PoetryNow: New National and International Broadcast and Podcast Series Showcases Contemporary Poets

CHICAGO – The Poetry Foundation is proud to announce a unique partnership with The WFMT Radio Network, a premier producer and syndicator of arts radio programs. PoetryNow is a new nationally and internationally syndicated short-form radio series and podcast that showcases established and emerging poets reading and discussing new poems.

Beginning today with a poem by Jericho Brown, the recordings will be delivered as a twice-weekly series through the Foundation’s Poem of the Day, a daily subscription email, and as a podcast on poetryfoundation.org. PoetryNow will also air regularly on 98.7WFMT on Friday evenings and, through syndication, on radio stations throughout the United States and internationally. 

“To listen to a poet read a new poem with passion, flair and insight is a stirring experience that these recordings capture and make available to a wide audience,” said Poetry Foundation President Robert Polito. “Particularly poignant are the discussions by the poets themselves about their own work. We sense the thrills of discovery, of invention, and start to glimpse the arrival of an urgent and beautiful new language for our most essential contemporary experiences.” 

Whether you’re a poetry expert or just curious about what is happening in poetry today, PoetryNow is an acoustically rich source for listening in on the writing process of living poets you know and for discovering new voices. The first season includes John Ashbery, Rae Armantrout, Jamaal May, Eileen Myles and many others. From April to June, 26 episodes will be available for stations to broadcast in any quantity or combination, at no cost. The second season of PoetryNow is expected to begin in September 2015.

PoetryNow can be heard on stations in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, West Virginia and Wisconsin. The series will also soon be offered for international broadcast through the European Broadcasting Union.

“Helping bring many of the most exciting poets in the English-speaking world to listeners in a format that embraces the full range of styles and subjects of contemporary poetry is a thrill,” said Steve Robinson, general manager of 98.7WFMT and The WFMT Radio Network. “We look forward to hearing how PoetryNow resonates not just in the United States but around the world.”

Schedule of Featured Poets for April – National Poetry Month

Episode I of PoetryNow available now -- Thursday, April 2: Jericho Brown

In the poem “Herman Finley”, Jericho Brown invokes the legacy of a man central to his childhood and his entry into poetry. Produced by David Schulman.

Upcoming PoetryNow Poets and links to their bios:

Tuesday, April 7: Rae Armantrout

Thursday, April 9: Frank Bidart

Tuesday, April 14: Kevin Killian

Thursday, April 16: Morgan Parker

Tuesday, April 21: Fanny Howe

Thursday, April 23: Robert Fernandez

Tuesday, April 28: Lucy Ives

Thursday, April 30: Khadijah Queen

Full Season May 5 – June 30

Tuesday, May 5: John Ashbery

Thursday, May 7: Dorothea Lasky

Tuesday, May 12: Eileen Myles

Thursday, May 14: Amber Atiya

Tuesday, May 19: Jamaal May

Thursday, May 21: Solmaz Sharif

Tuesday, May 26: Cedar Sigo

Thursday, May 28: CAConrad

Tuesday, June 2: Danez Smith

Thursday, June 4: Mary Jo Bang

Tuesday, June 9: Catherine Wagner

Thursday, June 11: Anthony Madrid

Tuesday, June 16: Wendy Xu

Thursday, June 18: Thomas Sayers Ellis

Tuesday, June 23: Deborah Landau

Thursday, June 25: David Tomas Martinez

Tuesday, June 30: Oli Hazzard

 

To sign up for the Poetry Foundation’s Poem of the Day subscription, where PoetryNow will be a twice-weekly offering, visit poetryfoundation.org and check the “Poem of the Day” box on the Newsletters sign-up page.

About the Poetry Foundation

The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine, is an independent literary organization committed to a vigorous presence for poetry in our culture. It exists to discover and celebrate the best poetry and to place it before the largest possible audience. The Poetry Foundation seeks to be a leader in shaping a receptive climate for poetry by developing new audiences, creating new avenues for delivery, and encouraging new kinds of poetry through innovative literary prizes and programs. For more information, please visit poetryfoundation.org. 

Follow the Poetry Foundation and Poetry on Facebook at facebook.com/poetryfoundation or on Twitter @PoetryFound.

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Elizabeth Burke-Dain, Marketing and Media Director, [email protected], 312.799.8016

Polly Faust, Media Assistant, [email protected], 312.799.8065