Shows / The Daily Poem
The Daily Poem
The Daily Poem offers one essential poem each weekday morning. From Shakespeare and John Donne to Robert Frost and Emily Dickinson, The Daily Poem curates a broad and generous audio anthology of the best poetry ever written, read-aloud by David Kern and an assortment of various contributors. Some lite commentary is included and the shorter poems are often read twice, as time permits. The Daily Poem is presented by Goldberry Studios.
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Episodes
The Daily PoemR. S. Thomas' "Poetry for Supper"
Ronald Stuart Thomas (29 March 1913 – 25 September 2000), published as R. S. Thomas, was a Welsh poet and Anglican priest noted for nationalism, spirituality…
The Daily PoemDorothy Parker's "The Trifler"
Dorothy Parker (née Rothschild; August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967) was an American poet and writer of fiction, plays and screenplays based in New York; she was…
The Daily PoemLouis Untermeyer's "A Man"
Today’s poem offers a needful portrait of ‘manly talk.’ Happy reading. Louis Untermeyer was the author, editor or compiler, and translator of more than 100…
The Daily PoemWilliam Butler Yeats' "Sailing to Byzantium"
Today’s poem is one of the most-discussed pieces of twentieth-century verse and, love it or hate it, features one of literature’s best extended metaphors for…
The Daily PoemWalt Whitman's "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer"
If the strained relationship between science and Romanticism had an anthem, it might be today’s poem. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to…
The Daily PoemMatthew Arnold's "Shakespeare"
Today’s poem demonstrates that, unlike Arnold’s sideburns, loving the Bard never goes out of style. Although remembered now for his elegantly argued critical…
The Daily PoemJames Wright's "A Blessing"
James Arlington Wright was born on December 13, 1927, in Martins Ferry, Ohio. His father worked for fifty years at a glass factory, and his mother left school…
The Daily PoemWendy Cope's "Emily Dickinson"
Today’s poem, from the delightfully clever Wendy Cope, epitomizes the rare and complicated light verse form: the double-dactyl. Wendy Cope was raised in Kent…
The Daily PoemDonald Hall's "The Baseball Players"
Today’s poem is for all those already wondering what they will do when the baseball season ends next month. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd…
The Daily PoemRichard Wilbur's "Advice to a Prophet"
Richard Wilbur was born in New York City on March 1, 1921 and studied at Amherst College before serving in the U.S. Army during World War II. He later attended…
The Daily PoemCountee Cullen's "Yet Do I Marvel"
Cullen’s exact birthplace is unknown, but in 1918, at the age of 15, Countee LeRoy was adopted by Reverend Frederick A. Cullen, the minster to the largest…
The Daily PoemSamuel Johnson's "On the Death of Dr. Robert Levet"
In today’s poem, the inimitably magnanimous Dr. Johnson eulogizes the man of “The single talent well employed.” Happy birthday to the good doctor, and happy…
The Daily PoemLear and Cordelia ("Come, let's away to prison")
Today’s poem is a passage of blank verse from Act 5, Scene 3 of Shakespeare’s King Lear. In the action of the play the scene is a prelude to tragedy, but as a…
The Daily PoemA. A. Milne's "Us Two"
Some Mondays call for a poem that is uncomplicated and perfectly delightful–and Milne never disappoints. Happy reading! This is a public episode. If you'd like…
The Daily PoemRudyard Kipling's "The Roman Centurion's Song"
Joseph Rudyard Kipling (30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936) was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British India…
The Daily PoemTed Kooser's "A Happy Birthday"
There comes a point in every life when “birthday” goes from meaning "pizza party” to meaning “memento mori.” Today’s poem goes out to everyone in the latter…
The Daily PoemAlfred, Lord Tennyson's "In Memoriam: 27"
Today the age-old question of loss and grief is answered…by the man who raised it in the first place. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this…
The Daily PoemAlice Dunbar-Nelson's "I Sit and Sew"
Nelson is likely best known for her literary output as a poet. She regularly published in Opportunity and Crisis magazines between 1917 and 1928. Her poems…
The Daily PoemDorianne Laux's "I Dare You"
The author of several collections of poetry–most recently Life on Earth–Dorianne Laux was the recipient of the Oregon Book Award and a finalist for the…
The Daily PoemJohn Donne's "Resurrection"
Today’s poem–#6 in Donne’s La Corona sonnet cycle–is an ideal consummation for many of the themes introduced in this week’s selections. Now go read the rest of…
The Daily PoemJohn Donne's "Divine Meditation 10: 'Death be not proud...'"
