I promise this summer, no really,
I’ll help you tame your back lot.

The kids and I will be over.

I’ll bring a rake and pruning shears.
You’ll put on a pot of tea.

Today’s poem is “Tea with Ann” by Mary Brancaccio bit.ly/3VbOcvR

“Today’s poem implies that our friends are our bounty. Our essential relationships are born from shared stories over an expanse of time as well as the effort we put into physically being with each other.”

Today’s poem is “Tea with Ann” by Mary Brancaccio bit.ly/3VbOcvR

I have a worry mother and
I have a worry father and
once they shared a worry and
my own worry a sprout in
this worry dirt, bullied by
the worry weeds, spoiled by
the worry sun and rain and

Today’s poem is “Worry (the Dybbuk)” by Anthony Immergluck bit.ly/3HgK6Nl

“Today’s poem points comically to the omnipresence of worry, how it's rooted in the soil of our existence,” shares Major Jackson.

Today’s poem is “Worry (the Dybbuk)” by Anthony Immergluck bit.ly/3HgK6Nl

And we could share which walls absorb sadness, / till morning light leans in comforting the contours / of the bed, but chances are you’ll learn this / on your own.

Today’s poem is “To The Buyer of Our Old Home” by Helen Pruitt Wallace bit.ly/3L5Dt1u

“Today’s wise poem unearths the idiosyncrasies of an old home and in doing so, reveals how its past and future inhabitants are woven together in time,” shares Major Jackson.

Today’s poem is “To The Buyer of Our Old Home” by Helen Pruitt Wallace bit.ly/3L5Dt1u

“Today’s poem states a truth about turbulent times. After the sadness, fear, and uncertainty, a group of us will inevitably feel that distinct feeling of having surmounted some great hardship,” says Major Jackson

Today’s poem is “La Peste” by Marilyn Nelson bit.ly/3mZDLie

#ClipOfTheDay : Poet and producer of The Slowdown Myka Kielbon introduces a special episode featuring a conversation with host Major Jackson and poet aria aber, author of the Whiting Award–winning collection, Hard Damage. at.pw.org/Slowdown

I woke myself up laughing, and today I went down / to the lake and sat for an hour listening to ice / shift and break into endless shards, its creaking ceaseless,

Today’s poem is “Last Night I Had Such Good Dreams” by Jennifer Perrine bit.ly/3AovAix

Before National Poetry Month ends, help us celebrate the power of poetry by starting a monthly donation to The Slowdown. Help sustain the public media podcast that provides a moment of reflection every weekday, all year long, at bit.ly/3GdTfWm

“Sometimes words directed back to ourselves as lack of worth, the self-critiques we vocalize, though of our own making, are sentiments put there by someone else,” shares Major Jackson.

Today’s poem is “Last Night I Had Such Good Dreams” by Jennifer Perrine bit.ly/3AovAix

We're thrilled to see Cherene Sherrard featured on today's episode of The Slowdown. Thank you Major Jackson for featuring 'Apologia' from her second collection, GRIMOIRE. Listen up!

“Today’s poem, drawn from the language of biology, contains a strong and simple message about diversity in society,” shares Major Jackson.

Today’s poem is “Apologia” by Cherene Sherrard @autumnhouseprs bit.ly/41mu7oZ

I’ve been listening to The Slowdown for over a year; it’s surreal to see one of my most personal poems featured on the show (& hear it read in Major Jackson's voice!).
Honored to have Learning Money in Reverse featured & put in convo with Major’s own life - “Where I’m from...

I return my first pair of full-priced boots. / I un-sign my first lease. I go home. // My parents remarry. I have not yet chosen / the school that will cost their life savings.

Today’s poem is “Learning Money in Reverse” by Stephanie Niu Stephanie Niu bit.ly/3KTSymD

“Today’s ingenious poem calls attention to the lived realities of financial literacy, how it’s touch & go, and how it’s thrust upon us if we are not fortunate to receive those lessons in our home.”

Today’s poem is “Learning Money in Reverse” by Stephanie Niu bit.ly/3KTSymD

In Wimberley, Texas, there is a hole in the sandstone someone has called definitely deep blue. Bluebonnets grow on the road up to it and lost mountain bluebirds fly around and in it in concentric circles.

“Diving at Blue Hole” by Ally H. Young bit.ly/3KLidO6

“Today’s poem continues the rich tradition of celebrating a poetry of place, utterly unique & rich for its ability to cultivate its poets to sing our land into our literary record,” says Major Jackson.

Today’s poem is “Diving at Blue Hole” by Ally H. Young bit.ly/3KLidO6