The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily
American Public Media
Poet Major Jackson is your guide on the pathways to feel and understand our common journey – through poetry. In sharing poems, we take a moment to pause and acknowledge the world’s magnitude, and how poets illuminate that mystery. Join The Slowdown for a poem and a moment of reflection in one short episode, every weekday. Produced by APM Studios in partnership with The Poetry Foundation and supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. Make us a part of your routine as you drink coffee in the morning, as you take a walk in nature, or as you wind down to go to sleep in the evening. With host Major Jackson, we collectively take a moment to calm, to inspire, to learn, and to engage with the best emerging poets and established writers of our time and generations past, from Emily Dickinson to Danez Smith, from Amanda Gorman to Mary Oliver.
Listen to our back catalog for episodes by our previous hosts, Tracy K. Smith and Ada Limón, as well as guest hosts Jenny Xie, Brenda Shaughnessy, Tina Chang, Nate Marshall, Shira Erlichiman, and Jason Schneiderman. Our hosts and production team select poems that move them, and we hope they move you, too.
Location:
United States
Genres:
Arts & Culture Podcasts
Networks:
American Public Media
Description:
Poet Major Jackson is your guide on the pathways to feel and understand our common journey – through poetry. In sharing poems, we take a moment to pause and acknowledge the world’s magnitude, and how poets illuminate that mystery. Join The Slowdown for a poem and a moment of reflection in one short episode, every weekday. Produced by APM Studios in partnership with The Poetry Foundation and supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. Make us a part of your routine as you drink coffee in the morning, as you take a walk in nature, or as you wind down to go to sleep in the evening. With host Major Jackson, we collectively take a moment to calm, to inspire, to learn, and to engage with the best emerging poets and established writers of our time and generations past, from Emily Dickinson to Danez Smith, from Amanda Gorman to Mary Oliver. Listen to our back catalog for episodes by our previous hosts, Tracy K. Smith and Ada Limón, as well as guest hosts Jenny Xie, Brenda Shaughnessy, Tina Chang, Nate Marshall, Shira Erlichiman, and Jason Schneiderman. Our hosts and production team select poems that move them, and we hope they move you, too.
Language:
English
Episodes
[encore] 821: I Have No Idea What's Going to Happen by Justin Marks
5/30/2025
Today’s poem is I Have No Idea What's Going to Happen by Justin Marks.
The Slowdown is currently taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes from a new host. This week, we’re revisiting some favorites from Major Jackson’s time as host. Today’s episode was originally released on February 24, 2023. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual.
In this episode, Major writes… “Today’s understated poem shows us how impromptu encounters with art, those that are unforeseen, disruptive in the best sense, have us dwell outside time and exist within the spirit of the maker, then return us to our days with a new purchase on our lives.”
Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp
Duration:00:06:43
[encore] 1113: Egrets, While War by Tishani Doshi
5/29/2025
Today’s poem is Egrets, While War by Tishani Doshi.
The Slowdown is currently taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes from a new host. This week, we’re revisiting some favorites from Major Jackson’s time as host. Today’s episode was originally released on May 8, 2024. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual.
In this episode, Major writes… “Today’s compelling poem honors the ancient and indomitable essence of human beings who continue on even in the face of tragedy, who crossover into the perfect fullness of their truth and emotions.”
Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp
Duration:00:06:24
[encore] 1168: Refusing Rilke's "You must change your life" by Remica Bingham-Risher
5/28/2025
Today’s poem is Refusing Rilke's "You must change your life" by Remica Bingham-Risher.
The Slowdown is currently taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes from a new host. This week, we’re revisiting some favorites from Major Jackson’s time as host. Today’s episode was originally released on July 24, 2024. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual.
