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The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily — Arts
The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily

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.

Copyright: © Copyright 2026 Minnesota Public Radio

Latest Episodes:

1507: How to Dress a Star by Nicholas Goodly May 04, 2026

Show notes

Today’s poem is How to Dress a Star by Nicholas Goodly.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem reminds me to feel tenderness toward the earlier versions of me. It reminds me that we should acknowledge our past selves more. Just think of what earlier versions of you were able to endure. Bless them for that.”

We’re asking you, our community of listeners, to help us select poems to share on the show in an upcoming week of special programming. What poems have you sent friends and loved ones to encourage them to slow down? Send in your own selection, we’ll mail you a special Slowdown postcard and sticker as a thank you. Submit here: bit.ly/slowdownsubmissions

1506: You Reading This, Be Ready by William Stafford May 01, 2026

Show notes

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 Apr 30, 2026

Show notes

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 Apr 29, 2026

Show notes

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 Apr 28, 2026

Show notes

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 Apr 27, 2026

Show notes

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

1501: at the baggage claim in JFK by Lo Naylor Apr 24, 2026

Show notes

Today’s poem is at the baggage claim in JFK by Lo Naylor.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “When I’m preparing for a multi-city book tour, I’m not nervous about reading in front of people or answering questions or finding my way around a strange place. I’m nervous about getting where I’m going. And with somewhat regular government shutdowns impacting TSA these days, those nerves aren’t coming from nowhere! But there are so many beautiful moments in airports, if you pay attention: parents comforting children, or occupying them with silly games; couples excited to be going on a trip together; teams of uniformed student athletes traveling to, or from, a big game.”

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

1500: You believed only a girl born of dandelion can be ferocious by Purvi Shah Apr 23, 2026

Show notes

Today’s poem is You believed only a girl born of dandelion can be ferocious by Purvi Shah.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Poems are meant to live in the air, to be read aloud, but I also know that form follows function. I want to see the choices the poet made when crafting the piece. Is the poem in couplets, tercets, or sturdy quatrains? Is it in one unbroken stanza with no white space? When I read a poem, knowing that form has the opportunity to enact, or at least reinforce, the content, I learn from the poet’s choices. The stanza shape and length is an opportunity to embody something in the poem, so what did the poet go with? Maybe they chose couplets for a poem about two lovers or a parent and child. Or a prose poem for a piece that is more narrative and casually spoken. Or maybe the poem “explodes” across the field of the page, fragmented and uncontained.”

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

1499: Spring in War-Time by Sara Teasdale Apr 22, 2026

Show notes

Today’s poem is Spring in War-Time by Sara Teasdale.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “I’m sure you’ve also seen the news stories, or at least social media takes, theorizing on the potential for a military draft. I have a son, and surely many of you listening have sons, too. “Operation Epic Fury” is what I feel, as a mother, when I think about men like Trump and Hegseth possibly, someday, sending my son and yours needlessly into harm’s way. Meanwhile, it’s spring. The earth feels set on creating more life. It’s sunny in central Ohio, and the Bradford Pears and the Redbud trees and the Magnolias are blooming. My yard is overrun with violets and dandelions. Later today my son — my only son — will mow it.”

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

1498: Twenty Questions by Jayrold Trasporte Apr 21, 2026

Show notes

Today’s poem is Twenty Questions by Jayrold Trasporte.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem is full of questions but doesn’t circle on a single, winning answer. Instead, it finds possibility — and poetry — in the spaces between yes and no.”

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

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