From the Catbird Seat: Poetry from the Library of Congress

On the fifth episode of "From the Catbird Seat," Rob Casper goes behind the scenes with Ghanaian poet and editor Kwame Dawes about the February 2017 "Conversations with African Poets and Writers: African Poetry Book Fund Spotlight" event at the Library of Congress. Dawes discussess the formation of the African Poetry Book Fund, an organization that promotes and advances the development and publication of the poetic arts of Africa, and then we'll listen to event clips featuring African Book Fund editorial board members Chris Abani, Matthew Shenoda, and Aracelis Girmay; and poets Chekube O. Danladi, Safia Elhillo, Patricia Jabbeh Wesley, and Hope Wabuke.

On the fourth episode of "From the Catbird Seat," Rob Casper chats with former Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey, who reflects on her 2013 conversation with singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash at the Library of Congress. We'll listen to clips from that event, which navigates the power of lyric language, the intersections of songwriting and poetry, and the influence of the two artists' fathers—Johnny Cash and Eric Trethewey.

On the third episode of "From the Catbird Seat," Rob Casper goes behind the scenes with Betty Sue Flowers, Mary Szybist, and Danielle Legros Georges, the jurors of the 2016 Bobbitt Prize for Poetry. They discuss their decision to award the prize to Claudia Rankine for her book Citizen, and to Nathaniel Mackey for Lifetime Achievement. Then, we'll listen to a segment from the April 2017 prize event with readings by Rankine and Mackey.

On the second episode of "From the Catbird Seat," Rob Casper goes behind the scenes with Ron Charles, editor of The Washington Post's Book World, about the origins of "The Life of a Poet" series at the Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital in Washington, DC. Ron Charles hosts the series, launched in 2013, which features in-depth conversations with some of the country’s most important poets. We'll also listen to clips from three "The Life of a Poet" events.

This episode, the third and final in a special three-part series, chronicles Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith's travels to rural Kentucky in March 2018 as a pilot for her second-year project, 'American Conversations: Celebrating Poems in Rural Communities.' Rob Casper of the Poetry and Literature Center will reflect on the trip with help from Phillip Justice, Ashton Ricketts, and Maurice Manning. We'll also hear clips from one of Tracy K. Smith's Kentucky events, and close out the podcast series with reflections from Anya Creightney and our poet laureate herself.