In this episode, Major writes… “I live with Rilke’s famous line, “You must change your life,” in my ear on repeat, an earworm, as if something is less than stellar about who I am today. I move instinctively towards myself as though I were a massive project, believing I will someday, again in Rilke’s words, “burst like a star.” That this is how to be seen, to be loved, to be cherished. This quest has distorted my sense of what is important, sown constant dissatisfaction, and emotional states of being that pose health risks. Pursuing perfection has, at times, alienated me from those I hold dear. Not that I don’t love them or they me — but that I get tunnel vision in seeking some heroic terminus.”
Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp
Duration:00:05:29
[encore] 1201: Try to Praise the Mutilated World by Adam Zagajewski, translated by Clare Cavanagh
5/27/2025
Today’s poem is Try to Praise the Mutilated World by Adam Zagajewski, translated by Clare Cavanagh.
The Slowdown is currently taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes from a new host. This week, we’re revisiting some favorites from Major Jackson’s time as host. Today’s episode was originally released on September 23, 2024.
The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “One of the great paradoxes in life is the presence of human suffering on the planet amidst prosperity. No religion can explain this other than point to some large cosmic plan. Sometimes it’s tough bearing witness and walking in a world where one feels debilitated, and silence around other people’s suffering feels like gaslighting.”
Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp
Duration:00:05:26
[encore] 1029: If I Told Him, A Completed Portrait of Picasso by Gertrude Stein
5/26/2025
Today’s poem is If I Told Him, A Completed Portrait of Picasso by Gertrude Stein.
The Slowdown is currently taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes from a new host. This week, we’re revisiting some favorites from Major Jackson’s time as host. Today’s episode was originally released on December 27, 2023. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual.
In this episode, Major writes… “Today’s poem is a touchstone example of art that altered how we hear words, but also, how we perform language to transform words into elements of our yielding and will.”
Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp
Duration:00:07:19
[encore] 600: I Imagine the Butches' Stripper Bar by Jill McDonough
5/23/2025
Today’s poem is I Imagine the Butches' Stripper Bar by Jill McDonough.
The Slowdown is currently taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes from a new host. This week, we’re going back into the archive to revisit Ada Limón’s time as host. Today’s episode was originally released on January 31, 2022.
In this episode, former host Ada Limón writes… “One of my favorite mysteries of the universe is what turns us on and why? When I talk with anyone about crushes and sensual pleasures and desires, what always impresses me is that everyone is different. We desire different things. Different attributes turn us on and make us ready to rip our clothes off and run through the streets. It makes sense that that’s the case. Everyone is so unique. Every crush is so unique. In today’s irreverent poem, we see an exploration of what the speaker finds sexy. It blooms into a whole new imaginary world, all in the service of desire.”
Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp
Duration:00:06:41
[encore] 760: Song by Charif Shanahan
5/22/2025
Today’s poem is Song by Charif Shanahan.
The Slowdown is currently taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes from a new host. This week, we’re going back into the archive to revisit Ada Limón’s time as host. Today’s episode was originally released on September 12, 2022.
In this episode, former host Ada Limón writes… “When I am really writing, really working on poems, which is often as alive as I ever feel, as present as I ever feel, I am not just speaking to the world... I am listening to it. Listening to my body, my blood, my ever-changing pulse that slows and quickens depending on the emotionality of the subject.”
Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp
Duration:00:04:59
[encore] 647: Walking Across Fire Island by Shelley Wong
5/21/2025
Today’s poem is Walking Across Fire Island by Shelley Wong.
The Slowdown is currently taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes from a new host. This week, we’re going back into the archive to revisit Ada Limón’s time as host. Today’s episode was originally released on April 6, 2022.
In this episode, former host Ada Limón writes… “I love to walk, when I’m healthy and mobile enough to walk, it’s one of my favorite things to do to recenter myself, or rather decenter myself. For me, it’s a solution to many things. When in doubt, hit the road, get out of yourself. Of course it doesn’t always work, and there were whole years where I was too sick with vertigo to properly go for a walk, but when it works, it really does work. You don’t have to have a plan. You don’t have to go fast or go slow. You don’t have to know the names of all the fauna and flora. You simply have to put your body into the world and something happens.”
Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp
Duration:00:05:18
[encore] 571: Golden Age by Chris Santiago
5/20/2025
Today’s poem is Golden Age by Chris Santiago.
The Slowdown is currently taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes from a new host. This week, we’re going back into the archive to revisit Ada Limón’s time as host. Today’s episode was originally released on December 21, 2021.
In this episode, former host Ada Limón writes… “When I was a kid, I loved falling asleep to the sound of the television in the living room. I liked it most because it meant someone was up watching the world so I didn’t have to. The trouble of the world was unfolding on the news and I could sleep through it. There was something both comforting and eerie about it. A world that never shuts off. In today’s tender poem, we watch how the tv becomes almost another character in a multigenerational family.”
Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp
Duration:00:05:38
[encore] 708: Bruised Peaches by Bronwen Tate
5/19/2025
Today’s poem is Bruised Peaches by Bronwen Tate.
The Slowdown is currently taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes from a new host. This week, we’re going back into the archive to revisit Ada Limón’s time as host. Today’s episode was originally released on June 30, 2022.
In this episode, former host Ada Limón writes… “Every Thursday when I take out the trash, I think about how I quantify the value of my life. Every laundry day. Every time I check the mail. It feels like this is how I know time has passed, we roll out the recycling, we mow the lawn, we watch as the seasons change. The day is broken up into the hours in which I feed the dog. Morning, noon, and evenings. Yes, she gets lunch. I give myself lunch, so the dog gets lunch too. There is safety and security in these routines. And yet, I’m sometimes scared that the whole routine of life might swallow me whole.”
Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp
Duration:00:05:13
[encore] 236: Polaroid Ode by Cori Winrock
5/16/2025
Today’s poem is Polaroid Ode by Cori Winrock.
The Slowdown is currently taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes from a new host. This week, we’re going back into the archive to revisit Tracy K. Smith’s time as host. Today’s episode was originally released on October 21, 2019.
In this episode, Tracy writes… “Today’s poem captures the look and feel and ceremony—with all its hope and disappointment—of taking instant pictures. And it makes me wistful both for the past and the present.”
Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp
Duration:00:06:25
[encore] 389: Kissing the Opelu by Donovan Kūhiō
5/15/2025
Today’s poem is Kissing the Opelu by Donovan Kūhiō Colleps.
The Slowdown is currently taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes from a new host. This week, we’re going back into the archive to revisit Tracy K. Smith’s time as host. Today’s episode was originally released on May 21, 2020.
In this episode, Tracy writes… “Today’s poem speaks to me of ancestry, tradition, and the fluidity of perception. We are who we are, the poem suggests to me, because of what we inherit from the people we love. Why does it have me thinking about ghosts and visitations? Maybe because I’ve decided that the people I love are always with me in one form or another.”
Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp
Duration:00:05:00
[encore] 168: What Does It Say by Tess Gallagher
5/14/2025
Today’s poem is What Does It Say by Tess Gallagher.
The Slowdown is currently taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes from a new host. This week, we’re going back into the archive to revisit Tracy K. Smith’s time as host. Today’s episode was originally released on July 17, 2019.
In this episode, Tracy writes… “When I packed up for college, back in 1990, I took sneakers and loafers. I probably also brought some nerdy deck shoes, and maybe even a pair of heels. But by the time my sophomore year rolled around, nearly all of those shoes had been replaced by a pair of black cowboy boots. I wore them everyday, even in snow. By the time I came home for the holidays, they were worn down at the heel and a coin-sized hole had been worn through each sole. I was afraid I’d have to let them go, but my mother took them to the shoe repairman, who resoled them, built the heels back up, and polished them to a high shine, reviving them to their former glory!”
Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp
Duration:00:05:00
[encore] 386: Someday I'll Love Ocean Vuong by Ocean Vuong
5/13/2025
Today’s poem is Someday I'll Love Ocean Vuong by Ocean Vuong.
The Slowdown is currently taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes from a new host. This week, we’re going back into the archive to revisit Tracy K. Smith’s time as host. Today’s episode was originally released on May 18, 2020.
