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 PoemFrancis Thompson's "The Hound of Heaven"
Francis Thompson was born in Northwest England in 1859. The son of Catholic converts, as a boy he was initially educated for the priesthood. When he was 18, at…
The Daily PoemWilliam Ernest Henley's "Invictus"
Today’s poem–benign anthem of the resilient human spirit or a hymn to radical autonomy?–has divided audiences for more than a century. Born in Gloucester…
The Daily PoemJohn Donne's "No Man Is an Island"
What do John Donne, Paul Simon, and AC/DC have in common? Today’s poem. Happy reading! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other…
The Daily PoemWalt Whitman's "Pioneers! O Pioneers!"
Today it’s Whitman (and Dylan) on the march of progress. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus…
The Daily PoemWendell Berry's "The Plan"
Today’s poem imagines what you might do when you’re through paying taxes. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get…
The Daily PoemSeamus Heaney's "A Basket of Chestnuts"
Today’s poem is an ekphrasis on a portrait of the poet himself–all that the portrait does and doesn’t capture or convey. This is a public episode. If you'd…
The Daily PoemBilly Collins' "Candle Hat"
Today’s poem is a lighter take on the self-portrait ekphrasis. What is it about the self-portrait that is so intriguing to poets, anyway? This is a public…
The Daily PoemElizabeth Jennings' "Rembrandt's Late Self-Portraits"
Elizabeth Jennings (1926-2001) was born in Boston, Lincolnshire but moved to Oxford at the age of six where she lived for the rest of her life. She studied at…
The Daily PoemRichard Howard's "Gustave Dore"
Richard Howard (born Oct 13, 1929, died march 31, 2022) was credited with introducing modern French fiction—particularly examples of the Nouveau Roman—to the…
The Daily PoemEdwin Markham's "The Man With the Hoe"
ekphrasis: “Description” in Greek. An ekphrastic poem is a vivid description of a scene or, more commonly, a work of art. Through the imaginative act of…
The Daily PoemLewis Carroll's "The Walrus and the Carpenter"
Today’s poem is in honor of April being (according to now-outdated tradition) the last prudent month till Autumn in which to eat oysters. Happy reading!…
The Daily PoemDerek Walcott's "Sea Grapes"
West Indian poet and playwright Derek Walcott made his debut as an 18-year-old with In a Green Night. For many years he divided his time among Saint Lucia…
The Daily PoemGeorge Herbert's "The Church-floore"
In today’s poem: George Herbert meditating on the simple profundity of a single, sustained metaphor. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to…
The Daily PoemOgden Nash's "Very Like a Whale"
Today’s poem–a layered, jokingly-serious response to one of last week’s–comes from Ogden Nash, dubbed the ‘Laurate of Light Verse.’ Which banner would you…
The Daily PoemGerard Manley Hopkins' "That Nature is a Heraclitean Fire and of the Comfort of the Resurrection"
A joyous Eastertide and happy reading to you all! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus…
The Daily PoemAndrew Marvell's "A Dialogue, between the Resolved Soul and Created Pleasure"
Due to the inconsistencies and ambiguities within his work and the scarcity of information about his personal life, Andrew Marvell has been a source of…
The Daily PoemLord Byron's "The Destruction of Sennacherib"
English peer and poet George Gordon Byron was one of the bad boys of the Romantic movement and, by some accounts, the first ‘celebrity.’ Like countless…
The Daily PoemLouis Simpson's "American Poetry"
Poet, editor, translator, and critic Louis Simpson was born in Jamaica to Scottish and Russian parents. He moved to the United States when he was 17 to study…
The Daily PoemA. E. Housman's "Loveliest of Trees (Shropshire Lad II)"
Alfred Edward Housman was born in Fockbury, Worcestershire, England on March 26, 1859 and was the eldest of seven children. A year after his birth, Housman’s…
The Daily PoemTwo by John Robert Lee
John Robert Lee was born, and lives in St Lucia. He is the author of three collections of poetry, Elemental, (2008), Collected Poems 1975-2015, (2017), and…
The Daily PoemBilly Collins' "Marginalia"
Today’s poem takes the peripheral and makes it the primary. Happy reading! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or…
The Daily PoemEzra Pound's "The River-Merchant's Wife: A Letter"
Today’s poem from Ezra Pound (a poet with his own colorful history of exile) is after the style of Li Po, featured last week. Ezra Pound was born in Hailey…
