The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily

Latest Episodes:

1452: A Backstory Beyond My Recounting by Paulann Petersen Feb 09, 2026

Show notes

Today’s poem is A Backstory Beyond My Recounting by Paulann Petersen. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, guest host Samiya Bashir writes… “Today’s poem asks who we think we are. That existential question can feel like judgment or threat, but the poet turns it back toward the daily realities of our own agency.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

1451: Diving into the Wreck by Adrienne Rich Feb 06, 2026

Show notes

Today’s poem is Diving into the Wreck by Adrienne Rich. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, guest host Samiya Bashir writes… “Our most important journeys often take us through vistas that we hadn’t, couldn’t, even imagine when we took our first steps. Leaning into adventure forces us to embrace uncertainty.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

1450: Home by Warsan Shire Feb 05, 2026

Show notes

Today’s poem is Home by Warsan Shire. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, guest host Samiya Bashir writes… “Immigration, which built the United States—for better and for worse—is again on trial not just here, but in much of the West. The crackdowns are beyond devastating, yet the potential for complete societal collapse seems unable to trigger our better natures to see each other’s humanity.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

1449: Nightline: September 20, 1982 by June Jordan Feb 04, 2026

Show notes

Today’s poem is Nightline: September 20, 1982 by June Jordan. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, guest host Samiya Bashir writes… “Today’s poem reminds me of the power of poetry to comment, to respond, to shed light and offer us space to form our own impressions of what the facts may mean. To decide, then, with the knowledge provided by our very own bodies, what we mean to do about it.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

1448: Orchestra by Russell Brakefield Feb 03, 2026

Show notes

Today’s poem is Orchestra by Russell Brakefield. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, guest host Samiya Bashir writes… “Restoration, like most things worthwhile, is far from simple. But we know, and this poet shows us, that by taking such deliberate steps toward doing recovery, repair, and renewal, in our poetry as well as in our environmental stewardship, we re-establish our own ability to live our own best lives.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

1447: Gratitude by Cornelius Eady Feb 02, 2026

Show notes

Today’s poem is Gratitude by Cornelius Eady. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, guest host Samiya Bashir writes… “Today’s poem makes a promise of its title, dresses it in flesh and bone, and tracks it across time. It’s a clear, bold promise that might actively change the future not only for its speaker, but for the world we all share.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

1446: Mistake by Heather Christle Jan 30, 2026

Show notes

Today’s poem is Mistake by Heather Christle.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “As humans, we're hardwired to see faces. How many of us have come upon a discarded item of clothing or a balled up blanket on the side of the road and shuddered to think it might be a dog or a deer? There’s a sense of relief when we realize we’re looking at an object, not a dead creature, but there’s also another feeling—one I hadn’t been able to put my finger on until I read today’s poem.”

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

1445: Hackberry by Cecily Parks Jan 29, 2026

Show notes

Today’s poem is Hackberry by Cecily Parks.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem is a kind of love poem—to a beloved tree, and to the sense of home it created.”

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

1444: Congratulations! Your Grief Is About to Stop Being Relevant! by Bridget Bell Jan 28, 2026

Show notes

Today’s poem is Congratulations! Your Grief Is About to Stop Being Relevant! by Bridget Bell.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem captures a time of grief in the speaker’s life, when life goes a little quiet after a flurry of support and care.”

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

1443: Come Back! by Camille Guthrie Jan 27, 2026

Show notes

Today’s poem is Come Back! by Camille Guthrie.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “One of the poets I discovered in college was H.D.. Born Hilda Doolittle, she published under her initials. I remember being wowed by her poems, which were experimental and strange, unlike anything I’d read before—and unlike anything I’ve read since.”

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

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