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Under the open sky
You are a constant bridge
between mother
and child.
I walk from this side
a sprout
to the other shore’s
bones
and back again
and again
through your unfolding
womb
— your opening mouth
where I go inside
and listen
to our unwrinkling
skin.
My blog friend Susan of Everyday People invited me to share three poem podcasts on her nationally aired public radio program 51% The Women's Perspective for this week of Mother's Day. Susan's excellent program focuses on issues that are relevant and resonant for all of us, not only women. The poems are ones I have previously posted at this blog and are "A world, and you in it," "Aubade" and "Little One." I'm pretty excited. (Did I say "nationally" enough times? Eeeeeeee.) The poems are on the topic of mothering, which seems to be where I live these days in my heart. The 30 minute show airs live Wednesday, May 4 at 3 PM EST on her station out of Woodstock, NY, WAMC. The program will be archived Thursday, May 5, show #1138 here. You'll be able to download an mp3 of the program at NPR here. (Yeah, well I'll probably be the only one doing that, ha.) To find a station that airs 51% The Women's Perspective, go here. Thank you, Susan, for liking my poems enough to broadcast them on your show!
UPDATE: Listen to the archive of Susan Barnett's very interesting 51% The Women's Perspective show from yesterday (archive #1138 here), a special Mother's Day edition in which Carla Goldstein explains the feminist origins of Mother's Day, and the intent of its founders to end all war. Then listen to a young woman from Ireland talk about her heartbreaking last days with her mother, who had dementia (a story I understand personally). The 30-minute program is well worth listening to. My poem "A world, and you in it" is at the end of the program. Thanks again, Susan, for hosting an important program and for airing my poem in such fine company.
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57 comments:
ruth, this is absolutely wonderful. i have a love affair with public radio. (oh god, i don't know if there is a squarer thing that i could possibly say.) to me, this is arriving.
one morning a few years ago i wrote a bit that was read up here on the local public radio and not for a show but rather a contest, and so it hardly measures up, but there i was sitting on the tip of the clawfoot with my son grabbed up in my hand, brushing his teeth, my daughter nearby and foaming at the mouth, and there my words came out of a man's mouth both distant, but near. the morning broke there upon possibility. it was a lovely thing.
your poem on motherhood could be such a poem on passion as well. the parallels are startling.
you know i'm a fan. you're writing deserves to be heard.
xo
erin
Well, congratulations! I love public radio, too. The words and the pictures are very sensuous.
You have such a good voice for reading.
Congratulations, Ruth! How exciting to have your work selected for a national audience. That sort of recognition helps you feel, like, well, a REAL poet, yes?
This poem is so evocative of the majesty, the wonder, and the pure magic of the succession of generations.
And the photos you chose to accompany this poem are nothing short of voluptuous.
Again, congratulations to you. You are so deserving of this recognition. Perhaps instead of coffee or tea we can, in this instance, lift a glass of champagne!
o ruth! how wonderful, congratulations!
Well-deserved recognition on a national scale...it's only onward and upward from here, my dear friend. Someone who matters will hear your voice, literally and figuratively. I am quite confident of that. Then we can say "I knew her when...".
Am I surprised? Not one bit! Congratulations :)
Wow! What an honor! Congratulations! And finally the nation will find out what we already KNOW - how talented you really are!
Oh Ruth, hooray! I am so glad - your voice (in all senses) needs to be heard more widely.
Wonderful!
Congratulations. I'm glad you're getting the recognition.
Yay, yay, double-yay! I will be downloading the podcast - I am all about podcasts! Congrats, and I can't wait to hear your voice!
:) V
beautiful photos Ruth. btw, I miss Small.
Wonderful!
Congratulations and best wishes; this is an exciting occasion for you and for your many fans, as I am. Let poetry like this touch the many out there.
How beautiful, so simple yet so complex
Ruth, this is great news! How exciting and well deserved. Your poetry is beautiful and evocative. As well as your photos. Greatly enjoy your blog.
reena
How marvelous, Ruth! I'll look forward to listening to the audio.
Your poem above is beautiful. I especially like the contrast of the tenderness of the sprout with bone-hard experience, and that sense of each in the other.
National -- how exciting! And well earned, too.
Congratulations!!!! That is so awesome. Make sure you post it for those of us at work. K?
WOO HOO! Congratulations, Ruth! A well-deserved honor! Now, if only she could illustrate radio! That's exciting -- have they peeled you from off the ceiling yet?
ruth - i'm toasting the wonder of a world that recognizes the craft of people like you and opens the doors of so many people to your wonder. hurray for this and especially for the stunning writing of today. steven
So proud of you, Ruth...glad that your debut is with this wonderful theme. Your voice and poetry deserve a huge audience!
I am so glad I read this before tomorrows broadcast! ...although I will admit I already download three other NPR podcasts:) Very exciting! Congratulations on the well deserved recognition.
I forgot to mention how much I love these photos! That sweet violet bud!!
i'm so excited!!! will definitely be listening, either when it airs or when it's archived! i love your flower/spring images, are those recent? i have the last one as my desktop background. i may just need to make a screensaver out of your images.
i love you and i'm so proud of you! what a perfect thing to do for Mother's Day, especially when mothering is what you love.
Wow, Ruth, this is fantastic news! You deserve this recognition. Brilliant!
