• Ep 175: What Voice Is, ft. Jonathan Farmer, Pt. 1
    Dec 26 2024
    SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it’s easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:Mary OliverPity the Beautiful by Dana GioiaThe Art of Voice: Poetic Principles and Practice by Tony HoaglandDerek WalcottFrances LevistonGerard Manley HopkinsRobert PinskyThe Dream Songs by John BerrymanThe Iceman Cometh by Eugene O'NeillRobert LowellAs Kingfishers Catch Fire by Gerard Manley HopkinsNobody Speak by DJ Shadow32 PoemsElegy for Estrogen by V. Penelope PelizzonSonnet 18The Face by Randall JarrellMy Picture Left in Scotland by Ben JonsonCarl DennisPromises of Gold by José Olivarezpoem where no one is deported by José OlivarezMatthew ArnoldFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith
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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • Ep 174: The Losing Position, Pt. 1
    Dec 20 2024
    SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it’s easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:My Grandmaster Mom Sneaked in to a Chess Tournament in LondonAnna CramlingDing LirenDing Liren is CHILLINGJohn Cena speaking mandarin with an ice-creamGrandmasters being SAVAGE for 8 minutes straightGukesh DommarajuJudit PolgárAmélie MauresmoDonald JusticeLee HerrickEp 172: Less Human Than Human, Pt. 1 & Pt. 2Matthew's poem Spontaneous LossLying by Sam Harris(and these things are mentioned in the secret show)Philip Larkin, the Poet Laureate who never wasGwen HarwoodJames McAuleyThat Mitchell and Webb Look: The Doctor and the Ice Cream TasterSuch Great Heights by The Postal ServiceWinning Ugly by Brad GilbertKen BoltonPoetry Says Ep. 290 Australian GothicFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith
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    1 hr and 11 mins
  • Ep 173: Swart Verse, ft. A. E. Stallings, Pt. 1
    Dec 15 2024
    SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. NB: Stallings wrote in to add a note: “I am somewhat mortified to realize that I got Pemberly's situation wrong--of course it is in Derbyshire! Uggh. Don't know if there is a way to edit my Yorkshire comments out, or add a comment there. Austenites will have me for lunch. (Rightly so.)”My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it’s easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Send your AMA questions to sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] com– This Afterlife by A. E. Stallings– The Oxford Professor of Poetry– Beautiful Fierce Cheats (review of Wetzsteon & Bachman) by A. E. Stallings– A Gaze Hound That Hunteth by the Eye by V. Penelope Pelizzon– Stallings on Cliche by V. Penelope Pelizzon– Temper by Beth Bachman– Silver Roses by Rachel Wetzsteon– Bells for John Whiteside’s Daughter by John Crowe Ransom– Resume by Dorothy Parker– Joy Division– The Smiths– Sakura Park by Rachel Wetzsteon– Stankonia by OutKast– After Wyatt by Rachel Wetzsteon– Pemberly by Rachel Wetzsteon– Septimus by Rachel Wetzsteon– Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf– They Flee from Me by Thomas Wyatt– Nightingales by Rachel Wetzsteon– Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen– John Hollander– West Chester Poetry Conference– Ange Mlinko– Richie Hofmann– Housman’s expansion of Sappho’s epithalamiumFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith
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    58 mins
  • Ep 172: Less Human Than Human, Pt. 1
    Dec 6 2024
    SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. NB: Oops, I said the study appeared in Scientific Reports, which it did, but this is actually just a segment of the prominent science journal Nature.My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it’s easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Send your AMA questions to sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] com– Ethan’s Response to Ep 171– Ep 171: Into the Black– When Good Becomes Too Good: The Curious Case of AI Poetry by John Nosta– AI-generated poetry is indistinguishable from human-written poetry and is rated more favorably by Brian Porter and Edouard Machery– The complete set of data and experimental materials from the Porter and Machery study– The complete set of poems used in the Porter and Machery study– ChatGPT’s Poetry Is Incompetent and Banal by Ernest Davis– Ding Liren– Gukesh Dommaraju – Game Changer by Matthew Sadler and Natasha Regan– Ep 101: Lucky Ruins, ft. Stephen Marche– Justin Vernon with (also a bold revival of pop-music saxophone) and without (a real delight if you’re a Bonnie Raitt fan) Auto-TuneFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith
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    1 hr and 8 mins
  • Ep 171: Into the Black
    Nov 27 2024
    SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. NB: Michael Jordan is alive. The knights are of course shaped like horses.My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it’s easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Ethan’s response to this episode– Ding Liren– Wei Yi– Wei Yi’s poem for Ding Liren w/ Ethan McGuire’s literal rendering, transliteration, and preliminary translation into rhyming pentameter– Gukesh Dommaraju– Poetry Says Ep 263. Water-dragon blues– Poetry Says Ep 97. What makes poets lucky– World Chess Championship 2024, Game 1– Dreaming of Li Bai by Du Fu– Chess24/Chess.com– Gotham Chess– Take Take Take– On Writing and Failure by Stephen Marche– The Stephen Marche episode– The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost– Sorrow and Words by Li Qingzhao– The Wild Swans at Coole by W. B. Yeats– Wild Geese by Mary Oliver– Ethan’s NVR newsletter– An Alley in Avignon by Mary Jo Salter– Ethan’s recent thematically cohesive commonplace bookFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith
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    1 hr and 7 mins
  • Ep 170: New Advances in Quitting Poetry, ft. Versecraft
    Nov 22 2024
    SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it’s easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– The Promise of Words by Laura Riding– Elijah’s notes on the essay– Beyond Poetry by Blake Smith– The Republic by Plato– On Portents by Robert Graves– No Second Troy by W. B. Yeats– Versecraft on Riding & Graves, on John Martin Finlay, on CameronFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith
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    1 hr and 15 mins
  • Ep 169: Thunder & Rain
    Nov 12 2024
    SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. NB: Oops, forgot to mention all the non-voting/protest voting listeners out there. I see you, too.My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it’s easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Leila’s recommendations:- "Dedication" by Fady Joudah, who is also American but with a personal connection to Gaza, many of whose family members have indeed been killed there: 2024 Jackson Poetry Prize Reading: Fady Joudah in Conversation With Pádraig Ó Tuama (recorded here beginning at minute 50)- "Not Just Passing" and "I Grant You Refuge" by Heba Abu Nada, who was killed in Gaza: Not Just Passing: In Honor of Heba Abu Nada - Mizna; I Grant You Refuge • Protean Magazine- "My mother once said" and "The land fights, too" by Nour Khalil Abu Shammala, writing from Gaza: My mother once said | The Electronic Intifada; The land fights, too | The Electronic Intifada- "A Request," "Right or Left," and others contained in this interview with Mosab Abu Toha, who is from Gaza and some of whose experience is also recounted here: “Forest of Noise”: Palestinian Poet Mosab Abu Toha on New Book, Relatives Killed in Gaza & More | Democracy Now!- "It Always Starts with Words" and "Four Poems" by Olivia Elias, born in Palestine and writing from the diaspora: It Always Starts with Words - Mizna; FOUR POEMS by Olivia Elias, trans. Jérémy Victor Robert – FOUR WAY REVIEW- "Gazan Despair" and "When a Missile Lands" by Yahya Ashour, who is outside of Gaza and unable to return: Gazan Despair - Mizna; New Poetry in Translation: Yahya Ashour’s ‘When a Missile Lands’ – ARABLIT & ARABLIT QUARTERLY- Poems from "Ash and Air" by Nadine Murtaja, writing from Gaza: Ash and Air: a Poetry Folio from Gaza - Mizna– Padraig O Tuama– Julie Steiner– Ep 167: Poetry Magazine, October 2024– Ceasefire Haiku by Faisal Mohyuddin– The Tea and Sage Poem by Fady Joudah– Mimesis by Fady Joudah– Forest of Noise by Mosab Abu Toha– Brian Cox’s rendition of If I Must Die by Refaat Alareer– If I Must Die by Refaat Alareer– Sunlight on the Garden by Louis MacNeiceFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith
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    1 hr and 17 mins
  • Ep 168: What Are Houses For?, ft. James Haverty Smith
    Nov 6 2024
    SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it’s easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– James Haverty Smith– Toward an Architecture by Le Corbusier– Kanye West Bought an Architectural Treasure—Then Gave It a Violent Remix by Ian Parker– Ep 167: Poetry Magazine, October 2024– My appearance on Drunk as Poet on Payday– Jason Gray– Tadao Ando– Frank Gehry– Zaha Hadid– Santiago Calatrava– Colin Rowe– Tesla Cybertruck (and the phony DeLorean logo on the one we saw)– Boston Dynamics Dogs– Paradise Lost by John Milton– Manuel Cadrecha– Cloister of Santa Maria della Pace (the perfect courtyard)– Jorge Silvetti (the professor who assigned the analysis of the Villa La Rotonda)– Villa La Rotonda (the most famous building in the world)– Donato Bramante– Andrea Palladio– Civilization and Its Discontents by Sigmund Freud– Notre-Dame du Haut (Le Corbusier’s chapel in Ronchamp)– Bauhaus– Collage City by Fred Koetter and Colin Rowe– Philip Johnson– Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (Frank Gehry’s building inspired by the shipyards)– Heydar Aliyev Centre (Zaha Hadid’s building dedicated to a tyrant but beloved by skateboarders)– Santa Maria de la Tourette– Villa Savoye– The Paideia School (my weird high school)– A Worn Path by Eudora Welty– Margaret Pepperdene (my mentor Jane)– The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer– John’s Mountie Boots by Marilyn Levine– Chuck Close– Louis Kahn (not Thomas Kuhn)– Thomas Kuhn (the paradigm shift guy)– John Barth (not Roland Barthes)– The Death of the Author by Roland Barthes– Donald Barthelme– The Rites & Wrongs of Janice Wills by Joanna Pearson (my wife’s YA novel)– The Daily: How Air-Conditioning Conquered the World– One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez– Dear Derrida by David Kirby – Mozart’s Requiem– The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton– Westworld (1973) by Michael Crichton– Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton– Timeline by Michael Crichton– CivilWarLand in Bad Decline by George SaundersFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith
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    1 hr and 29 mins