Today, Donne’s best-known poem, but maybe not his last word on death. Happy reading! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other…
The Daily PoemJohn Donne's "Divine Meditation 7: 'At the round earth's imagined corners...'"
Today’s poem dramatizes Donne’s inner turmoil and conflicting desires, but is not without hope. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to…
The Daily PoemJohn Donne's "Temple"
Today’s Holy Sonnet is the fourth in Donne’s underrated (if a poet as great as Donne can have underrated work) sonnet cycle, La Corona. The title translates to…
The Daily PoemJohn Donne's "Divine Meditation 1"
Today marks the beginning of a week of Donne’s “Holy Sonnets” (interpreted generously to also include selections from his sonnet cycle, “La Corona”). In this…
The Daily PoemScott Cairns' "Change Your Life"
Today, one of our favorite living poets asks questions about one of our favorite poems. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this…
The Daily PoemThomas Merton's "The Quickening Of St. John The Baptist"
In today’s poem Thomas Merton, 20th-century author and mystic, comes to an understanding of his monastic vocation through a contemplation of John the Baptist’s…
The Daily PoemTed Hughes' "The Thought-Fox"
Ted Hughes, one of the giants of twentieth-century British poetry, was born in Mytholmroyd, Yorkshire. After serving in the Royal Air Force, Hughes attended…
The Daily PoemMark Strand's "The Prediction"
Mark Strand was born on Canada’s Prince Edward Island on April 11, 1934. He received a BA from Antioch College in Ohio in 1957 and attended Yale University…
The Daily PoemJohn Keats' "On the Sonnet"
Today’s poem is a meta-reflection on the constraints of poetic form that has something to say about all of life’s formal constraints. Happy reading. This is a…
The Daily PoemEmily Dickinson's "Wild nights - Wild nights!"
Today’s poem–perfect for a Friday–gives us a less familiar (PG-13) Emily Dickinson, dreaming of letting her hair down. Happy reading. This is a public episode…
The Daily PoemJohn Donne's "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning"
Today’s poem is a classic staple with Literature teachers for its expressive metaphors; it is a classic staple with me because it’s such a cracking-good poem…
The Daily PoemLangston Hughes' "Theme For English B"
Today’s poem captures one of the universal challenges of education: recognizing the distinctions and distances between all human souls, and then bridging them…
The Daily PoemRobert Hayden's "Those Winter Sundays"
As the school year begins, today’s poem goes out to all of those everyday saints performing the unseen and unsung acts of love that make life possible for rest…
The Daily PoemRobert Browning's "My Last Duchess"
If a picture is worth 1,000 words, sometimes a portrait of your last wife who died under suspicious circumstances is as good as a confession. Happy(?) reading!…
The Daily PoemEven More Limericks
Hopefully five days of limericks has made this week a little lighter and a little brighter. See you next week for more of our regularly programming. Till then…
The Daily PoemMore Limericks
Today’s limericks are all about unexpected consequences. Happy reading. Children’s poet and educator Constance Levy earned degrees at Washington University and…
The Daily PoemBeard Limericks
Things are getting hairy. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit…
The Daily PoemTwo "Practical" Limericks
While limericks can be plenty nonsensical, today’s are downright sensible–especially that of Leigh Mercer, famous for his mathematical wordplay and best known…
The Daily PoemEdward Lear's "There was an Old Man of Thermopylæ"
It’s another weekly gimmerick here on the Daily Poem. Edward Lear (12 May 1812 – 29 January 1888) was an English artist, illustrator, musician, author and…
The Daily PoemNazim Hikmet's "On Living"
Nâzim Hikmet was born on January 15, 1902, in Salonika, Ottoman Empire (now Thessaloníki, Greece), where his father served in the Foreign Service. He was…
The Daily PoemBilly Collins' "Forgetfulness"
