This week, in honor of (belated) National Poetry Month, we present to you the adorable and magnificent life of Jackie's favorite dead poet, Jack Gilbert, who beat out at least three other poets for this honor due to being Not Boring or Racist.

Rachel has an important announcement you will wait a long time for. Bekah's favorite poet is Howard Stern. Jackie edits a Wikipedia page repeatedly and then gives up. Nikita is here in spirit but not in form.

Topics include: Clerical errors, circus hijinks, an autosomal dominant family history of falling from great heights, Sean Lennon, bhangra dancing, being forced to try out for a musical, Allen Ginsberg not liking Allen Ginsberg's poetry, angels dictating poems to mere mortals, Beat poets blowing it, a thorax exoskeleton designed for European adventure, ants in saucepans, hairs in avocado plants, maybe being married and maybe not, the importance of not having a nothing day, and of course, weird porn that no one had to make but made anyway.

Sources:

Jack Gilbert - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Gilbert

The Ghost Inside: A Profile of Jack Gilbert - by Sarah Manguso https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/68485/the-ghost-inside

The Jack Gilbert Papers: Emory University Libraries
https://archives.libraries.emory.edu/repositories/7/resources/2748

Jack Gilbert - Poets.org
https://poets.org/poet/jack-gilbert#tabbed-content

My Mother Taught Me: A Poet’s Misadventures in Erotica - by Dan Piepenbring
https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2015/02/18/my-mother-taught-me/#more-82843

Jack Gilbert, The Art of Poetry No. 91, interviewed by Sarah Fay - The Paris Review
https://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/5583/the-art-of-poetry-no-91-jack-gilbert

A Review of Refusing Heaven by Jack Gilbert - by Sarah Manguso
https://www.thebeliever.net/jack-gilberts-refusing-heaven/

The 'Stubborn Gladness' of Elizabeth Gilbert's Favorite Poet - by Joe Fassler

https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/11/the-stubborn-gladness-of-elizabeth-gilberts-favorite-poet/281158/?gift=UUEirFtRmMpatJDRb4kN01vcMB3hTEFChlmfUCvfgh8

Jack Gilbert, American Poet, Dies at 87 - by David Haglund
https://slate.com/culture/2012/11/jack-gilbert-dead-poet-was-87.html

Poet Jack Gilbert’s time of triumph and loss - by John Penner
https://www.latimes.com/books/la-xpm-2012-nov-12-la-et-jc-jack-gilbert-20121112-story.html

Jack Gilbert dies at 87; unconventional poet knew fame and obscurity - by John Penner
https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-jack-gilbert-20121114-story.html

Jack Gilbert, a Poet Whose Words Transformed Lives, Is Dead at 87 - by Bruce Weber
https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/15/books/jack-gilbert-a-poet-off-the-literary-grid-dies-at-87.html

This week we have a Patreon bonus for you (a few days late, or several days early, depending on how you're experiencing time). This is a free preview - for the full episode, and all our previous bonus episodes and other perks, join our Patreon at patreon.com/firethecanon!

Greetings, loyal listeners! In this episode, we mention nary a book at all until like the last 10 seconds! Instead, we explain What Happened during our many-month break from the podcast, beginning with a sudden and unexpected Big Life Event for Jackie, continuing with some real crazy hijinks involving a man rolling around in the snow, a mysterious bag of spiders, and some feral cats living in the walls, and ending with Rachel's baby being fat-shamed by a rich woman. Also, Bekah is trying to get jacked and Nikita is a huge grifter.

Thanks for sticking by us even as our lives slightly fall apart and are rebuilt piece by ridiculous piece. Onward and upward!