released 7/12/2024

Biographer John H. Timmerman discusses the life and work of poet Jane Kenyon (1947–1995), identifying features about Kenyon’s poetry that made her beloved by many readers. Among these features are her compassion and her idiosyncratic images, which enabled readers to perceive universal themes in what she called “the luminous particular.” Timmerman also discusses Kenyon’s writing process, most often practiced in view of the natural beauty of Eagle Pond Farm, the home she shared with husband and fellow poet Donald Hall (1928–2018). Kenyon’s poetry has resonances with that of Emily Dickinson and Anna Akhmatova (whose work she translated). A convert to Christianity, Kenyon experienced both strength and struggle in her faith, which she explored in her poems.

53 minutes

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On June 23rd, 2018, poet and essayist Donald Hall died at his home in New Hampshire at the age of 89. The author of over 50 books of poetry, criticism, drama, biography, and memoirs, Hall was U.S. Poet Laureate in 2006 and 2007. On this Friday Feature California’s current Poet Laureate, Dana Gioia, talks with Ken Myers about Hall’s life and work.

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