Recent Episodes
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Nov. 1, 2026
"Madman's Song" by Elinor Wylie
Better to see your cheek grown hollow, Better to see your temple worn, Than to forget to follow, follow, After the sound of a silver horn. Better to bind your brow with willow And follow, follow until you die, Than to sleep with your head on a golden pillow, Nor lift it up when the hunt goes by. Better to see your cheek grow sallow And your hair grown gray, so soon, so soon, Than to forget to hallo, hallo, After the milk-white hounds of the moon.
57
Oct. 25, 2026
"Gold in the Mountain" by Herman Melville
Gold in the mountain, And gold in the glen, And greed in the heart, Heaven having no part, And unsatisfied men.
56
Oct. 18, 2026
"Chicago" by Carl Sandburg (Excerpt)
HOG Butcher for the World, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler; Stormy, husky, brawling, City of the Big Shoulders:
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Oct. 11, 2026
"How Still the Bells in Steeples Stand" by Emily Dickinson
HOW still the bells in steeples stand, Till, swollen with the sky, They leap upon their silver feet In frantic melody!
54
Oct. 4, 2026
"Oread" by H.D.
Whirl up, sea— whirl your pointed pines, splash your great pines on our rocks, hurl your green over us, cover us with your pools of fir.
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Sept. 27, 2026
"In September" by Amy Levy
The sky is silver-grey; the long Slow waves caress the shore.— On such a day as this I have been glad, Who shall be glad no more.
Recent Blog Posts
Nov. 1, 2026
Untamed Passion: Elinor Wylie's "Madman's Song"
First published in 1921 in her acclaimed breakout collection Nets to Catch the Wind, "Madman's Song" is a hypnotic, musical exploration of wild obsession by Elinor Wylie (1885–1928). Wylie was a central figure in the 1920s New York literary scene, r…
Oct. 25, 2026
The Cost of Greed: Herman Melville's "Gold in the Mountain"
Published in 1891 in his final privately printed collection Timoleon, "Gold in the Mountain" is a sharp, five-line cautionary verse by Herman Melville (1819–1891). Best known today as the legendary author of Moby-Dick, Melville spent the final decad…
Oct. 18, 2026
Industrial Might: Carl Sandburg's "Chicago" (Excerpt)
First published in 1914 in Harriet Monroe’s pioneering Poetry: A Magazine of Verse, "Chicago" catapulted Carl Sandburg (1878–1967) to international fame and redefined American working-class poetry. Before earning three Pulitzer Prizes, Sandburg work…