There's a Poem in That

Todd Boss

Poets and non-poets alike will appreciate how award-winning poet Todd Boss helps strangers discover the poetry in their most intimate stories. Each episode of TAPIT opens on a new guest stranger, tracks their conversations with Todd, and concludes with Todd's reveal of an original poem written expressly for them. You'll laugh, you'll cry ... You'll want a poem of your very own! Think there's a poem in your story? Call TAPIT's Haiku, Hawaii, listener line: (808) 300-0449.

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Top 10 There's a Poem in That Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best There's a Poem in That episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to There's a Poem in That for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite There's a Poem in That episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Joan finds her voice

There's a Poem in That

03/01/23 • 32 min

Todd helps Joan, a vocalist, make connections between the loss of her singing voice, three miscarriages, and her survival of a historic Amtrak train wreck. Along the way, we meet her daughters, learn how Indian ashrams and silent meditation retreats have been as important to Joan as her music, and discover the redeeming power of laughter. Todd's (three!) poems for Joan support her in her grief, affirm her choice to evolve her career as a composer, and present her with a surprising award. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you might even break out in song.
Chapters in this episode:

Amtrak, Conrail, and Joan's fifth-car "wall"
Three boys lost in the second trimester
A dream choir and an expiration date
Daughters, mothers, and a lineage of strong women
Voice, meditation, and silence
The poem: "A Trophy"

Audio clip: 1987 Amtrak 20/20 Newsreel
Guest Joan Johnson Drewes website

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Join the conversation and get bonus content at poeminthat.com ... or become a listener supporter by pitching in monthly to help us make TAPIT magic, here.
Do you think there's a poem in your story? Leave Todd a voicemail on our Haiku, Hawaii, listener line: 808-300-0449.
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Phillip hears his name (feat. Richard Blanco)

There's a Poem in That

05/01/24 • 43 min

Phillip's new US citizenship status is the celebratory focus of this episode of TAPIT. It's a celebration 30 years in the making, and it ends in a custom poem worthy of an inauguration. Join us on the journey of a lifetime, as Phillip overcomes rage, discovers love, changes careers, adopts a new name, and learns to see the beauty in his own immigration story. Host Todd Boss traces Phillip's path of self-authorship from Vegas to Baja to Mexico City to Texas to Hollywood, and back to Vegas, in a tale filled with setbacks and surprises... then taps President Barack Obama's 2009 inaugural poet Richard Blanco to guest write an extraordinary poem of rejoicing and recognition, that elicits a tear for every step along the way.
Chapters in this episode:

What's in a name?
How a place makes (and unmakes and remakes) a person
Phillip finds himself in fiction and film
The intricacies of immigration and the Texas/Mexico divide
Learning and loving in Las Vegas
Carving a path to citizenship and the truth about timing
Taking the law into his own hands
Bringing in Blanco
The poem, Your Name :: My Name
A wordless reaction says it all

This episode is dedicated to Phillip's mother, Olivia de Lourdes Meneses Moguel, and to mothers everywhere who read to their children.

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Kelly astrally projects

There's a Poem in That

11/15/24 • 22 min

When a concert bassoonist is canceled for her refusal to get vaccinated, a whole new universe opens, her father’s star burning brightest.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this episode about vaccines, medical care, and esotericism do not represent those on the TAPIT team.

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Holly sings a new hymn

There's a Poem in That

10/03/23 • 31 min

Host Todd Boss converses with Holly about the tragic loss of her son Killian. Her changing relationship and communion with God and His will for her life inspire a graceful, grateful hymn.

Chapters in this episode:

Holly catalogs her losses
A bit of background
Killian's silence
Finding peace in a new place
A shifting sense of identity and God
Telling the truth about grief
The poem: Hymn

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Jon sunsets a cancer scare

There's a Poem in That

03/31/23 • 26 min

Jon's wife Christy got pancreatic cancer ten years ago, but Jon still carries the fear of losing her. It's a long hallway from diagnostics to recovery, but Jon's found the right doctor: Todd helps him stop over-intellectualizing, cutting through the voices in his head, until only sweet remission (from the Latin "to relax,") colors the horizon. Revealed to Jon on the eve of Thanksgiving, 2022, Todd's tongue-in-cheek poem is written in the talky après-dinner-party style of Tony Hoagland, and features candid, ad-libbed cameos by Thomas Merton, Flannery O'Connor, Cormac McCarthy, Czesław Miłosz, and Raymond Carver, who, like all of us, just wants to be loved. From sorrow to joy and back again, this story lets Christy have the final word, and has Jon breathing a sigh of relief.
Todd's poem for Jon, "Thanksgiving," quotes a stanza of Tony Hoagland's "Among the Intellectuals," from his posthumous collection, Turn Up The Ocean (Graywolf Press). Used with permission.
Chapters in this episode:

