1506: You Reading This, Be Ready by William Stafford
01-05-2026 | 6 Min.
Today’s poem is You Reading This, Be Ready by William Stafford.
The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “We spend so much money in this country on things we think will make us happier and more fulfilled, but presence isn’t a thing at all — it’s an action inside us. Being present costs us nothing. It requires no special equipment. No special location. We can all do better at noticing, and at keeping ourselves open to what we’re experiencing right now.”
This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation and get access to the sponsor-free version of The Slowdown today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
1505: Queen of Collapse by Hadara Bar-Nadav
30-04-2026 | 6 Min.
Today’s poem is Queen of Collapse by Hadara Bar-Nadav.
The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Repeating the same word or phrase when we write opens something up, forces us to finish the thought in a new way each time. I always surprise myself. With each repetition of the phrase, the sentence goes in a slightly new direction.”
This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation and get access to the sponsor-free version of The Slowdown today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
1504: The Beginning by Katherine Gibbel
29-04-2026 | 5 Min.
Today’s poem is The Beginning by Katherine Gibbel.
The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “I have the worst spring fever every year, because the winters in Ohio are so long and so bleak and gray. When the landscape comes alive and turns green again, I’m nearly drunk with joy. I’m in noticing heaven: ‘Look at the buds on the trees!’ and ‘Breathe in that green smell!’ I don’t even mind that the birds wake me up at four o-clock in the morning with their too-early songs. It’s the best alarm clock.”
This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation and get access to the sponsor-free version of The Slowdown today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
1503: Cloud Hands by Arthur Sze
28-04-2026 | 5 Min.
Today’s poem is Cloud Hands by Arthur Sze.
The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem shows us that tai chi is not only meditation in motion, but also metaphor in motion.”
This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation and get access to the sponsor-free version of The Slowdown today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
1502: On My History of Kissing Everyone At Parties by Isabelle Correa
27-04-2026 | 5 Min.
Today’s poem is On My History of Kissing Everyone At Parties by Isabelle Correa.
The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem was introduced to me by a friend of mine, the playwright and director Moisés Kaufman. If you’ve seen or read The Laramie Project or Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, you know his work. Moisés read this poem to me recently, and it moved me so much — the words themselves, and his face lighting up, and the warmth in his voice as he was taking so much pleasure from each line.”
This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation and get access to the sponsor-free version of The Slowdown today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
Host Maggie Smith is your daily poetry companion. Poetry is one of the greatest tools we have to wield our own attention — to consider our own lives and the lives of others, to help us live creatively and compassionately, to use that attention to lean into wonder, and joy, and truth, and to find hope — to keep hoping. The Slowdown community knows that reflecting on a poem, every weekday, can connect us to our inner world and the world around us. Listen as you make your morning coffee, as you go on a walk in your neighborhood, as you pull away from the to-do list, as you resist the dismal, endless scroll to share five minutes of perspective through the lens of poetry, from poets old and new, well-loved and emerging onto the scene. Brought to you by American Public Media, in partnership with the Poetry Foundation.
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