The Daily PoemRobert Frost's "Out, Out–"
Today’s poem answers the question you never thought to ask: ‘What do Macbeth and a buzz saw have in common?’ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss…
The Daily PoemPoem-Prayers by Robert Herrick
Some poets wind up writing prayers by accident; others do it on purpose. Today’s poems from Robert Herrick–“Grace For a Child” and “His Prayer for…
The Daily PoemTwo by Robert P. Tristram Coffin
Today’s poems–”The Hill Place” and “Day’s Diamond”–come from Robert P. Tristram Coffin. Coffin (1892-1955) grew up in Brunswick, Maine on a “saltwater farm.”…
The Daily PoemDavid Lehman's "The Ides of March"
Today’s poem marks the ides (or idus) or March, a day classically associated with the settling of debts (and maybe old scores, too). One of the foremost…
The Daily PoemLi Po's "The Solitude of Night"
Today’s poem is the work of an eighth-century poet whose reputation didn’t peak until the twentieth century. Li Po’s “The Solitude of Night” (translated here…
The Daily PoemJames Merrill's "The Octopus"
"A master of forms, Merrill’s later poetry rarely feels formal. In the Atlantic Monthly, poet X.J. Kennedy observed that “Merrill never sprawls, never flails…
The Daily PoemHilaire Belloc's "Lines to a Don"
Today’s poem is a master-class in snappy putdowns and the value of a fiercely-loyal and equally witty friend. Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc (1870 – 1953)…
The Daily PoemHenry Wadsworth Longfellow's "The Poet's Calendar"
Today’s poem is a grand smorgasbord of poetical allusions from the unofficial patron of The Daily Poem. Happy reading! This is a public episode. If you'd like…
The Daily PoemNaomi Shihab Nye's "The Traveling Onion"
Naomi Shihab Nye was born on March 12, 1952, in St. Louis to a Palestinian father and an American mother. During her high school years, she lived in Ramallah…
The Daily PoemColley Cibber's "The Blind Boy"
Today’s poem (from an oft-maligned poet) makes frequent appearances in poetry anthologies for children, but hides a satisfying subtlety. Colley Cibber (6…
The Daily PoemBertolt Brecht's "A Worker Reads History"
Bertolt Brecht (February 10, 1898 – August 14, 1956) was an influential playwright and poet. His poetry is collected in Poems 1913-1956 (1997) and Poetry and…
The Daily PoemJ. R. R. Tolkien's "The Road Goes Ever On"
Today’s poem is a walking song composed by Bilbo Baggins, reworked and repurposed at several key moments in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Happy…
The Daily PoemDr. Seuss' "Did I Ever Tell You..?"
Today’s poem is a piece of uncollected verse from one of the world’s most beloved children’s writers: Dr. Seuss. Theodor Seuss Geisel (March 2, 1904 –…
The Daily PoemRichard Wilbur's "The Death of a Toad"
Today’s poem comes from one of America’s most beloved and decorated poets, Richard Wilbur. Don’t be put off by the title; no matter the subject, Wilbur’s…
The Daily PoemHoward Nemerov's "De Anima"
For the day that only comes ‘round once every four years, we have a haunting poem about missed connections–and from a poet with a “Leap Day” birthday, no less…
The Daily PoemElizabeth Drew Barstow Stoddard's "Nameless Pain"
Elizabeth Drew Barstow Stoddard (1823-1902) was a poet, fiction writer, and essayist born and raised in Mattapoisset, Massachusetts. The daughter of a…
The Daily PoemHenry Wadsworth Longfellow's "The Poet and His Songs"
Happy Birthday to America’s great man of letters, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow! Get to know Longfellow better through his own verse, or in the pages of Nicholas…
The Daily PoemEdwin Arlington Robinson's "Richard Cory"
Edwin Arlington Robinson was born in Head Tide, Maine on December 22, 1869 (the same year as W. B. Yeats). His family moved to Gardiner, Maine, in 1870, which…
The Daily PoemWilliam Butler Yeats' "The Lake Isle of Innisfree"
Today’s classic poem from W. B. Yeats doubles as one of the greatest literary justifications for committing poems to memory. Happy reading! This is a public…
The Daily PoemThree by Edna St. Vincent Millay
Today’s poems pay tribute to the soulful and spirited Edna St. Vincent Millay, first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. They are “First Fig,” “Second…
The Daily PoemW. H. Auden's "In Memory of W. B. Yeats"
In today’s poem one great poet pays passionate tribute to another. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access…
The Daily PoemMaurice Manning's "A Brief Refutation..."
