The Beat

David Baker is the author and editor of 18 books, including 12 books of poetry. His most recent book is Swift: New and Selected Poems, published by W. W. Norton.  Baker teaches at Denison University and he frequently serves on the faculty of the MFA program for writers at Warren Wilson College. He is the Poetry Editor of The Kenyon Review.  "Swift" is used with permission by the author. Links:Read "Swift" by David BakerDavid Baker’s Website "Poetry That Bears Witness to a Changing Natural World,” a review of Swift: New and Selected Poems in The New YorkerInterview at Tupelo QuarterlyPoems and Essays at Virginia Quarterly Review Online Swift: New and Selected Poems at Amazon.com David Baker reading at CornellCastMusic:"Just A Memory Now (Instrumental)" by Chad Crouch is licensed under CCBY NC 4.0 with modifications

Tyler Mills’ poems have appeared in The New Yorker, Poetry Magazine, The Guardian, The New Republic, and others. She’s published two books and has two chapbooks forthcoming. Mills teaches for Sarah Lawrence College’s Writing Institute and she edits The Account, an online literary magazine. Look for Tyler Mills’ books in our online catalog or call us at the Reference Desk at Lawson McGhee Library. Today's poem, "Oak," appeared in the January 2021 issue of Poetry Magazine. You can read the poem on the Poetry Foundation's website or in the links below. Links:Read "Oak" by Tyler MillsTyler Mills’ websiteBio and poems at the Poetry Foundation“The Poetic Half-Life of One Family’s Nuclear History: Tyler Mills on Her Grandfather's Role in the Bombing of Nagasaki” in Literary Hub Review of Hawk Parable at Publishers WeeklyPoems at PinwheelPoems in Blackbird  Introduction, reviews, and visual art at Tupelo QuarterlyMusic:"Just A Memory Now (Instrumental)" by Chad Crouch is licensed under CCBY NC 4.0 with modifications

Cintia Santana’s work has appeared in the Best New Poets 2020 anthology, The Iowa Review, The Kenyon Review, and many other literary journals. She was awarded fellowships from CantoMundo, the Atlantic Center for the Arts, and the Djerassi Resident Artists Program. She teaches literary translation, as well as poetry and fiction workshops in Spanish, at Stanford University. Links:Read "Ode to the J" and "[F]"Cintia Santana’s website Interview at The Kenyon ReviewPoems at Kenyon Review Online “Kintsugi” at Harvard Review OnlinePoems at Beloit Poetry Journal“Plosive” (visual poem) at PleiadesMusic:"Just A Memory Now (Instrumental)" by Chad Crouch is licensed under CCBY NC 4.0 with modifications

Maurice Manning has published seven books of poetry. His first book, Lawrence Booth’s Book of Visions, won the Yale Younger Poets Award, and his fourth, The Common Man, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.  Be sure to look for books by Manning in our online catalog. Links:Read "One View of Time" by Maurice ManningBio and poems at the Poetry FoundationThe Grinnin' Possum Podcast: Poetry Music History with Maurice ManningArticle in Garden & GunInterview at PlumeManning reading at the Sewanee Writer's Conference (Video)Music:"Just A Memory Now (Instrumental)" by Chad Crouch is licensed under CCBY NC 4.0 with modificationsmBZv33R852R0VfEcJsei

Subscribe to this feed for an upcoming poetry podcast produced by Knox County Public Library. It’s called The Beat.David Orr, a poetry columnist for the New York Times Book Review, describes a common idea that some people have about poetry—that understanding it "is like solving a calculus problem while being zapped with a cattle prod." Or maybe worse, we hear people give (again quoting David Orr) "testimonials announcing poetry’s ability to derange the senses, make us lose ourselves in rapture, dance naked under the full moon, and so forth." We’ll try to avoid all of that. Each show will introduce a new poet and you’ll get to hear poems being read aloud by the poets themselves, usually. The first episode of “The Beat” will air in a couple of weeks. Please tune in for the show, and subscribe.