Preston's Poetry Podcast
Preston's Poetry Podcast
Preston Losack
Poetry is for everybody.In every episode, Preston leads you through a poem to break through that intimidation of poetry. Dive into concepts, techniques, and insights that unlock new doors of understanding what's going on with poetry. Discover poetics, sounds, and emotions through close readings of selected poems.If you've ever felt lost in the maze of stanzas or craved insight into intricate lines, this is the perfect space. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
(Not an) Exam Special - "The Waste Land" by TS Eliot ft. Arjan Hut
It's a big special episode! Poet Arjan Hut and I sit down in front of a tin can to talk TS Eltiot's the Waste Land. It's a mixed language interview, and I'm leaving it that way because The Waste Land is too! If you listen on Apple Podcasts, you can get an automated translated transcript in the app.We talk collage form, the world in shambles, mixed language poetry, and what we like about this deck-o-tarot-cards poem written in 1922. Enjoy!Featuring Arjan Hut from Garbielle en Arjan bedoele it net ferkeardProducer Gustav Worm-LethOutro Yentl TijssensRecording - AbelPhoto: Niels Westra Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 30, 2025
1 hr 40 min
26. Villlanelles pt 2. - Michael Luis Medrano "Villanelle"
Part 2 of 2 on Villanelles, I'll be going stanza by stanza to show how the repetition of Villanelles can be used to create richer emotions. Using a living poet's Villanelle, Michael Luis Medrano harnesses the power of repetition to shed light on Chicano fatherhood."Villanelle" by Michael Luis Medrano, from Born in the Cavity of Sunsets (page 4) by Michael Medrano, © 2009Bilingual Press/Editorial Bilingüe.Production Gustav Worm-LethOutro Yentl Tijssens Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 11, 2025
17 min
25. Villanelles pt 1 - Dylan Thomas "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night"
In this episode, I'll be talking about how we can look at poetic forms and discover their internal benefits -- through a difficult form to write called a Villanelle. I'll discuss harnessing the power of repetition with Dylan Thomas' Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night.Production Gustav Worm-LethOutro Yentl Tijssens Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 11, 2025
27 min
24. Couplets suck! (a Rant) - Robert Louis Stevenson "Land of Nod", Basil Bunting "Briggflatts", and Robert Frost "Nothing Gold Can Stay"
In this episode of Preston's Poetry Podcast ----- I'm wasting your time with a rant about why I (usually) hate couplets. It's also another "screw you" to some 19th-century poets, which is always nice. I'll be comparing the great couplet use of Robert Frost with Robert Louis Stevenson -- "Nothing Gold Can Stay" and "The Land of Nod" (respectively, the latter I hate.) Plus a cameo appearance of one of my favorites, "Briggflatts" by Basil Bunting.Producer Gustav Worm-LethOutro Yentl Tijssens Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Dec 20, 2024
15 min
23. Free Verse Form - "Small Kindnesses" by Danusha Lameris
We’ve also previously been talking about this dynamic interchange – what Hopkins calls counterpoint — between Form and Function, how truly great poems take on a form not because the form is important in itself but because the structure of the poem somehow reflects the subject matter. So, what about free verse? Today’s poem is a good example about how free verse itself can serve a function. Join me for "Small Kindnesses" by Danusha Lameris!Used with consent from the author.Production Gustav Worm-LethOutro Yentl Tijssens Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Dec 6, 2024
21 min
22. Censorship & Controversy - "the mother" by Gwendolyn Brooks
CONTENT WARNING: AbortionToday I'll be addressing a heavy but beautiful poem by Gwendolyn Brooks, "the mother." Some say it's a pro-, some say it's an anti-abortion poem. It's actually neither -- rather, it's a good example of what the role of the poet is in the middle of controversy, hatred, judgment, peril, and political divide.Used/Reprinted by Consent of Brooks PermissionsProducer Gustav Worm-LethOutro Yentl Tijssens Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Nov 22, 2024
30 min
21. Tradition (and its limits) - "We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks
In this episode, I will have the immense pleasure of introducing you to one of my all-time favorite poets, Gwendolyn Brooks. We'll be talking about "THE CANON" and how we can look to poets like Gwendolyn Brooks to know where the limits of our reverence for tradition should lie -- with a really cool, short, jazzy poem, "We Real Cool."Used/Reprinted By Consent of Brooks Permissions.-----Outro Yentl TijssensProducer Gustav Worm-Leth Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Nov 16, 2024
25 min
20. Haiku with Bashō and Ezra Pound
I'll be rapid-firing haiku! We'll talk about the history of Haiku (Hoku + Haikai) and how to read them! If you wanna check out more on Haiku, check out this great youtube video by Kent Morita and Takahiro Dunn.Guest starring: a teacher in Ibaraki Prefecture in Japan!Production Gustav LethOutro Yentl Tijssens Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 12, 2024
16 min
19. Ekphrasis 2.2 - "Landscape with the Fall of Icarus", William Carlos Williams
In this two-part miniseries about two poets' takes on Pieter Bruegel's The Fall of Icarus (c. 1560), I'll be looking at William Carlos Williams' sober take in his Landscape with the Fall of Icarus.Intro: Johnny Loves MeProduction Gustav Worm-LethOutro Yentl Tijssens Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 28, 2024
12 min
18. Ekphrasis 2.1- "Musee des Beaux Arts" by WH Auden
In this two-part mini-series on Ekphrastic poems, we'll be looking at the first of two poets to write ekphrastic poems about Pieter Bruegel's The Fall of Icarus (c. 1560), starting with WH Auden's Musee des Beaux Arts.Producer: Gustav Worm-LethOutro: Yentl Tijssens Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 28, 2024
16 min
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