For Marie Howe, poetry is a form of prayer. “It is a way of quieting down to listen to that still, small voice,” she told Tricycle. “It’s about something ineffable that’s trying to find its way through the poem.”
Howe is currently the poet in residence at The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine and a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets. Her latest collection, New and Selected Poems, which brings together four decades of her writing, recently won the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.
In this episode of Tricycle Talks, Tricycle’s editor-in-chief, James Shaheen, sits down with Howe to discuss the role of not knowing in her work as a poet, how poetry helps us keep looking at what’s difficult, why poems are like koans, and what she’s learned from the Christian mystic Meister Eckhart. Plus, Howe reads a few poems from her new collection.
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A Fearless Heart with Thupten Jinpa
Thupten Jinpa is a Tibetan Buddhist scholar and former monk based in Montreal. Since 1985, he has served as the principal English translator for the Dalai Lama. In his 2015 book, A Fearless Heart: How the Courage to Be Compassionate Can Transform Our Lives, he draws from his experience translating for and traveling with the Dalai Lama to lay out simple daily practices to help us cultivate compassion for ourselves and others—and, in the process, tap into a deeper sense of meaning and purpose.
In this episode of Life As It Is, Tricycle’s editor-in-chief, James Shaheen, and meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg sit down with Jinpa to discuss what first set him on the path to becoming a monk, what he’s learned from working as a translator for the Dalai Lama for forty years, how he views the relationship between courage and compassion, and why he believes compassion is fundamental to our basic nature as human beings. Plus, Jinpa leads a guided meditation.
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Forever a Student with Sarah Ruhl
Sarah Ruhl is a playwright, poet, and professor based in New York. Her new essay collection, Lessons from My Teachers: From Preschool to the Present, is an ode to the teachers she has had over the course of her life, both inside and outside the classroom.
In this episode of Tricycle Talks, Tricycle’s editor-in-chief, James Shaheen, sits down with Ruhl to discuss the teachers and tasks that have helped her learn how to listen, what it means to look at grief sideways, whether devotion is teachable, and why she aspires to always be a student.
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Personal Liturgy with Jefre Cantu-Ledesma
Jefre Cantu-Ledesma is a multi-instrumentalist and composer, Zen priest, and hospice chaplain based in the Hudson Valley. Since his first foray into experimental music in the 1990s, he has been a pillar of the American music underground, collaborating with a variety of artists including Liz Harris, Félicia Atkinson, and Ilyas Ahmed. Although his music has often been labeled experimental or ambient, he himself describes it as personal liturgy.
Cantu-Ledesma’s latest album, Gift Songs, takes inspiration from the forms of liturgy and ritual he has found meaningful as a Zen priest and hospice chaplain, as well as from the Shaker notion of “gift drawings,” where art is seen as a gift from God. Through minimalist acoustic arrangements and evocative improvisations, Gift Songs foregrounds chance and collaboration, putting forth a vision of art as an offering.
In this episode of Tricycle Talks, Tricycle’s editor-in-chief, James Shaheen, sits down with Cantu-Ledesma to discuss what first brought him to Buddhism, the role of devotion in his work and practice, the synergies between creative practice and chaplaincy work, and why he views his music as an offering.
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How Compassion Works with John Makransky
According to Lama John Makransky, everything we care about—including our mental and physical well-being, our relationships, our spiritual life, and our ability to act justly in the world—depends on our ability to access our innate capacities for love and compassion. In his new book, How Compassion Works: A Step-by-Step Guide to Cultivating Well-Being, Love, and Wisdom, which he co-wrote with Paul Condon, Makransky draws from Tibetan Buddhism and contemporary cognitive science to lay out concrete practices for strengthening our capacities for wisdom and compassion.
In this episode of Life As It Is, Tricycle’s editor-in-chief, James Shaheen, and meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg sit down with Makransky to discuss why compassion is essential to our survival, how meditation can help us tap into our basic goodness, and how we can integrate compassion into our service and action in the world. Plus, Makransky leads a guided meditation.
Tricycle Talks: Listen to Buddhist teachers, writers, and thinkers on life's big questions. Hosted by James Shaheen, editor in chief of Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, the leading Buddhist magazine in the West. Life As It Is: Join James Shaheen with co-host Sharon Salzberg and learn how to bring Buddhist practice into your everyday life. Tricycle: The Buddhist Review creates award-winning editorial, podcasts, events, and video courses. Unlock access to all this Buddhist knowledge by subscribing to the magazine at tricycle.org/join
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