The full title of today’s poem from Maurice Manning says it all: “A Brief Refutation of the Rumor That I Allowed Willie and Tad to Relieve Themselves in my…
The Daily PoemJames Matthew Wilson's "The Scar of Odysseus"
James Matthew Wilson has published ten books, among them four collections of poems, including The Strangeness of the Good. His poems, essays, and reviews…
The Daily PoemRainer Maria Rilke's "Love Song"
Today’s poem comes from Rilke and has a fairly straight-forward title–or does it? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other…
The Daily PoemBen Jonson's "Song to Celia"
Today’s poem from Ben Jonson (also know by its first line, “Drink to me only with thine eyes”) has been arranged and set to music numerous times, and become so…
The Daily PoemPablo Neruda's "Sonnet XVII"
Today’s poem from Pablo Neruda is characteristic of the passionate Chilean’s emphatic love poetry, but more chaste and decorous than some of his verses–perfect…
The Daily PoemJohn Donne's "The Flea"
Today’s poem comes from a young John Donne. Long before he became a serious clergyman writing Holy Sonnets for God, he was a young rake writing saucy…
The Daily PoemWilliam Shakespeare's Sonnets 98 & 99
Today’s poems kick off a week of love poetry with two by the Master. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get…
The Daily PoemWilliam Cullen Bryant's "To a Waterfowl"
William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878) was a Fireside Poet, journalist, and nature writer with ties to the Hudson River School of art. He wrote poems, essays, and…
The Daily PoemElizabeth Bishop's "In the Waiting Room"
Today’s poem is a rare departure for Elizabeth Bishop who usually avoided a confessional style of poetry–but everybody gets a little introspective on their…
The Daily PoemTracy K. Smith's "Solstice"
Tracy K. Smith was born in Massachusetts and raised in northern California. She earned a BA from Harvard University and an MFA in creative writing from…
The Daily PoemMatthew Arnold's "Dover Beach"
Today’s poem is the one you had to read in high school without really understanding it. (Or was that just me?) Among the major Victorian writers, Matthew…
The Daily PoemLangston Hughes' "Harlem"
Today’s poem is one of the most recognizable and influential American poems of the twentieth century. Langston Hughes was a central figure in the Harlem…
The Daily PoemRobert Herrick's "Ceremony Upon Candlemas Eve"
Today’s poem from Robert Herrick is not only an ode to the holiday of Candlemas, but a meditation on the everlasting revolution of the seasons. For more on the…
The Daily PoemSamuel Taylor Coleridge's "Work Without Hope"
If you had to live the same day over and over again, you may as well use the time to memorize some poetry. That’s exactly what Phil Connors does in Groundhog…
The Daily PoemRobert Browning's "Development"
Although the early part of Robert Browning’s creative life was spent in comparative obscurity, he has come to be regarded as one of the most important English…
The Daily PoemEmily Dickinson's "Fame is a bee."
Today’s poem from Emily Dickinson is a masterclass in poetic economy. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get…
The Daily PoemAnne Bradstreet's "To My Dear and Loving Husband"
Anne Bradstreet was the first woman to be recognized as an accomplished New World Poet. Her volume of poetry The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America …