Episode 413: Dionne Brand – "Islands Vanish" from Nomenclature

"He had been full of the idea so long, dreamed it right through to the end, waited with his teeth set, so to speak, at an inconceivable pitch of intensity." ~F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby"I'm ready to take over the airwaves." ~Me, The Great Delusion LINKS+Josh Garvelink's SUBSTACK and INSTAGRAM+My SHOP+My WEBSITE+My INSTAGRAM+My SUBSTACKThank you to anyone reading this. I so appreciate you. And I hope you're having a great day with good food that isn't hurting your stomach.

Thanking Mediocre Nurses, A Play by Robyn O'NeilACT 1: Transparency about a failing enterprise ACT 2: Two questions and an answerACT 3: Keep Dying, Keep Writing it DownACT 4: Get QuietLINKS+Buy C.K. Williams' Writers Writing Dying+Buy The Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus+My SHOP+My WEBSITE+My INSTAGRAM+My SUBSTACK

“We are amazing beings. We are neighbors of fire.” - Anne CarsonContinuing to reread from some of ME READING STUFF's top rated books/writers, we celebrate living legend Anne Carson and Autobiography of Red, yet again. This is the 20th episode dedicated to Anne Carson, and it certainly won't be the last. Other topics include: hot dogs, stuffers, vacuuming, and my "nine months in Colombia".With love, RobynLINKS+Buy Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson+Watch Anne Carson's "Lecture on the History of Skywriting"+My SHOP+My WEBSITE+My INSTAGRAM+My SUBSTACK

This week, we return to everyone's favorite poetry book, Erratic Fire, Erratic Passion: The Poetry of Sportstalk by Pasha Malla and Jeff Parker. In Metta World Peace's poem, he discusses the difference between elbow and shell pasta.Anna Kournikova's poem talks about how many boyfriends she’s gonna kiss. And we end with an impromptu reading of the lyrics of superstar and friend to the show Cécile McLorin Salvant ❤️Sending you all love this week!RobynLINKSBuy Erratic Fire, Erratic Passion: The Poetry of SportstalkMy SHOPMy WEBSITEMy INSTAGRAMMy SUBSTACK

🎙️ The 11th Anniversary of ME READING STUFF 🎂Dear listener, Well, we've officially been kicking it for ELEVEN YEARS. Through vasectomies, divorce, mystery illnesses, breakdowns, fevers, estrangement, Covid, moves, near-death experiences, remarriage, Las Vegas hotel rooms, heart surgeries, parenthood, hauntings, and meetings with the ©️Kleenex company. Think of how much water we've drunk since 2015. I wonder how many books we threw across the room? Who remembers when Channing Tatum wrote us erotic poetry? And what the hell was "Robyn's Gate"? To celebrate this anniversary, I’m reading you the very same poem I read in the very first episode — Wallace Stevens’ “The Man on the Dump.” I also respond to your questions in "Answer Corner."Whether you’ve been listening since 2015 or this is your first time — I’m really glad you’re here. And honestly? I'm really glad I'm still here, too.Let's keep doing this. I'll see you next time. You doing more than enough. (But maybe make a dentist appointment. And organize your nightstand. And drink more water.)With so much love and appreciation, RobynLINKS:Buy The Collected Poems of Wallace StevensMy WEBSITEMy INSTAGRAMMy SHOPMy Substack

This week marks the return to THROWING BOOKS ACROSS THE ROOM!!!! So exciting. Dionne Brand's "Islands Vanish" really had me feeling all sorts of things. It was a pleasure to read it to you.  I extend appreciation to her for "hunting for slave castles with a pencil for explosives." Not many hunt so rigorously. It's shattering. This episode also includes an impassioned Recommendation Corner, a Mini Question Corner, and I talk about a steakhouse for an awfully long time. I did it all for the caperberries. Thank you, as always, for listening.xoxo, RobynLINKS Buy Dionne Brand's NOMENCLATURE Check out my Youtube My Instagram My Substack My Website My Shop The Finch App Rituals Incense  Better Booch

This week, I read to you from a 1992 poetry anthology called The Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart, edited by Robert Bly, James Hillman and Michael Meade. Wendell Berry's poem "Ripening" leads to a discussion about death and altar-building. I also kick a few people out of the podcast 😲, and bemoan my exhaustion levels. Thank you for listening - I love you guys❣️LINKS:Buy The Rag and Bone Shop of the HeartCheck out my new Website!Follow me on Instagram!

"I know how furiously your heart is beating." ~Wallace Stevens, The Gray Room"The tense American nerve relaxed. I lived with a gray quietness that let the mind grow inward like a root." ~Paul EngleLINKS:Taschen's The Book of Symbols My WebsiteMy ShopMy SubstackMy Instagram 

On today's episode, I read from a MASSIVE birthday gift, A Century of Poetry in The New Yorker (1925 – 2025), Edited by Kevin Young. The readings are:  Charles Simic's "This Morning" Anne Carson's "Epithalamium NYC" LINKSBuy A Century of Poetry in The New Yorker MY NEW WEBSITE Check out my friend Jack's website!My Instagram My Substack“If I believe in anything, it is in the dark night of the soul. Awe is my religion, and mystery is its church.” ~Charles Simic 

"I love to walk but I can'tI love to swim but I can'tI love to sit in the sun but I can't I love to smell the flowers but I can'tI love to play tennis but I can'tI love to water-ski but I can't"~Andy Warhol"Lime flavored sparkling waters taste like Fruity Pebbles." ~MeLINKS:Buy The Philosophy of Andy WarholCheck out my InstagramCheck out my SubstackCheck out my Website (FINALLY updating MAY 15TH!)I love you guys! Thanks for listening. xoxo, Robyn