141 episodes

Delve into an immersive exploration of a single poem. Poetry Unbound is short and unhurried; contemplative and energizing — with a podcast, a book, a vibrant conversation on Substack, and occasional gatherings.

Pádraig Ó Tuama greets you at the doorways of brilliant poems, and invites you to meet them with stories of your world. The poems are eager to meet you, too.

Poetry Unbound On Being Studios

    • Arts
    • 4.9 • 3.1K Ratings

Delve into an immersive exploration of a single poem. Poetry Unbound is short and unhurried; contemplative and energizing — with a podcast, a book, a vibrant conversation on Substack, and occasional gatherings.

Pádraig Ó Tuama greets you at the doorways of brilliant poems, and invites you to meet them with stories of your world. The poems are eager to meet you, too.

    dg nanouk okpik — In a Lock of Hair

    dg nanouk okpik — In a Lock of Hair

    If you could put a lock of your hair under a microscope, what would it contain? DNA certainly, but here in dg nanouk okpik’s poem, the hair also contains memory, smell, location, disease, dreams, and medicine.

    • 13 min
    On Poetry and Patronage: An Invitation to Love Us

    On Poetry and Patronage: An Invitation to Love Us

    Pádraig reflects on the transformative force of poetry, and Krista joins with an invitation to pay tribute to the ongoing work of Poetry Unbound.

    Make a gift and learn more at onbeing.org/LoveUs.

    • 1 min
    Benjamin Gucciardi — The Rungs

    Benjamin Gucciardi — The Rungs

    A social worker holds a group for teenagers at a school. They only half pay attention to him. Then something happens, and they pay attention to each other.

    • 15 min
    Rowan Ricardo Phillips — Never Again Would Birds’ Song Be the Same

    Rowan Ricardo Phillips — Never Again Would Birds’ Song Be the Same

    Have you ever had a private moment — perhaps in the middle of the night — in a large city? When it just seems like it’s you and the great dreaming metropolis? Rowan Ricardo Phillips brings us into a memory he can’t forget, complete with a Wu-Tang Clan soundtrack.

    • 12 min
    Alexander Posey — The Dew and the Bird

    Alexander Posey — The Dew and the Bird

    In a poem of strict rhymes and old forms, Alexander Posey (1873-1908), a poet of the Creek Nation, poses challenges to pomposity.

    • 11 min
    José Olivarez — No Time to Wait

    José Olivarez — No Time to Wait

    In a church there are liturgies and prayers and statues. But in José Olivarez’s poem, there are more urgent things taking place, things that have “no time to wait.”

    • 11 min

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5
3.1K Ratings

3.1K Ratings

LeeLee Lauree ,

i enjoy this so much

the passing days are soft then i listen to a certain poem and that day grips me. thanks for sharing poets i may never have heard of.

Rdswinford ,

Just wonderful

Stumbled on this podcast …. Luck 🍀 or the universe

PoaRunner ,

A respite

I love Poetry Unbound. It’s a respite in our crazy and beautiful world. I love Poetry Unbound—you will too.

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