The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily
American Public Media
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.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Feb 4, 2026 • 5min
1449: Nightline: September 20, 1982 by June Jordan
A reflection on how media landscapes have shifted from shared news to fragmented, rhizomatic networks. A mycelial metaphor is used to explore who now vets information. Historical parallels between the 1980s and today are drawn, with attention to political shifts and unrest. Poetry is presented as a means to illuminate events and prompt bodily response and action.
Feb 3, 2026 • 5min
1448: Orchestra by Russell Brakefield
A writer reflects on practice, patience, and the slow work of restoration in art and environment. Memories from a writing community and a stubborn bee poem lead into reflections on creative growth. The reading imagines bees' sleep, dance, and electric sense, folding ecological wonder into poetic repair.
Feb 2, 2026 • 8min
1447: Gratitude by Cornelius Eady
Samiya Bashir, poet and educator, reads and reflects on Cornelius Eady’s poem 'Gratitude' and places it in cultural and historical context. She frames the poem as a promise made flesh. Short reflections explore the poem’s voice, the speaker’s claims, and how gratitude travels across time.
Jan 30, 2026 • 6min
1446: Mistake by Heather Christle
A reflection on how we see faces and life in inanimate objects. A look at niche social feeds that reveal surprising patterns. An exploration of pareidolia and moments when grief is misapplied to things. A poem that finally names a subtle, unsettled feeling.
Jan 29, 2026 • 6min
1445: Hackberry by Cecily Parks
A reading of a poem that loves and mourns a cherished hackberry tree. Memories of family life and the tree’s slow decay come into focus. Tender physical attempts at connection and an imminent farewell create a quiet, aching atmosphere. Reflections on how to write while a familiar room disappears.
Jan 28, 2026 • 6min
1444: Congratulations! Your Grief Is About to Stop Being Relevant! by Bridget Bell
A reflective reading about how life goes quiet after an outpouring of care. Ordinary domestic details reveal how loss reshapes daily routines. The poem explores the persistent, sometimes unnoticed presence of grief. Images of photographs and small gestures show the effort to keep someone near.
Jan 27, 2026 • 7min
1443: Come Back! by Camille Guthrie
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
Jan 26, 2026 • 6min
1442: Apocatastasis by G.C. Waldrep
Reflections on parenting and poetry, and why the narrator avoided forcing verse on her children. Playful figurative language as a teaching method and a way to train poetic thinking. The idea that metaphor is a life skill for naming hard, beautiful, or complicated experiences. Introduction and reading of a poem that uses late-winter imagery and hope.
Jan 23, 2026 • 6min
1441: Birthday Wish by David Groff
In today’s reflection, a poem invites contemplation on various forms of knowledge—humans, animals, and plants each possess their own understanding. The discussion emphasizes the contrast between cold facts and the deeper truths illuminated by poetry. The host explores how poetry helps articulate life’s mysteries, shaping our perception in profound ways. It’s a celebration of the diverse ways we come to know the world around us.
Jan 22, 2026 • 5min
1440: New Year by Kate Baer
Today’s poem is New Year by Kate Baer. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Is it too late to wish you all a Happy New Year? I don’t think so. I don’t think there’s ever an expiration date on well wishes, and frankly, we need all the well wishes we can get for 2026!” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp
