Interesting People Reading Poetry
Episodes
Novelist Lisa Ko Reads Tracy K. Smith
14 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, novelist Lisa Ko reads “Don’t You Wonder, Sometimes?” by Tracy K. Smith. Ko’s first book, The Leavers, was a 2017 National Bo...
Poetry Playlist: Long Track Blues
23 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This IPRP Poetry Playlist features a selection of archival recordings from PennSound, a project of the Center for Programs in Contemporary Writing at ...
Advice Columnist Amy Dickinson Reads Roland Flint
16 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Amy Dickinson reads “Say It” by Roland Flint. Dickinson wrote the beloved daily advice column “Ask Amy,” which appear...
Poetry Playlist: You Are Here
30 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this IPRP Poetry Playlist, U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón reads three selections from the anthology You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World, out n...
Historian Roy Foster Reads William Butler Yeats
17 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Roy Foster reads “Sailing to Byzantium” by William Butler Yeats. Foster is Emeritus Professor of Irish History at the Uni...
Poetry Playlist: Forgotten Frequencies
15 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this IPRP Poetry Playlist, our host Brendan Stermer reads three poems from his debut chapbook, Forgotten Frequencies, out now from North Dakota Sta...
Rapper Dessa Reads Alan Dugan
23 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, musician and writer Dessa reads an excerpt from “Natural Enemies of the Conch” by Alan Dugan. Dessa first gained prominence as a ...
Poetry Playlist: Think of the Storm
21 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For each IPRP Poetry Playlist, we curate a selection of three poems, loosely thematically related, presented with musical score, but without any comme...
Priest Tish Harrison Warren Reads Scott Cairns
05 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Tish Harrison Warren reads “Possible Answers to Prayer” by Scott Cairns. Warren is an Anglican priest and the author of two award...
Poetry Playlist: Vocalism
21 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Vocalism, measure, concentration, determination, and the divine power to speak words; Are you full-lung’d and limber-lipp’d from long tria...
Journalist Alissa Rubin Reads Homer
16 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Alissa Rubin reads an excerpt from the ancient Greek epic The Iliad. Rubin is a Senior International Correspondent for The New York T...
Painter Makoto Fujimura Reads T. S. Eliot
20 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Makoto Fujimura reads an excerpt from “Burnt Norton” by T. S. Eliot. Fujimura is a leading contemporary painter whose work fuses ...
Journalist Theo Padnos Reads Arthur Rimbaud
04 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Theo Padnos reads “The Drunken Boat” by Arthur Rimbaud. Padnos is an American writer and journalist. In 2012, he was kidnapped an...
Musician Hrishikesh Hirway Reads William Butler Yeats
21 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Hrishikesh Hirway reads “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” by William Butler Yeats. Hirway is the creator and host of several a...
Editor Dawn Davis Reads Edna St. Vincent Millay
07 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Bon Appétit Editor-in-Chief Dawn Davis reads “Sonnet 171” by Edna St. Vincent Millay. Davis joined Bon Appétit in November 2020...
Songwriter Grian Chatten Reads Gerard Manley Hopkins
12 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Grian Chatten reads “The Windhover” by Gerard Manley Hopkins. Chatten is the frontman of the Irish post-punk band Fontaines D.C.,...
Photographer Alec Soth Reads Wallace Stevens
12 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Alec Soth reads “Of Modern Poetry” by Wallace Stevens. Soth is a photographer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has pub...
Counselor Sheryl Paul Reads Walt Whitman
21 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Sheryl Paul reads from “Song of Myself” by Walt Whitman. Paul is a counselor working in the tradition of Jungian depth ps...
Filmmaker Jennifer Crandall Reads Mark Strand
15 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Jennifer Crandall reads “Keeping Things Whole” by Mark Strand. Crandall is a documentary filmmaker and journalist. She is...
Biblical Translator Robert Alter Reads the Song of Songs
13 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Robert Alter reads from his translation of the Song of Songs. Alter is a literary critic and translator based at the University of Ca...
Painter Enrique Martínez Celaya Reads Miguel Hernández
11 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Enrique Martínez Celaya reads “Elegy for Ramón Sijé” by Miguel Hernández. Martínez Celaya is a world-renowned painter, sculp...
Composer Libby Larsen Reads Bill Holm
08 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, composer Libby Larsen reads “Wolf Song in Los Angeles” by Bill Holm. Larsen is one of the most prolific and most performed living...
Journalist Krista Tippett Reads Rainer Maria Rilke
12 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, On Being Project founder and CEO Krista Tippett reads “God speaks to each of us as he makes us” by Rainer Maria Rilke. She shares...
U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar Reads Warsan Shire
14 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar reads “Conversations about home (at the deportation centre)” by Warsan Shire and reflects on the m...
Entomologist Marla Spivak Reads Rumi
23 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, entomologist Dr. Marla Spivak reads “When Grapes Turn to Wine” by Rumi and discusses how Rumi can teach us to “think like b...
Playwright Harrison David Rivers Reads Essex Hemphill
24 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, playwright Harrison David Rivers reads “For My Own Protection” by Essex Hemphill and discusses the use of the poem in his recent ...
Writer Chris Kraus Reads Steve Levine
18 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, writer Chris Kraus reads “Miserable Life” by Steve Levine and discusses how New York School poetry influenced the development of ...
Chef Amy Thielen Reads Jim Harrison
21 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Amy Thielen reads “Death Again” by Jim Harrison and explores the relationship between great food and great literature. Amy Thiele...
DJ Rekha Reads Audre Lorde
16 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, DJ Rekha reads “A Litany for Survival” by Audre Lorde and discusses dancing as an antidote to fear. DJ Rekha is a produce...
Chris Koza & Malena Handeen: Live!
30 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We’re celebrating the last episode of our first season with a special double feature, recorded live at Java River Cafe in Montevideo, Minnesota....
Comedian Mary Mack Reads Roald Dahl
16 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, comedian Mary Mack reads “Attention Please! Attention Please!” by Roald Dahl. Mack is a nationally touring stand-up comic...
Lawyer Nekima Levy-Pounds Reads Maya Angelou
09 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Nekima Levy-Pounds reads “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou and discusses the strength she draws from the resilience of her a...
Writer Kao Kalia Yang Reads Mai Der Vang
02 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Kao Kalia Yang reads “To the Placenta of Return” by Mai Der Vang and discusses the sacrifices mothers made to protect the...
Epidemiologist Rob Wallace Reads Derek Walcott
25 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, evolutionary biologist Rob Wallace reads “The Sea is History” by Derek Walcott and discusses the importance of questionin...
Songwriter Gaelynn Lea Reads E. E. Cummings
18 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode Gaelynn Lea reads “53” by E.E. Cummings and discusses the importance of acknowledging the duality of light and darkness in...
Activist Waziyatawin Reads John Trudell
04 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Waziyatawin reads “Cry Your Tears” by John Trudell and explores the complexities of solidarity. Waziyatawin is a leading ...
Novelist Benjamin Percy Reads Brian Turner
28 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Benjamin Percy reads “At the Lowe’s Home Improvement Center” by Brian Turner. Percy writes the Green Arrow and Teen...
Composer Maria Schneider Reads Ted Kooser
20 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, composer Maria Schneider reads “Walking by Flashlight” by Ted Kooser and discusses the process of setting poems to music....