Beat! beat! drums!--blow! bugles! blow! / Over the traffic of cities--over the rumble of wheels in the streets…” (from “Beat! Beat! Drums!”) I make reference to the idea that Emily’s brother Austin “wanted to be planting trees.” From emilydickinsonmuseum.org: “Emily Dickinson came from a family of nature lovers. Her mother, Emily Norcross, was an avid gardener who passed on her skills to her daughters, Emily and Lavinia. The poet’s brother Austin shared her extensive knowledge of and delight in the natural world. While a student at Amherst College, Austin’s life-long interest in landscape design was sparked by the lectures of Edward Hitchcock about the careful landscaping of European cities and towns. As Treasurer of Amherst College (1873-1895), Austin Dickinson took particular pleasure in landscaping of the College grounds, cultivating at the same time a close relationship with prominent landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. He later led the effort to drain and beautify the town common, and spearheaded the drive to form a new style of park-like cemetery in Amherst after the fashion of Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge.” Victoria mentions Seamus Heaney’s first book, Death of a Naturalist, and the iconic Heaney poem “Digging” The “reverend” Victoria refers to would be Charles Wadsworth, whom Dickinson met in her one venture outside the state of Massachusetts in 1855 where he was preaching in Philadelphia. She apparently fell quite hard for him and there’s some evidence (an unannounced visit to the Homestead etc.) that the feeling was mutual. However, he was already married. Some believe Wadsworth may be the “master” of the Master Letters. (W.B.) Yeats (William) Wordsworth “Learning Cert” refers to the final exams required of secondary school students in Ireland. (Patrick) Kavanaugh Sylvia Plath Other Dickinson poems mentioned: “Faith” is a fine inventionFor Gentlemen who see!But Microscopes are prudentIn an Emergency! Recorded February 12, 2026. Thank you for taking the time to repost, review, comment, and share! New workshop opportunity: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kathrynpetruccelli.substack.com/subscribe

    39 min

  7. APR 20

    Dana Levin: "poetry as an endurance technology"

    Dana Levin is the author of five books poetry. Her latest is Now Do You Know Where You Are (Copper Canyon), a 2022 New York Times Notable Book and NPR “Book We Love.” Levin teaches for the Bennington Writing Seminars, the MFA program at Bennington College, and serves as Distinguished Writer in Residence at Maryville University in St. Louis. Her first book of prose, House of Feels, comes out from Graywolf Press in 2027. If you’re reading this somewhere other than Substack, these notes will be abridged and photos will not appear. Join the Ask the Poet Substack (kathrynpetruccelli.substack.com) for complete show notes with images, correct poetry formatting, and regular notices of new episodes. I felt a Funeral, in my Brain,And Mourners to and froKept treading - treading - till it seemedThat Sense was breaking through - And when they all were seated,A Service, like a Drum -Kept beating - beating - till I thoughtMy mind was going numb - And then I heard them lift a BoxAnd creak across my SoulWith those same Boots of Lead, again,Then Space - began to toll, As all the Heavens were a Bell,And Being, but an Ear,And I, and Silence, some strange Race,Wrecked, solitary, here - And then a Plank in Reason, broke,And I dropped down, and down -And hit a World, at every plunge,And Finished knowing - then - Among the wild number of musical versions of “I felt a Funeral in my Brain” is my favorite and one done in collaboration with the museum: Andrew Bird’s song/music video for “I felt a Funeral in my Brain” (ft. Phoebe Bridgers) Happily, you can watch the full video (!) of the brilliant talk for the Emily Dickinson Museum that Dana did with Ayelet Amitay (“The Interior and the Other,” about the intersection of poetry and psychotheraphy) that Dana references in our conversation. People and concepts mentioned in the interview: American Gothic fiction Edgar Allan Poe Mabel Loomis Todd Jesse Kavadlo, Rock of Pages. Paradise Lost, John Milton Brian Teare & Albion Books Katie Peterson’s review of Dana’s book Sky Burial Mary Gaitskill Fact Check: The insane asylum that Dana mentioned was in Northampton – a few miles away from Amherst. Here is a little bit about it. A more complete version of a quote I mention: “Pardon my sanity, Mrs. Holland, in a world insane, and love me if you will, for I had rather be loved than to be called a king in earth, or a lord in Heaven.” Letter 185 to Elizabeth Holland, from August 1856(?) Another quote mentioned was “God keep me from what they call households.” Here’s the fuller context-- “My kitchen I think I called it, God forbid that it was, or shall be my own – God keep me from what they call households, except that bright one of ‘faith’!” Letter 36 to Abiah Root, May 1850. Recorded February 4, 2026. Thank you for taking the time to like, repost, review, and comment on the show! ox An upcoming workshop: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kathrynpetruccelli.substack.com/subscribe

    36 min

  8. APR 1

    Season Two of the Podcast!

