BROADCASTS.com

Your Hosts:\xa0Mary Robinette, Dan, Amal, and Howard
\n
\n
\nHow does a poem happen?
\n
\nAbsent an external structure, what makes a thing a poem?
\n
\nThe key word in that question may be "external," because ultimately the poem on the page will be the implicit definition of its own structure\u2014even if it borrows a "non-poetic" structure from another form.
\n
\nStructure is as structure does. "Unstructured" is just a way to say "I am unfamiliar with this structure," or maybe "I don't believe that this structure is fit for poetry."
\n
\nAnd that might be a thing you are currently saying.\xa0 After all, "blog post describing a podcast episode" is definitely a structure.
\n
\nDoes the embracing of that structure make this thing into a poem?
\n
\nIf this thing is a poem, how did that happen?
\n
\nLiner Notes:
\n
\n \t* "Girl Hours" by Sofia Samatar (via Stone Telling magazine),
\n \t* "The Hill We Climb," by Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman (YouTube from the Biden/Harris Inauguration)
\n
\nCredits: This episode was recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.\xa0\n\nSupport this podcast at \u2014 https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/exclusive-content\n\nAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands\n\nPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy