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Lyt når som helst, hvor som helst 

American Public Media

Host Maggie Smith is your daily poetry companion. Poetry is one of the greatest tools we have to wield our own attention — to consider our own lives and the lives of others, to help us live creatively and compassionately, to use that attention to lean into wonder, and joy, and truth, and to find hope — to keep hoping. The Slowdown community knows that reflecting on a poem, every weekday, can connect us to our inner world and the world around us. Listen as you make your morning coffee, as you go on a walk in your neighborhood, as you pull away from the to-do list, as you resist the dismal, endless scroll to share five minutes of perspective through the lens of poetry, from poets old and new, well-loved and emerging onto the scene. Brought to you by American Public Media, in partnership with the Poetry Foundation.

The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily

Today’s poem is Kindness by Naomi Shihab Nye. 

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Wherever you live, you don’t have to be nice. But please be kind. We need more genuine, altruistic kindness in this world. So, how can you be more kind? By helping others without being performative about it, and without needing recognition. By letting people know you’re thinking of them, by reaching out when you know someone is struggling, and by practicing simple acts of kindness: holding a door open, letting someone go ahead of you in line, offering a sincere compliment. And one more thing: You can take in the wisdom of today’s poem and pass it along.” 

This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Power your daily dose of poetry at Slowdownshow.org/donate

1555: Kindness by Naomi Shihab Nye

Today’s poem is Nobody's Job by Ronna Bloom.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “We call an ending “resonant” because it does what a bell does: After it’s rung, the vibration lingers. It reverberates. It sticks with you long after you’ve read the piece, humming in your head. Today’s poem is beautiful start to finish, but the ending astonished me. It moved me to tears, which caught me by surprise! If you don’t know this poem, I’m envious that you get to experience it for the first time.”

This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Power your daily dose of poetry at Slowdownshow.org/donate

1554: Nobody's Job by Ronna Bloom

Today’s poem is When you have to remind me to do the dishes by Isaac Pickell.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “When I think back to my own upbringing and what I learned from my mother and father, almost none of it has to do with growing up as a girl. I got my work ethic, sense of humor, and sense of fairness from both of them. I remind myself of all of that whenever I wonder if my son is getting what he needs from me. And I remind myself that he has a village around him.” 

This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Power your daily dose of poetry at Slowdownshow.org/donate

1553: When you have to remind me to do the dishes by Isaac Pickell

Today’s poem is Mother Church No. 3 by Robin Coste Lewis.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “It’s incredible to me that less than two hours from my home in the Midwestern suburbs is an enormous ancient earthwork. But that’s the thing about history — it layers on top of itself in unexpected ways. No matter where you live in the United States, you live on land that has long been home to Indigenous people.”

This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support us today. Slowdownshow.org/donate

1552: Mother Church No. 3 by Robin Coste Lewis

Today’s poem is Laurelhurst by David Biespiel.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem makes its many, intentional observations at the pace of a good, long walk.” 

This show is made possible by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown today. Slowdownshow.org/donate

1551: Laurelhurst by David Biespiel

Today’s poem is The Interpretation of Dreams by Kate Farrell. 

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “The grand adventures or scary disasters that happen in our sleep are most interesting to the dreamers themselves, because a dream is a window into the subconscious. It’s a little peek into what your mind is actually chewing on, maybe without you even realizing it. You thought you were over that thing a friend said to you, or that awkward situation at work, but when it popped up in your dream, you realized no, it’s still on your mind.” 

This show is made possible by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown today. Slowdownshow.org/donate

1550: The Interpretation of Dreams by Kate Farrell

Today’s poem is Thirst Trap by Caleb Curtiss. 

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “People post seductive selfies for all kinds of reasons. They might want validation in the forms of likes and comments. They might be single and hoping to meet someone online. They might be trying to build a following, or promote a product. Someone’s face or body is going to grab a lot more eyes on social media than text on a plain background. Which means we’re often attaching our bodies to our labor or art. Regardless of how you feel about this, it is, in a way, deeply intimate.” 

This show is made possible by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown today. Slowdownshow.org/donate

1549: Thirst Trap by Caleb Curtiss

Today’s poem is You're Supposed to Enjoy Dying by Colin Pope. 

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “There are so many things to fear — spiders, snakes, heights, deep water, the dark. I have a friend who is so fearful of rats, you can’t even say the word in her presence. I’d say that most of these fears are rational. Snakes and spiders can bite, and some are venomous. You could drown in deep water or fall from a great height. The one thing that humans seem almost universally afraid of is also the only part of life that is certain: death.” 

This show is made possible by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown today. Slowdownshow.org/donate

1548: You're Supposed to Enjoy Dying by Colin Pope

Today’s poem is Northern Flicker Reconsidered by Susan Rich. 

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Once, during a Q&A after a reading, a woman raised her hand to ask, ‘What’s with all the birds in your poems?’ I had to laugh. She was right: the hawks, grackles, and starlings of my neighborhood have called and swooped into many of my poems. I told her that birds are wildlife that we all have access to, no matter where we live. Birds are everywhere … in cities, in suburbs, in the country. They make cameo appearances in many of my poems, and sometimes they’re even the stars.” 

This show is made possible by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown today. Slowdownshow.org/donate

1547: Northern Flicker Reconsidered by Susan Rich

Today’s poem is Pocket Dial by James Davis May. 

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes... "It’s a strangely intimate thing, the pocket dial. When we’re on the receiving end, we find ourselves listening from a tucked away place close to someone’s body. It’s a pitfall of carrying our devices with us. Previous generations, generations who grew up without cell phones, didn’t have to contend with things like pocket dials."

This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation and get access to the sponsor-free version of The Slowdown today. slowdownshow.org/donate

1546: Pocket Dial by James Davis May

Today’s poem is How to Dress a Star by Nicholas Goodly. 

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem reminds me to feel tenderness toward the earlier versions of me. It reminds me that we should acknowledge our past selves more. Just think of what earlier versions of you were able to endure. Bless them for that.” 

We’re asking you, our community of listeners, to help us select poems to share on the show in an upcoming week of special programming. What poems have you sent friends and loved ones to encourage them to slow down? Send in your own selection, we’ll mail you a special Slowdown postcard and sticker as a thank you. Submit here: bit.ly/slowdownsubmissions

1507: How to Dress a Star by Nicholas Goodly

Lyt når som helst, hvor som helst

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