The Poetry Magazine Podcast

Nick Makoha invites listeners to build a cocoon, then break free.
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Matsuo Bashō wrote:
Wake, butterfly— 
it's late, we've miles 
to go together.

Poetry magazine presents Wake, Butterfly, a series of intimate portraits that invite listeners to keep creating. The series is produced by Rachel James with sound design by Axel Kacoutié.
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Here’s an edited version of Nick Makoha’s prompt:
Part one: the cocoon of shelter.
What is the cocoon you are entering? A place of tension? Of hiding? Of gestation? Or of potential? What are you protecting yourself from or preparing yourself for? Can you name the walls of this cocoon? What are they made of? Silk? Sound? Guilt? Waiting? Where do you feel most alive in that space? 
Part two: unfolding into the restlessness. 
Now comes the pressure, the restless, irreversible becoming: what begins to stir inside the cocoon. There will be chaos. Begin writing from that internal movement—this place just before the break. Let that force build in your body. Notice where it lives. Behind your ribs? In your hands? Just under the skin? What is the chaos? Let it press against the limits of the cocoon.
Part three: speak back. 
Break out of the cocoon, become the butterfly. Ask yourself: what part of me wants to speak back? What voice have I silenced? Return to a version of yourself that you might have thought was lost. Let this be your poem.
Part four: speak the piece aloud. 
Notice how your breath feels. If you're by yourself, read what you have written to yourself aloud. If you're in a community, share it with them, and do it as a chorus of voices.

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In the first episode of season 2, Naomi Shihab Nye invites readers to develop a ritual.
_____
Matsuo Bashō wrote:
Wake, butterfly— 
it's late, we've miles 
to go together.

Poetry magazine presents Wake, Butterfly, a series of intimate portraits that invite listeners to keep creating. The series is produced by Rachel James with sound design by Axel Kacoutié.
_____
Here’s an edited version of Naomi Shihab Nye’s prompt:
First, write three “nuggets” of three lines each:
For nugget 1, write three questions that you're carrying.
For nugget 2, write three outstanding details observed or absorbed by the senses within the past twenty-four hours.
For nugget 3, write three lines you've overheard, or three things that are causing you trouble, or three memories you're suddenly carrying, or three things about what's going on in the news, or three overheard quotes you’ve heard within the past day or two. 
Then go away from your page for a minute; read a poem or reread a letter from your old friend.
Come back to your page and reread what you wrote this morning and pick out two or three things that you like best from what you wrote down. Try to write a poem that incorporates those things.
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Credits: Naomi Shihab Nye’s poems “Come With Me” and “For Mohammed Zeid of Gaza, age 15” are from Everything Comes Next (Greenwillow Books, 2022). The excerpt of Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s poem read in the episode is from Back Roads to Far Places (New Directions, 1971).

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In the sixth and final episode of this season, Saretta Morgan and Bo Hwang invite listeners to create a guided meditation that allows for arrival.
_____
Matsuo Bashō wrote:
Wake, butterfly— 
it’s late, we've miles 
to go together. 
Poetry magazine presents Wake, Butterfly, a series of intimate portraits that invite listeners to keep creating. The series is produced by Rachel James with sound design by Axel Kacoutié.
_____
Here’s an edited version of Morgan’s prompt:
Write a guided meditation that’s inspired by two things: one, questions that rise for you in what you’ve been reading lately, and, two, your view of our political moment. Focus on the simplest version of questions that you feel are most critical right now. Determine what kind of language and what kind of containers for silence are necessary alongside your questions. Another way of putting it: what is the language for this moment and what does it need to arrive? 

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In the fifth episode, Amelia Bande invites listeners to play a game.
_____
Matsuo Bashō wrote:
Wake, butterfly—
it’s late, we’ve miles
to go together.
Poetry magazine presents Wake, Butterfly, a series of intimate portraits that invite listeners to keep creating. The series is produced by Rachel James with sound design by Axel Kacoutié.
_____
Here’s an edited version of Bande’s prompt:
Think about a word. Any word. And then write a poetic definition of the word that does not include the word in it. And then you're going to use this poem as lyrics of a song. Once you have your song, you can sing it to someone else or to a group of people. And it's a riddle because then they have to try and guess what the word was.
So, this is one: I wrote the definition. It’s in Spanish but I did a translation so I’m going to read the translation now: You smell it. You perceive it. It activates fugitive instincts of primary protection to fight, flight, freeze, or transform my fear in ways to charm you. What's the word?
(Want to know what word is the answer to Bande’s riddle? It’s also the final word in the title of this poem.)

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In the fourth episode, Pamela Sneed invites listeners to create a protest poem and an antidote.
_____
Matsuo Bashō wrote:
Wake, butterfly—
it’s late, we’ve miles
to go together.
Poetry magazine presents Wake, Butterfly, a series of intimate portraits that invite listeners to keep creating. The series is produced by Rachel James with sound design by Axel Kacoutié.
_____
Here’s an edited version of Sneed’s prompt:
Create a protest poem. It can be based on something that you’ve heard in the news or something that’s really been bothering you in the past few weeks, and you can tie it into a current event. For an added twist, add in an action at the end or something that you think people should or can do to remedy the situation.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.