Prageeta Sharma selects recordings by poets who shaped her as a writer, and who have also shaped the landscape of contemporary American poetry by blending a sense of intimacy with direct address. She shares Ai inhabiting a persona that mixes sass and ancient knowledge (“Twenty-Year Marriage”), Michael S. Harper offering a testament spoken to rather than about a historical figure (“Dear John, Dear Coltrane”), and C.D. Wright creating doubleness in a love poem that melds closeness and estrangement ("Floating Trees"). Sharma closes with “A One Won,” a poem from her most recent collection.

Find the full recordings of Ai, Harper, and Wright reading for the Poetry Center on Voca:
Ai (September 13, 1972)
Michael S. Harper (April 4, 1973)
C.D. Wright (September 14, 2000)

Full transcripts of every episode are available on Buzzsprout. Look for the transcript tab under each episode.

Voca is now fully captioned, with interactive transcripts and captions available for all readings! Read more about the project here, or try out this new feature by visiting Voca.

Lawrence-Minh Bùi Davis curates poems that illuminate characteristics of refugee poetics. He introduces Mai Der Vang on the displacement of the self (“Dear Exile”), Monica Sok on the contradictions inherent in being a refugee in the nation that caused the initial wound (“Americans Dancing in the Heart of Darkness”), and Ocean Vuong on the desire for belonging that can never be fulfilled (“Of Thee I Sing”). Davis closes with an untitled poem from his novel-in-progress, expressing defiance against loss of agency.

Watch the full recordings of Vang, Sok, and Vuong reading for the Poetry Center on Voca:
Mai Der Vang (August 11, 2022)
Monica Sok (February 13, 2020)
Ocean Vuong (April 6, 2017)

Full transcripts of every episode are available on Buzzsprout. Look for the transcript tab under each episode.

Voca is now fully captioned, with interactive transcripts and captions available for all readings! Read more about the project here, or try out this new feature by visiting Voca.

Philip Metres introduces poems that speak to the enduring work of poetry to carry us toward life. He shares W.S. Merwin reflecting on how we not only survive but live (“The River of Bees”), William Stafford invoking the inner journeys we each must take (“Peace Walk”), and Natalie Diaz demonstrating the way poetry can hold us amidst pain (“My Brother at 3 A.M.”). Metres closes with his poem “To Go On One’s Way,” after the Aramaic word “yazil.”

Find the full recordings of Merwin, Stafford, and Diaz reading for the Poetry Center on Voca:
W.S. Merwin (January 17, 1990)
William Stafford (February 21, 1968)
Natalie Diaz (September 5, 2013)

Full transcripts of every episode are available on Buzzsprout. Look for the transcript tab under each episode.

Voca is now fully captioned, with interactive transcripts and captions available for all readings! Read more about the project here, or try out this new feature by visiting Voca.