Poetry and Podcasts

Poet Ocean Vuong

April is National Poetry Month, and what better way to take in some inspiring verses than by listening to podcasts from the ALOUD archives. Over the years, ALOUD has welcomed to the stage some of today’s most captivating poets to read and discuss their work. From Pulitzer-prize winners with career-spanning collected works to young poets with their groundbreaking debut books, from the internationally renowned to local legends, we’ve got a diverse mix of poetry that is sure to speak to you. Listen in to some of these highlights below, or explore ALOUD’s growing poetry collection on the Media Archive.

Poet Ocean Vuong
Poet Ocean Vuong reads from his work at ALOUD.
Award-winning poet Ocean Vuong’s debut full-length collection, Night Sky with Exit Wounds, has been hailed by critics for its powerful emotional undertow, sincerity and candor, and “sense of the evanescence of all earthly things” as Michiko Kakutani writes in The New York Times.
Following the Pulitzer prize-winning collection Stag’s Leap, Sharon Olds’ newest book of poems, Odes, addresses and embodies love, gender, and sexual politics through the powerful and tender age-old poetic form of the ode. National Book Award winner Robin Coste Lewis’ stunning poetry debut, Voyage of the Sable Venus, considers the roles of desire and race in the construction of the self through lyrical meditations on the black female figure.

Robert Creeley
This podcast is a discussion from 2000’s “Words In the World” series; a curated series of artists whose stories, essays, poems, novels, and films illuminated a global culture in crisis and celebration, extending their imaginations into the vast territory of the heart and the world.


A Tribute to Wanda Coleman with Terrance Hayes, Douglas Kearney, and Others

Los Angeles’ unofficial poet laureate, Wanda Coleman, was celebrated during this evening of readings and shared memories. Honoring what she did for poetry and who she was in Los Angeles: ­a larger-than-life figure who for decades reminded us how to be our own most authentic selves, who made us remember histories of poetry and oppression and music.

Discussing Hebrew, Polish, and Irish writers, four of the world’s best known poets examine how local politics, national realities, and cultural traditions affect great literary traditions.

W.S. Merwin
In a career spanning five decades, W.S. Merwin, lauded poet, translator, and environmental activist, is one of the most widely read poets in America. In this special visit to the Los Angeles Public Library, Merwin reads from his work.

 

Browse all the great podcasts and videos from past ALOUD programs at the Media Archive.

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