Maybe you remember the experiences recounted in today’s poem—maybe you don’t. Happy reading! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other…
The Daily PoemT. S. Eliot's "Old Deuteronomy"
T. S. Eliot is remembered as a great poet, but he is surpassingly underrated as a namer of cats. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to…
The Daily PoemRobert Penn Warren's "Bearded Oaks"
Warren (1905-1989) was born in Kentucky and educated at Vanderbilt University and the University of California, Berkeley. Though perhaps best known for his…
The Daily PoemBruce Lansky's "Confession"
Bruce Lansky is an internationally known poet and anthologist. He has a passion for getting children excited about reading and writing poetry. Lansky’s poetry…
The Daily PoemTwo by Ogden Nash
Today’s poems from Ogden Nash, “The Ant” and “The Ostrich,” are the perfect marriage of wit and attention. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd…
The Daily PoemOliver Herford's "The Platypus"
Oliver Herford (2 December 1860 – 5 July 1935), regarded as “the American Oscar Wilde,” was an Anglo-American writer, artist, and illustrator known for his…
The Daily PoemGerard Manley Hopkins' "As Kingfishers Catch Fire"
Today’s poem begins with humble beasts but wings its way to the loftiest mysteries of existence. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to…
The Daily PoemMargaret Wise Brown's "Wild Black Crows"
Margaret Wise Brown (May 23, 1910 – November 13, 1952) was an American writer of children's books, including Goodnight Moon (1947) and The Runaway Bunny…
The Daily PoemKatherine Craster's "The Centipede's Dilemma"
Today’s poem, written in 1871, actually gave the name to the since-codified psychological phenomenon known as the “centipede effect” or “centipede syndrome.”…
The Daily PoemGerard Manley Hopkins' "Morning, Midday, and Evening Sacrifice"
G. K. Chesterton wrote: “Oscar Wilde said that sunsets were not valued because we could not pay for sunsets. But Oscar Wilde was wrong; we can pay for sunsets…
The Daily Poem"The Lady of Shalott" Pt. 4
Today’s poem is the fourth and final section of Tennyson’s Arthurian ballad. I have been reading his 1842 version and (I think) the final stanza is where it…
The Daily Poem"The Lady of Shalott" Pt. 3
Today we come to the turning point for the Lady of Shalott. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or…
The Daily Poem"The Lady of Shalott" Pt. 2
In part two, the “Lady” sits, weaving, in a world of images but pines for the world of solid realities. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this…
The Daily PoemAlfred, Lord Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott" Pt. 1
Today is the first of four in which we’ll wend our way through Tennyson’s tragic Arthurian ballad. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with…
The Daily PoemJohn Hollander's "A Watched Pot"
Today’s poem is a shape poem dedicated to chefs, but (surprise?) it might be about more than cooking. John Hollander, one of contemporary poetry’s foremost…
The Daily PoemWilliam Blake's "The Divine Image"
In today’s poem, from Songs of Innocence, we meet William Blake struggling to sort out his theological analogies. This is a public episode. If you'd like to…
The Daily PoemJohn Milton's "When I consider how my light is spent"
In today’s poem, also known as “Sonnet 19,” Milton offers a pious alternative to “raging” against the dying of the light. Happy reading. This is a public…
The Daily PoemElizabeth Barrett Browning's "A Musical Instrument"
Today’s poem muses on the sweet and awful creation of the poet. Happy reading! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers…
The Daily PoemBen Jonson's "Though I be young"
Today’s poem is a song from Ben Jonson’s final play, The Sad Shepherd (1641). Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other…
The Daily PoemAmy Clampitt's "The Godfather Returns to Color TV"
Just when you thought you were out, The Daily Poem pulls you back in–to poems about movies. Today’s charming and earnest poem imitates the medium it describes…