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VS

The VS podcast is a bi-weekly series where poets confront the ideas that move them. Hosted by poets Ajanaé Dawkins and Brittany Rogers, produced by Cin Pim/Ombie Productions, and presented by the Poetry Foundation.

Latest Episodes:

Lupe Mendez vs. Reverence Jan 03, 2023

Show notes

On this week’s episode, Brittany and Ajanae continue their mini tour of the South in Houston, Texas. Next, they talk with Texas Poet Laureate Lupe Mendez about familial responsibility, masculinity, education, and the preservation of memory.

Until Next Time:

Here are some pieces of media to accompany your experience of the episode, and a writing prompt to tide you over until we meet again!

José Alfredo Jiménez - El Ultimo Trago
Janet Jackson - Rhythm Nation
Sylvia Plath - Daddy

Prompt: Write a singular moment or story from three separate generations of your family. The stories do not have to have any obvious connection.

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Joy Priest vs. Absurdity Dec 22, 2022

Show notes

On this week’s episode, Brittany and Ajanae travel to Houston, Texas for the first interview of their (mini) South tour. There, they talk with Joy Priest about landscape, road trips, the process of creating, putting together a collection, and what happens when Blackness meets theory.

Until Next Time:

Here are some pieces of media to accompany your experience of the episode, and a writing prompt to tide you over until we meet again!

Read: Sharon Olds - “The Unborn” “After Making Love in Winter”
Patricia Smith - “When Burning Begins”
Terrence Hayes - “American Sonnet for My Past and Future Assasin”

Prompt: Write your own theory of living. Consider: What things must be present for you to feel sustained? What truths ground you? What are the facts that make you possible?

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Joy Priest vs. Absurdity Dec 22, 2022

Show notes

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Wes Matthews vs. Wonder Dec 06, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, Wes reflects on his transition from being a youth to adulthood as it relates to the poetry scene, level of empathy, and approach to wonder.

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Kemi Alabi vs Divinity Nov 22, 2022

Show notes

In today’s episode, Kemi Alabi talks about poetic practice, pleasure, and play as it presents in their collection Against Heaven, winner of the Academy of American Poets First Book Award (Graywolf, 2022). In this conversation, they discuss the relationship between the secular and profane, subverting and breaking language, and the importance of embracing grief and the emotional body.

Kemi will be reading at the Poetry Foundation on Dec 8th, 2022 – more info below!

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Remica L Bingham-Risher vs, Memory Nov 08, 2022

Show notes

Remica Bingham-Risher’s reverence for love and relationship is tangible in her work. The author of Soul Culture, Starlight & Error, What We Ask of Flesh, and Conversion talks with Brittany and Ajanaé about the necessity of Black women curating the archive and the value of interiority.

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Danez & Franny VS Getting Grown Oct 25, 2022

Show notes

Franny and Danez grace us with insight on being grown and dreaming toward the future. These former VS hosts talk with Brittany and Ajanaé about the way sobriety, domesticity, and clarity about their identities as writers is shaping their lives.

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Roll Call: Three Castles and the Music City Apr 12, 2022

Show notes

In October of 1871, the oldest University in Nashville TN, teetered on the brink of collapse. To survive, Fisk University staked its last $40 on a set of field hymns and 10 descendants of American slavery. The singing group carried melodies their families shared in secret from the cotton fields of middle Tennessee to the high court of the Queen of England. The landmark tours of the Fisk Jubilee Singers rescued a university, gave Nashville its identity, and set the course of American music.

One hundred fifty years later the journey of the Fisk Jubilee Singers continues. Immerse yourself in the music and voices of the original chorus and hear how their stories are transformed through poetry in this one-hour special “Three Castles and the Music City.”

Produced in partnership with Nashville Public Radio [WPLN]
Hosted by: Destiny Birdsong
Co-Written and Produced by: Joshua Moore and Colleen Phelps
Editing by: Anita Bugg
Transcription by: Ayinde Jean-Baptiste

Poets:
Destiny Birdsong
Ciona Rouse
Bryan Byrdlong

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All The Apostles are Black, All the Saints Queer, and All of Them Are Brave (Pt.2) Mar 29, 2022

Show notes

All The Apostles are Black, All the Saints Queer, and All of Them Are Brave: towards a queer canon (Pt.2)

Hello, hi Beloveds! Welcome back to the second installment of our Roll Call episode. We are your hosts, Kopano Maroga and Maneo Mohale, and we are sluts for history and sluts for discourse and are going to be picking the brains of our fabulous guests Koleka Putuma (featured in part 1) and Nakhane (featured in part 2) speaking all things blackness, South Africanness, craft, microaggressions, white twinks and black queer ancestors. We are joined in these episodes by voicenote interludes from black, queer South African artists Gugulethu Duma (aka Dumama who opens and closes the show), Lindiwe Mngxitama and Kneo Mokgopa. Special thanks to our magnificent producer, Maia McDonald, and our generous mentors, Danez Smith and Jenna Wortham, for holding space for us and holding our hands through the process.

Big, black, slutty love!

Maneo & Kopano

Hosted by: Kopano Maroga and Maneo Mohale

Featuring: Nakhane, Kneo Mokgopa, and Gugulethu Duma

Produced by: Maia McDonald

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All The Apostles are Black, All the Saints Queer, and All of Them Are Brave (Pt. 1) Mar 15, 2022

Show notes

All The Apostles are Black, All the Saints Queer, and All of Them Are Brave: towards a queer canon (Pt.1)

Hello, hi Beloveds! We are Kopano Maroga and Maneo Mohale and we have the absolute honour of hosting this 2 part episode of Roll Call for you produced by the Poetry Foundation. We are sluts for history and sluts for discourse and are going to be picking the brains of our fabulous guests Koleka Putuma (featured in part 1) and Nakhane (featured in part 2) speaking all things blackness in these episodes. South Africanness, craft, microaggressions, white twinks and black queer ancestors. We are joined in these episodes by voicenote interludes from black, queer South African artists Gugulethu Duma (aka Dumama who opens and closes the show), Lindiwe Mngxitama and Kneo Mokgopa. Special thanks to our magnificent producer, Maia McDonald, and our generous mentors, Danez Smith and Jenna Wortham, for holding space for us and holding our hands through the process.

Big, black, slutty love!

Maneo & Kopano

Hosted by: Kopano Maroga and Maneo Mohale

Featuring: Koleka Putuma, Gugulethu Duma, Lindiwe Mngxitama

Produced by: Maia McDonald

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.