Erin my dear, we might as well just accept our squareness. :-)
You won a contest. Isn't that wondrous? To be recognized, acknowledged, understood. It goes beyond ego. It is being witnessed, as you and I have talked about. To feel that someone hears our words and that their soul connects with ours through our expression!
I feel I am only starting to understand this connection with you, your soul is so breathtaking, and vast for me.
Thank you, Shari. I hope I will like hearing myself. :|
By the way, I much improved my recordings after Susan heard them, and the echo. I will probably not go through my podcasts and fix them all now, but I'll turn the reverb down on future recordings, as I did for her broadcast. Nice to discover that feature on Garage Band, which I use to record on my little Apple Blossom (mac).
Dan, thank you so much for celebrating with me. It does feel very nice to be appreciated this way. I'm a bit nervous thinking of anyone listening to me, it's a vulnerable feeling too. But I'm happy to say that it's OK with me if someone doesn't like my poems, or think they're good. I think I finally feel free about that. And that is a wonderful discovery for me in this event. (Let's see how I feel after today.)
I'm glad you like this poem and the photos. I wanted to capture the sense of renewal I feel in Nature, in motherhood, all of Life.
Thank you for raising a glass of champagne . . . and for all your kindness and support!
Jean! Thank you.
Oh Susie, thank you for how you believe in me. I can honestly say that while this is wonderful, I don't spend a minute wishing for this sort of exposure. It was such a surprise to have Susan ask me to share.
Babs, thank you for how you encourage me.
Pat, thanks so much. It's humbling to have my voice out there. I'm getting nervous.
Hi, Neighbor! Your enthusiasm means so much to me. Thank you!
Hi, VaNeSsA! Long time no see.
How wonderful that you want to hear me and download too. Wow. :-)
Thank you, it's great to see you back.
Thanks, Ellen. Yeah, sorry about small. I definitely lost my steam for photography for that site, but I haven't lost my love for small things.
Rosaria, thanks so much. I am quite amazed at the soul connection we can feel together, through words.
Hi, Gwei Mui, that is a constant reality, isn't it?
Hi, Reena, what a joy to receive your praise. Thank you.
Maureen, thank you for seeing that in the poem. I was thinking of bones in death, and you saw something else; I'm grateful.
Thanks so much for supporting this event!
Thank you, Meri!
Thanks, California Girl! I will post it. I don't think I'll be able to listen live either, as I'll be advising students in walk-ins . . .
Pretty new avatar pic!
Jeanie, thanks! I don't know if the web site's list of WKAR carrying the shows on Sunday is still true . . .
Oh Steven, your words work wonders in me. Thank you.
Patricia, wow that is super nice. Thank you!
Oliag, that's so cool. I had seen that NPR lets you download podcasts, but I had not planned on doing so before. ;-) Thank you for your encouraging words. And I'm glad you like the photos. I adore yours of the Mother's Day cup and saucer today at XOXOX. Mmmmm.
Resrey! It's nice that she liked the poem I wrote when missing you and the bo, no?
Yes, the flower photos are from Sunday. Finally flowers are opening! It's been such a cool spring (well cold more like).
I love you.
Robert, thank you so much! I appreciate your kind support always.
Oh Ruth, this is so exciting and so well deserved!!!!
yippeee!!!!!!!!
I'm dancing here in the northlands where the crocus have finally appeared!
Congratulations my friend. What an honour and a gift. And what a wise woman your friend is -- your poems are brilliant!
Yeahh!!!!
Still dancing.
Hugs
Louise! Oh you are so kind and generous. Thank you.
I've stopped dancing. Now I'm quietly shaking. I don't really wanna hear myself. :|
Ruthie Ruth I am sooo excited!!! Cannot wait to hear you on national radio, which will really be international radio when we all listen in :)
You are a sublime inspiration to me. Being in your company, being read by you, reading you, learning from you, keeps me going.
Oh, Ruth, congratulations!!!!!!!!!! I am so sorry to have missed the live broadcast, but will absolutely pick up the archived version tomorrow. Wow.
I can't begin to describe how happy I am for you--proud and pleased--and honored to know you.
Oh, you deserve this. It is the beginning...
I just listened! Well, actually only the last minutes, the great "final" of the program! Bravo Ruth! :-)
Shaista, how wonderful to think of you listening to me on the radio, after I've listened to you on the radio in England. What a world, to be inspired by each other and love each other across these miles, together in soul sisterhood. Everything you wrote in your comment I feel for you. Thank you.
Dear DS! It was a wonderful show. I couldn't listen 100% (only about 51%) yesterday myself, as I was advising students in CRAZY walk-ins, so busy. But I managed to hear myself at the end. This morning I have listened to the whole broadcast, and it is a very interesting show, with such a poignant story toward the end. I am honored to be part of Susan Barnett's program, which I'd like to listen to regularly.
Thank you for your enthusiasm so very much, my friend.
Peter, thank you for listening! :-)
I will make sure to listen to this later today, Sister. THANK YOU for adding all the links and updates. I'm so proud of you! :)
Ruth, I have been so busy lately, don't know whether I am coming or going. Wish I had more time to traverse the blog sites... I hope to find some time tonight (after we meet our two ponies we are leasing next door!!) to catch up. BUT, these last two photos jumped out at me and WOW! Quite stunning!
Your birth/mothering poems always touch my heart, Ruth. I'll listen to the program - congratulations on your part in it. Happy Mothers Day to you!
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