    Season Two is almost here! I’m in LOVE with what these esteemed guests had to say and I hope you will be, too. The trailer above should give you a nice teaser as to what kind of craziness and beauty to anticipate. In this world? Who’s going to turn down LOVE? How do you feel about the big corporations? The soon-to-be trillionaires that push around power? Oh yeah? Hmm. Me too. This kind of programming is its antithesis. Support creative work. Listen and subscribe! Thank you! April 20: “poetry as an endurance technology” My talk with Dana includes conversation about psychological states of being, our society’s allowance (or not) for the range of them, chosen solitude, marrying the Muse... Dana Levin is the author of five books poetry. Her latest is Now Do You Know Where You Are (Copper Canyon), a 2022 New York Times Notable Book and NPR “Book We Love.” Levin teaches for the Bennington Writing Seminars, the MFA program at Bennington College, and serves as Distinguished Writer in Residence at Maryville University in St. Louis. Her first book of prose, House of Feels, comes out from Graywolf Press in 2027. April 27: “the sensitive heart” Victoria goes deep into how to navigate the world as mostly nervous system, what poetry can hold safe for us, and the joys and pitfalls of new love… Dr. Victoria Kennefick is a writer, poet, editor and teacher who lives in Tralee, Co. Kerry (Ireland). She completed a PhD in Irish and American Literature at University College Cork and was a Fulbright Scholar at Emory University. Her debut collection, Eat or We Both Starve (Carcanet Press, 2021), won the Seamus Heaney First Collection Poetry Prize and the Dalkey Book Festival Emerging Writer of the Year Award. It was shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize, the Costa Poetry Book Award, Derek Walcott Prize for Poetry and the Butler Literary Prize. Her second collection, Egg/Shell (Carcanet Press, 2024) was a Poetry Book Society Choice for Spring 2024 and won the Farmgate Café National Poetry Prize 2025. She was the 2025 Arts Council of Ireland/Trinity College Dublin Writer Fellow. May 4: “led by the dead” Kelli and I kick up our heels to chat about loved ones on the other side, Emily and Susan, the encroachment of technology in our everyday, refusing to check a box... Kelli Russell Agodon‘s next book Accidental Devotions will be published by Copper Canyon Press in May 2026. Her previous collection, Dialogues with Rising Tides, was a finalist for the Washington State Book Awards. Kelli is the cofounder of Two Sylvias Press and teaches in Pacific Lutheran University’s MFA program, the Rainier Writing Workshop. She is also the cohost of the poetry series Poems You Need with Melissa Studdard. May 11: “filling in the gaps” Matt shares amazing stories about what came out of his collaborative art installment at the Dickinson Museum, the strangeness of wanting to know another, and how we build stories and lives from small but significant artifacts… Matt Donovan is the author most recently of We Are Not Where We Are (Bull City Press, 2025) which was co-authored with Jenny George, and The Dug-Up Gun Museum (BOA 2022). He is the recipient of a Whiting Award, a Rome Prize in Literature, a Pushcart Prize, and an NEA Fellowship in Literature. Donovan serves as the director of the Boutelle-Day Poetry Center at Smith College. May 18: “a velocity in the language” Camille gets into the moment she went from rolling her eyes at the idea of Dickinson to being a lifelong devotee, scientific language and paths not taken, what happens when reading the past is problematic... Camille T. Dungy is the author of America, A Love Story, Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden, and five other books of poetry and prose. She has edited three anthologies, including Black Nature: Four Centuries of African American Nature Poetry. Dungy is currently a University Distinguished Professor at Colorado State University. May 25: “keeping it wild” Gaby has lots to say about bees and trains and trains and bees, Emily as the perfect figure for the (changing) moment in time she lived in, why stages aren’t that cool, who we need to read right now that can teach us not to look away… Gabrielle Calvocoressi’s new collection of poetry, The New Economy, was a finalist for the 2025 National Book Award in Poetry. Other collections include The Last Time I Saw Amelia Earhart, Apocalyptic Swing, and Rocket Fantastic, which is the winner of the Audre Lorde Award for Lesbian Poetry. They serve on the Board of Chancellors of the Academy of American Poets and live in Old East Durham, NC, where joy, compassion, and social justice are at the center of their personal and poetic practice. If you have been enjoying the podcast, you can support the work I do here in a variety of ways. Rate the podcast on whatever platform you listen on. Comment! Like! Share! If you are reading on Substack, take a quick second to hit that like heart, or if you have more time, comment and restack. The void is big and I am small. Let me know you are out there. You can also consider joining up as a paid subscriber. The monthly payment is the cost of a coffee & a croissant and will get you access to extras like the upcoming workshops on May 3 & June 7, and ensure that I can keep things rolling in this independent endeavor. Thank you. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kathrynpetruccelli.substack.com/subscribe

    2 min
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Conversations with today's poets and writers about Emily Dickinson and about the scope and sources of creative influence and the relevance of the past. Guests choose a Dickinson poem and one of their own to read. kathrynpetruccelli.substack.com

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  • Creator
    Kathryn Petruccelli
  • Years Active
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  • Episodes
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    © Kathryn Petruccelli
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    Melody or Witchcraft

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