The Slowdown is a radio show and podcast about poetry produced in collaboration between American Public Media , the Poetry Foundation , and the Library of Congress . The first two seasons of the show was hosted by Tracy K. Smith.
In each episode the host introduces and then reads a poem. [1] [2] [3] The podcast is produced by American Public Radio, funded by the Poetry Foundation, and supported by the Library of Congress. [4] The podcast debuted on November 26, 2018, and was later made available as a radio program on January 14, 2019. [5] [6] Episodes are released every weekday and are each about five minutes in length. [7] [8] The podcast is syndicated by radio stations in seven different cities including WEKU and WGTE-FM. [9] [10] [11] Smith's idea for the podcast was inspired by a reading series she was doing called "American Conversations: Celebrating Poems in Rural Communities". [12] She was travelling throughout the country for the reading series from 2017 to 2019. [13] The first two seasons of the podcast were hosted by Tracy K. Smith. [14] The third season was launched on September 21, 2021, and was hosted by Ada Limón. [15] [16] [17] The show has featured politicians such as Anthony Scaramucci and Janet Napolitano. [18] According to the National Endowment for the Arts, only 11.7% of adults read poetry in 2017 whereas young people are more likely to have read poetry because social media platforms such as Instagram have become a popular way of sharing poetry. [19] The podcast was a finalist in the 2020 Discover Pods awards and was an honoree in the 2022 Webby Awards. [20] [21] [22]
The Pulitzer Prize for Poetry is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes awarded annually for Letters, Drama, and Music. It was first presented in 1922, and is given for a distinguished volume of original verse by an American author, published during the preceding calendar year.
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) of Arezzo were the first to be crowned poets laureate after the classical age, respectively in 1315 and 1342. In Britain, the term dates from the appointment of Bernard André by Henry VII of England. The royal office of Poet Laureate in England dates from the appointment of John Dryden in 1668.
Dame Carol Ann Duffy is a Scottish poet and playwright. She is a professor of contemporary poetry at Manchester Metropolitan University, and was appointed Poet Laureate in May 2009, and her term expired in 2019. She was the first female poet, the first Scottish-born poet and the first openly lesbian poet to hold the Poet Laureate position.
Simon Robert Armitage is an English poet, playwright, musician and novelist. He was appointed Poet Laureate on 10 May 2019. He is professor of poetry at the University of Leeds.
A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing. Podcasts are primarily an audio medium, with some programs offering a supplemental video component.
Frederick James Wah, OC, is a Canadian poet, novelist, scholar and former Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate.
The National Poetry Series is an American literary awards program.
Tracy K. Smith is an American poet and educator. She served as the 22nd Poet Laureate of the United States from 2017 to 2019. She has published five collections of poetry, winning the Pulitzer Prize for her 2011 volume Life on Mars. Her memoir, Ordinary Light, was published in 2015.
Australian Book Review is an Australian arts and literary review. Created in 1961, ABR is an independent non-profit organisation that publishes articles, reviews, commentaries, essays, and new writing. The aims of the magazine are 'to foster high critical standards, to provide an outlet for fine new writing, and to contribute to the preservation of literary values and a full appreciation of Australia's literary heritage'.
Ada Limón is an American poet. On July 12, 2022, she was named the 24th Poet Laureate of the United States by the Librarian of Congress. This made her the first Latina to be Poet Laureate of the United States.
Major Jackson is an American poet and professor at Vanderbilt University. He is the author of six collections of poetry: Razzle Dazzle: New & Selected Poems 2002-2022, The Absurd Man, Roll Deep, Holding Company, Hoops, finalist for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literature-Poetry, and Leaving Saturn, winner of the 2000 Cave Canem Poetry Prize and finalist for a National Book Critics Award Circle. His edited volumes include: Best American Poetry 2019, Renga for Obama, and Library of America's Countee Cullen: Collected Poems. His prose is published in A Beat Beyond: Selected Prose of Major Jackson. He is host of the podcast The Slowdown.
The Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, commonly referred to as the United States Poet Laureate, serves as the official poet of the United States. During their term, the poet laureate seeks to raise the national consciousness to a greater appreciation of the reading and writing of poetry. The position was modeled on the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom. Begun in 1937, and formerly known as the Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, the present title was devised and authorized by an Act of Congress in 1985. Appointed by the Librarian of Congress, the poet laureate's office is administered by the Center for the Book. For children's poets, the Poetry Foundation awards the Young People's Poet Laureate.
David Eggleton is a New Zealand poet, critic and writer. Eggleton has been awarded the Ockham New Zealand Book Award for poetry and in 2019 was appointed New Zealand Poet Laureate, a title he held until 2022. Eggleton's work has appeared in a multitude of publications in New Zealand and he has released over 18 poetry books (1986–2001) with a variety of publishers, including Penguin.
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature.
99% Invisible is a radio show and podcast produced and created by Roman Mars that focuses on design. It began as a collaborative project between San Francisco public radio station KALW and the American Institute of Architects in San Francisco. PRX has distributed the show for broadcasting on a number of radio stations and as a podcast on the Radiotopia network. On April 28, 2021, Roman Mars announced in an introduction of a re-released episode that 99% Invisible had been purchased by Sirius XM and marketed as part of its Stitcher Radio brand.
Danez Smith is a poet, writer and performer from St. Paul, Minnesota. They are queer, non-binary and HIV-positive. They are the author of the poetry collections [insert] Boy and Don't Call Us Dead: Poems, both of which have received multiple awards. Their most recent poetry collection Homie was published on January 21, 2020.
John Warner Smith is an American poet and educator. He formerly held the position as the Louisiana Poet Laureate. His poems have appeared in numerous published works.
Amanda S. C. Gorman is an American poet and activist. Her work focuses on issues of oppression, feminism, race and marginalization, as well as the African diaspora. Gorman was the first person to be named National Youth Poet Laureate. She published the poetry book The One for Whom Food Is Not Enough in 2015. She rose to fame in 2021 for writing and delivering her poem "The Hill We Climb" at the inauguration of Joe Biden. Gorman's inauguration poem generated international acclaim and shortly thereafter, two of her books achieved best-seller status, and she obtained a professional management contract.
The National Youth Poet Laureate is a title held in the United States by a young person who demonstrates skill in the arts, particularly poetry and/or spoken word, is a strong leader, is committed to social justice, and is active in civic discourse and advocacy. It is a title awarded annually to one winner among four finalists, most of whom have been chosen as the Poet Laureate for their city and region.
Wow in the World is a children's podcast hosted by children's media and audio veterans Guy Raz and Mindy Thomas. which debuted on May 17, 2017 and produced by Tinkercast, LLC, a company established by Thomas and Raz to produce children's audio., and distributed by Wondery. Initially, it was distributed by NPR as part of its efforts to invest in podcasts and digital media aimed at wider audiences, including families, as well as Guy Raz's connections to the broadcaster for producing popular shows like the TED Radio Hour and the business podcast How I Built This. Distribution was handed over to Sony Music in April 2021, but the deal with Sony was very short lived. The Amazon-owned podcast network Wondery agreed to distribute the Tinkercast assets in September the same year. The show focuses on science and technology and each episodes is about 25 minutes long. However some episodes, such as the spin-off game show Two Whats?! And a Wow!!! are 15 minutes long and other bonus episodes may run for 5–10 minutes.