1519: At the Entrance of a Love Poem, I Hesitate by Maya C. Popa
2026-05-20 | 6 mins.
Today’s poem is At the Entrance of a Love Poem, I Hesitate by Maya C. Popa.
The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Love poems are maybe the hardest poems to write. I speak only for myself here, but I have a feeling plenty of poets agree with me.” This show is supported by gifts from listeners.
Support The Slowdown with a donation and get access to the sponsor-free version of The Slowdown today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
1518: On Being Told I Should Write a Memoir by Jan-Henry Gray
2026-05-19 | 7 mins.
Today’s poem is On Being Told I Should Write A Memoir by Jan-Henry Gray.
The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem excavates childhood memories in a way only a poem can — and it enacts the fragmentation, the piece-iness, of memory. I should also mention that the poem uses lines from one of my favorite bands, Built to Spill, as an epigraph. Because in our memories, sometimes other people sing parts of the story.”
This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation and get access to the sponsor-free version of The Slowdown today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
1517: Liquefying by Chloe Yelena Miller
2026-05-18 | 6 mins.
Today’s poem is Liquefying by Chloe Yelena Miller.
The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Poets use language the way an artist uses paint, the way sculptors use clay. It’s our material. We have to use it wisely, not only as craftspeople but as humans who care about others. The way today’s poem talks about vision — and vision problems — is original, and vulnerable, and full of nuance. It uses the idea of vision to speak not only into the future, but also, into the past.”
This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation and get access to the sponsor-free version of The Slowdown today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
1516: Citrus Paradisi by Arah Ko
2026-05-15 | 6 mins.
Today’s poem is Citrus Paradisi by Arah Ko.
The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem takes as its inspiration the grapefruit, which is fleshy and juicy and as bitter as it is sweet. I was drawn to this poem because it is so packed with sensory detail: smells, sights, and textures. The poem itself is delicious.”
This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation and get access to the sponsor-free version of The Slowdown today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
1515: True Story by Camille T. Dungy
2026-05-14 | 6 mins.
Today’s poem is True Story by Camille T. Dungy.
The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem examines the many possibilities of giving love in a temporary world.”
This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation and get access to the sponsor-free version of The Slowdown today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
Host Maggie Smith is your daily poetry companion. Poetry is one of the greatest tools we have to wield our own attention — to consider our own lives and the lives of others, to help us live creatively and compassionately, to use that attention to lean into wonder, and joy, and truth, and to find hope — to keep hoping. The Slowdown community knows that reflecting on a poem, every weekday, can connect us to our inner world and the world around us. Listen as you make your morning coffee, as you go on a walk in your neighborhood, as you pull away from the to-do list, as you resist the dismal, endless scroll to share five minutes of perspective through the lens of poetry, from poets old and new, well-loved and emerging onto the scene. Brought to you by American Public Media, in partnership with the Poetry Foundation.
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