In this episode, Tracy writes… “Today’s poem models another critical aspect of self-care: being honest about how difficult life feels, and striving to be tender, patient and consoling with oneself.”
Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp
Duration:00:05:00
[encore] 496: a brief meditation on breath by Yesenia Montilla
5/12/2025
Today’s poem is a brief meditation on breath by Yesenia Montilla.
The Slowdown is currently taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes from a new host. This week, we’re going back into the archive to revisit Tracy K. Smith’s time as host. Today’s episode was originally released on October 19, 2020.
In this episode, Tracy writes… “The whole time, I felt all of my senses struggle to decelerate. My heart was like a drum solo. It felt like someone was pounding on my chest. While I was there, I flipped through my mental Rolodex of workday vexation. I ticked off the headlines that, even on a good day, hamper my ability to unwind. Lying there, struggling to relax, egged on by the actual bothers my work-week forces me to wrestle, I understood something. Many people live like this on a regular basis. The peril, the worry, the blood pressure roiling. When you wake up and people doubt you, threaten you, overstep respectful bounds. When leaders utter slurs against you. When every day the deck, already stacked against you, is reshuffled.”
Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp
Duration:00:05:00
[encore] 1025: I Am Trying to Love the Whole World by Jenny Browne
5/9/2025
Today’s poem is I Am Trying to Love the Whole World by Jenny Browne.
The Slowdown is currently taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes from a new host. This week, we’re revisiting some favorites from Major Jackson’s time as host. Today’s episode was originally released on December 21, 2023.
In this episode, Major writes… “If only we viewed observations of the natural world and meditations on birds, mammals, and plant life as equally, critically urgent, we might awaken to the necessity of caretaking of our planet and each other. Birdwatching does not have to be a form of looking away, it can be an antidote for our spirit.”
Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp
Duration:00:06:22
[encore] 995: Dear—, by DéLana R.A. Dameron
5/8/2025
Today’s poem is Dear—, by DéLana R.A. Dameron.
The Slowdown is currently taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes from a new host. This week, we’re revisiting some favorites from Major Jackson’s time as host. Today’s episode was originally released on November 9, 2023.
In this episode, Major writes… “Today’s poem of rhyming couplets speaks a truth about loneliness; the wish for a sustaining love and companionship motivates us to work through our differences sometimes at the expense of our emotional health.”
Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp
Duration:00:05:56
[encore] 1202: If only by Dawn Lundy Martin
5/7/2025
Today’s poem is If only by Dawn Lundy Martin.
The Slowdown is currently taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes from a new host. This week, we’re revisiting some favorites from Major Jackson’s time as host. Today’s episode was originally released on September 24, 2024.
In this episode, Major writes… “Today’s poem unapologetically claims psychic space. In order to be at peace and clear-eyed, the speaker forgoes decorative language that would obscure what their heart and mind believe is ethically true.”
Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp
Duration:00:06:25
[encore] 860: Learning Money in Reverse by Stephanie Niu
5/6/2025
Today’s poem is Learning Money in Reverse by Stephanie Niu.
The Slowdown is currently taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes from a new host. This week, we’re revisiting some favorites from Major Jackson’s time as host. Today’s episode was originally released on April 20, 2023.
In this episode, Major writes… “Today’s ingenious poem calls attention to the lived realities of financial literacy, how it’s touch and go, and how it’s thrust upon us if we are not fortunate to receive those lessons in our home.”
Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp
Duration:00:06:21
[encore] 1132: Felonious States of Adjectival Excess Featuring Comparative and Superlative Forms by A. H. Jerriod Avant
5/5/2025
Today’s poem is Felonious States of Adjectival Excess Featuring Comparative and Superlative Forms by A. H. Jerriod Avant.
The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Major writes… “I am drawn to poets who, like the author of today’s poem, bring imagination and attention to sonic idioms of a poem. They make reading aloud fun.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp
Duration:00:05:32