In this episode, Abby Walthausen interviews Peter Orner, fiction writer and professor of English and Creative writing at Dartmouth College, for a special Bloomsday episode. For memory, they offer up James Joyce's "On the Beach at Fontana," a poem from a tiny chapbook called Pomes Penyeach, which offers a window into Joyce's family life in Trieste during the period when he was writing his masterpiece Ulysses.Recitation begins at 35:20On the Beach at FontanaWind whines and whines the shingle,The crazy pierstakes groan;A senile sea numbers each singleSlimesilvered stone.From whining wind and colderGrey sea I wrap him warmAnd touch his trembling fineboned shoulderAnd boyish arm.Around us fear, descendingDarkness of fear aboveAnd in my heart how deep unendingAche of love!

In this episode, Abby Walthausen interviews Susan Angelo, actor, educator, and founder of The Shakespeare Gymnasium! For memory, they offer up William Shakespeare's Sonnet 143 "Lo, as a Careful Housewife Runs to Catch," a very funny poem in which a baby and a chicken stand for competing lovers. Recitation begins at 22:32.Sonnet 143Lo, as a careful housewife runs to catchOne of her feather’d creatures broke away,Sets down her babe, and makes all swift dispatchIn pursuit of the thing she would have stay;Whilst her neglected child holds her in chase,Cries to catch her whose busy care is bentTo follow that which flies before her face,Not prizing her poor infant’s discontent;So runn’st thou after that which flies from thee,Whilst I thy babe chase thee afar behind;But if thou catch thy hope, turn back to me,And play the mother’s part, kiss me, be kind;So will I pray that thou mayst have thy ‘Will’,If thou turn back and my loud crying still.

In this episode, Abby interviews Jos Kley, former singer of the long running Dutch punk band The Ex. Together, they present the poem "One Art" by Elizabeth Bishop. Recitation begins at 35:08.One ArtThe art of losing isn't hard to master;so many things seem filled with the intentto be lost that their loss is no disaster.Lose something every day. Accept the flusterof lost door keys, the hour badly spent.The art of losing isn't hard to master.Then practice losing farther, losing faster:places, and names, and where it was you meantto travel. None of these will bring disaster.I lost my mother's watch. And look! my last, ornext-to-last, of three loved houses went.The art of losing isn't hard to master.I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster.—Even losing you (the joking voice, a gestureI love) I shan't have lied. It's evidentthe art of losing's not too hard to masterthough it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

In this episode, Abby interviews Catherine Robson, professor at NYU and author of "Heart Beats: Everyday Life and the Memorized Poem." Together, they present the poem "Casabianca" by Elizabeth Bishop. Recitation begins at 36:10. CasabiancaElizabeth BishopLove's the boy stood on the burning decktrying to recite "The boy stood onthe burning deck." Love's the son  stood stammering elocution  while the poor ship in flames went down.Love's the obstinate boy, the ship,even the swimming sailors, whowould like a schoolroom platform, too,  or an excuse to stay  on deck. And love's the burning boy.

In this episode, Abby interviews Susie Boyt, author of several books, among them the novel Loved and Missed and the memoir My Judy Garland Life. Together, they present the poem "Piping Down the Valleys Wild," by William Blake.Recitation begins at 25:10Piping Down the Valleys WildWilliam BlakePiping down the valleys wild, Piping songs of pleasant glee,On a cloud I saw a child, And he laughing said to me:—"Pipe a song about a lamb:" So I piped with merry cheer."Piper, pipe that song again:" So I piped: he wept to hear."Drop thy pipe, thy happy pipe, Sing thy songs of happy cheer!"So I sang the same again, While he wept with joy to hear."Piper, sit thee down and write In a book, that all may read—"So he vanished from my sight; And I plucked a hollow reed,And I made a rural pen, And I stained the water clear,And I wrote my happy songs Every child may joy to hear.