Shows / The Crane Bag Podcast
The Crane Bag Podcast
Myths and stories from around the world brought alive and singing into the here and now by storyteller, musician and poet Jay leeming.
Episodes
- The Crane Bag Podcast
Tomas Transtromer: "After a Death"
Poet and storyteller Jay Leeming explores the poem "After a Death" by the Swedish poet Tomas Transtromer. www.JayLeeming.com
- The Crane Bag Podcast
Hart Crane: "At Melville's Tomb"
The poem "At Melville's Tomb" by Hart Crane, read and explored by poet and storyteller Jay Leeming. www.JayLeeming.com
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The Craft of Storytelling Part Two: Telling a Story
The story is not the words - the story as dialogue with the natural world and the spirits - remembering the story with the body - imagining your way into the…
- The Crane Bag Podcast
Jay Leeming: "The Barber"
Where does poetry come from? What helps that wild horse to arrive into our lives? An exploration of these questions by poet and storyteller Jay Leeming…
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Story and Spirituality with Janardan Ghosh
An interview with the storyteller, teacher, and theater maker Janardan Ghosh by Jay Leeming. www.JayLeeming.com
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The Craft of Storytelling, Part One: Approaching a Story
Approaching a story - story as storm, song, and animal - the story is not a tool - story as forest, story as traveler to be welcomed - the skills of the hunter…
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Walt Whitman: Song of Myself, Part Five
A reading and exploration of part five of Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself" by storyteller and poet Jay Leeming. www.JayLeeming.com
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The Iliad, Part Twelve: The Death of Hector
The Iliad brought to life without a script and without a net by performance storyteller Jay Leeming. www.JayLeeming.com
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The Iliad, Part Eleven: The Shield of Achilles
Part eleven of the Iliad, as told by performance storyteller Jay Leeming. A complete archive of stories performed on this podcast can be found at the website…
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Lao-Tzu: Poems #76 and #1 from "the Tao Te Ching"
"The hard and strong will fall, the soft and weak will overcome": two poems from the Tao Te Ching, read and then explored by Jay Leeming, poet and storyteller…
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A Reading of the Odyssey, Book One
Poet and Storyteller Jay Leeming reads and comments on book one of Homer's Odyssey. Note: Unusually for this podcast this is not a storytelling performance but…
- The Crane Bag Podcast
On the Road in Greece and Cyprus
Notes from poet and storyteller Jay Leeming during his two-month storytelling journey through Greece and Cyprus in 2025.
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Diarmuid and the Princess From Beneath the Sea
A story from the Irish epic of Finn MacCool (Fionn MacCumhail) brought to life by performance storyteller Jay Leeming. www.JayLeeming.com
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Rilke: "Sometimes a Man Stands Up During Supper"
An exploration of the poem "Sometimes a man stands up during supper" by Rainer Maria Rilke. www.JayLeeming.com
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Iliad Deep Dive
A deep dive into the craft of storytelling with performance storyteller Jay Leeming, exploring the creation of the opening scenes of his version of the Iliad…
- The Crane Bag Podcast
Episode #122: Draupadi, the Princess Born From a Fire
A princess born from a fire; a journey to speak with gods at the top of the world; a small boy who remains miraculously alive in an apocalyptic wasteland…
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Ezra Pound: Canto One
Storyteller and poet Jay Leeming explores canto one of "The Cantos" by the American poet Ezra Pound. Sequoia trees, blood for ghosts, and the dance of…
- The Crane Bag Podcast
If You Want to Find Out Who You Are
"If you want to find out who you are, cut off your head and enter the forest." A story out of French alchemy, told and explored by storyteller Jay Leeming…
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The Iliad Part Ten: The Burning of the Ships
It's desperate times for the Greek soldiers as Hector leads his warriors against them, determined to burn their ships and maroon them on the Trojan shore…
- The Crane Bag Podcast
The Iliad, Part Nine: I Will Fight No More
With Achilles out of the fighting the Trojans drive the Greeks back to the beach, where they all are faced with hard choices as the story of Troy continues…
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Gary Snyder: "Mid-August at Sourdough Mountain Lookout"
An exploration of the American poet Gary Snyder's poem "Mid-August at Sourdough Mountain Lookout" by poet and storyteller Jay Leeming. www.JayLeeming.com
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The Iliad, Part Eight: The Wrath of Achilles
What moonlit god comes down to punish the Greeks with his arrows? What stray dog is the first unlikely victim of Agamemnon's wrath, and what the heck is that…
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Pablo Neruda: "The Art of Poetry"
An exploration of Pablo Neruda's poem "The Art of Poetry" by poet, storyteller, and musician Jay Leeming. www.JayLeeming.com
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Robert Frost: "Directive"
An exploration of Robert Frost's poem "Directive" by poet, storyteller, and musician Jay Leeming. www.JayLeeming.com
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Oisin in the Land of Tir Na Nog
The epic of the Irish hero Finn MacCool (Fionn MacCumhail) comes to a close in this story brought to life by performance storyteller Jay Leeming…
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Emily Dickinson: "I heard a fly buzz when I died"
An exploration of Emily Dickinson's poem "I heard a fly buzz when I died" by poet, storyteller and musician Jay Leeming. www.JayLeeming.com
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James Wright: "Goodbye to the Poetry of Calcium"
An exploration of James Wright's poem "Goodbye to the Poetry of Calcium" by poet, storyteller, and musician Jay Leeming. www.JayLeeming.com
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The Iliad Part Seven: the Greeks Arrive at Troy
When the Greek army arrives at Troy they encounter Cygnus, the indestructible man, and wrestle with the prophecy of Calchas which says that the first man to…
- The Crane Bag Podcast
Rumi: "The Diver's Clothes Lying Empty"
An exploration of the poem "The Diver's Clothes Lying Empty" by Jalal al-Din Rumi, as translated by Coleman Barks. www.JayLeeming.com
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The Iliad, Part Six: Achilles Among the Dancing Girls
Before you go to war, it's probably best to spend a year living as a dancing girl on the island of Skyros. That's the wisdom which this beautiful story brings…
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Just Another Day Getting Struck by Lightning with Frank O'Hara
An exploration of the poems "To the Harbormaster" and "The Day Lady Died" by Frank O'Hara. www.JayLeeming.com
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The Iliad Part Five: The Horse Sacrifice
When I got to the whispering forest and the dark I thought of the sacrifice of the horse, and how it bound us to the god of the sea and the way the horse's…
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Steve Scafidi Interview: "What if Faulkner is Wrong and We Do Not Endure or Prevail"
An interview with the poet Steve Scafidi, who reads his poem "What if Faulkner is Wrong and We Do Not Endure or Prevail" and discusses laughter, oblivion…
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The Iliad, Part Four: Zeus' Wild Daughter
Achilles is born and narrowly misses his change at immortality; meanwhile a storm drives prince Paris across the sea and to the palace of a particularly wild…
- The Crane Bag Podcast
Sharon Olds: "California Swimming Pool"
An exploration of the poem "California Swimming Pool," by Sharon Olds. www.JayLeeming.com
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Joel Christensen: Stories as Living Beings
An interview with Professor Joel Christensen about Homeric Epic and the possibility of regarding stories as living beings. www.JayLeeming.com
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Pablo Neruda: "Ode to My Socks"
The odes of Pablo Neruda explored by poet and storyteller Jay Leeming. www.JayLeeming.com
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The Iliad Part Three: Paris, the Sea-Dragon, and the Prophecies of Cassandra
The epic of the Iliad brought to life by performance storyteller Jay Leeming. www.JayLeeming.com