I contain multitudes
Cancer for Christmas
Trying to figure things out
Deconstructing prayer
Recovery: "She really is okay."
Humility is an honest self-assessment
The poem: "Thanksgiving."

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Lisa dances with aphasia

There's a Poem in That

10/15/24 • 19 min

A stroke victim must override paralysis to meet Todd halfway between hemispheres in this intimate exploration of nonverbal disability. But "any dance worth doing is struggle..."
Chapters in this Episode:

Our initiatives
The history of dance
Breaking down borders
Jackie joins in
The power of poetry
The poem: "In Praise of Your Aphasia"

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Connie summons a deer

There's a Poem in That

11/01/23 • 27 min

Inspired by a poem of Todd’s in Poetry Magazine, “The Hush of the Very Good” in 2007, Connie became Todd’s very first private commission. The project ended with an unforgettable encounter in the snow-filled forests of northern Wisconsin. In this special holiday episode of TAPIT, Todd reaches back out to Connie after all these years, to revisit the magic they made together.
Chapters in this episode:

How Todd came to take commissions
A blossoming friendship
Modeling a relationship & making a family
Rosamond's resilience
A poet's breakthrough
The poem: A Deer

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Bonnie cycles on (feat. Sasha LaPointe)

There's a Poem in That

09/01/23 • 32 min

Host Todd Boss enlists the help of Indigenous poet Sasha LaPointe to motivate Bonnie on her journey of healing and exploration, through the inspiring Skagit Valley landscape.
Chapters in this episode:

One more great feat
Pain, glory, and a conservative church
Two worlds: Transformation is real
Skagit Valley and its heritage
However: Two worlds
Bonnie meets Sasha
Sasha LaPointe reads "Cycles"
A circle of fir trees in prayer

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Ken rewinds the clocks

There's a Poem in That

05/01/23 • 22 min

The image of an adult on a tricycle — precarious and uncertain — became the driving force behind the poem Ken needed for his wife Sue's memorial service.
Chapters in this episode:

Introduction at the cabin
A couple of loons on tricycles
Ken and Sue take on the world together
Swiss miss, cuckoo clocks, and finding a home in one another
Sue’s diagnosis, surgery, complications, and passing
Lost time and post-life letters
The poem: “It Was a Lark”

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TRAILER: There's a Poem in That

There's a Poem in That

02/17/23 • 2 min

New in March 2023! There's a Poem in That is a podcast in which award-winning poet Todd Boss helps strangers discover the poetry in their most intimate stories. Each episode ends with the reveal of a custom poem written expressly for a guest stranger. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll want a poem of your very own.

Support the show

Show more best episodes

FAQ

How many episodes does There's a Poem in That have?

There's a Poem in That currently has 12 episodes available.

What topics does There's a Poem in That cover?

The podcast is about Poetry, Health & Fitness, Literature, Conversation, Personal Growth, Interview, Mental Health, Transformation, Storytelling, Podcasts, Connection, Intimacy and Arts.

What is the most popular episode on There's a Poem in That?

The episode title 'Connie summons a deer' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on There's a Poem in That?

The average episode length on There's a Poem in That is 24 minutes.

How often are episodes of There's a Poem in That released?

Episodes of There's a Poem in That are typically released every 30 days, 15 hours.

When was the first episode of There's a Poem in That?

The first episode of There's a Poem in That was released on Feb 17, 2023.

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There's a Poem in That

Todd Boss

Top 10 There's a Poem in That Episodes

FAQ

How many episodes does There's a Poem in That have?

What topics does There's a Poem in That cover?

What is the most popular episode on There's a Poem in That?

What is the average episode length on There's a Poem in That?

How often are episodes of There's a Poem in That released?

When was the first episode of There's a Poem in That?

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