Our most frequent guest has released his KTel record of the greatest hits and unreleased poems. A History of Backroads Misplaced is a retrospective of the last decade of his work. During this episode we look back at Jason Baldinger‘s evolution as a poet, what it means to revise old work, and there are some special surprises at the end.
And sooo much swearing
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For our 100th episode we didn’t do a cheesy clip show. Instead, poet Valerie Bacharach stopped by for a deep discussion on memory, grief, and poetry as a tool for healing. Valerie reads from her new excellent book Ghost Mother, which you should buy Ghost Mother from Finishing Line Press or buy it from the big borg book retailer.
On October 7, 2021 at 7 PM Valerie and a host of other great Pittsburgh Poets will be reading at the official book launch for Ghost Mother, through the White Whale Bookstore, and you can sign up to watch the reading from the comfort of your own home through White Whale’s website.
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Jason Baldinger is one of the folks who has made this podcast what it is, and who better to have on for our last show in the double digits but him. However, this was perhaps the most difficult podcast I have ever recorded, because it is about his split poetry and art book co-authored by Nell Hendricks called The Afterlife is a Hangover. The book is about the death of someone who meant a lot to a lot of people Pittsburgh musician, writer, professor, and record store owner Karl Hendricks.
We miss Karl, we love Karl, and unfortunately sometimes we have to meet the grief head on as we do for this extensive conversation about poetry, death, and record stores.
We swear a lot, and well . . . f*ck cancer anyway.
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Nina Padolf is a poet who writes about family history, trauma, and memory. Her poems exist at the intersection of personal history and that which we often prefer not to discuss. Thankfully, during our podcast we were able to have a deep and meaningful conversation about poetics, identity, and Dr. Padolf reads for us.
You can buy Uprooted from the big Borg Online Retailer, OR you could contact Nina at ninapoet[at]gmail[dot]com. You can also check out her readings at Riverstone Books in Pittsburgh on September 30th at 7 PM and at the Uprooted Book Launch Reading at White Whale Books in Pittsburgh on November 9th at 7.
As always, a little bit of swearing spices things up.
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John Grochalski is a poet, novelist, editor, and junk wax collector. Not sure we talk about any of those things, but we do have a lively conversation about poo on pizza, 21st Century America, and people who poo in public in 21st Century America. It’s a well rounded convo, really. Eating a Cheeseburger During the End Times is already out and can be bought through Barnes and Nobel. The novel P-Town Forever will be out soon.
And we swear, a lot.
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Judith and Charles Brice are a husband and wife poetry double threat. Together for 4 decades, they became poets as they neared retirement. On this episode, Judith and Charlie discuss their poetics and read from their new books. We talk about what how living with another poet enhances their craft and where their poetics differ. Charlie reads from The Broad Grin of Eternity, and Judith reads from both Imbibe the Air and Shards of Shadows: A Covid Diary. See what I did with the title of the episode there?
You can buy all these books from the Borg Internet Book Seller, but if you email Judy at JBriceMD[at]gmail[dot]com or Charlie at Charlie.Brice[at]gmail.com, you can score signed copies directly from the poets.
Charlie didn’t know you could swear on this podcast, but when he learned he could, he did.
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James Benger is a fantastic poet from Kansas City, and his new book is entitled From the Back. From the Back is a collection of poems about the kinds of characters one could have found in every dive bar in every town in this country before Covid struck.
During the course of our conversation, we get nostalgic about bar life, and talk about the man-drama that often comes with being in a band. We discuss the importance of practicing one’s craft everyday if you can. James also wraps up The Bottom 5 with a tale of the WORST drive-in double feature combo that anyone could bring a young child to.
After listening to our extended conversation you are going to want to hear more of From the Back, and the best way to buy it is from James directly by emailing him at JamesBengerAuthor[at]gmail[dot]com. However, buy From the Back from a chain store if you must. You can also listen to James read his works on Bandcamp.
James uses his poetry for civic engagement. He is on the board of The Writers’ Place in Kansas City. He helps curate the Riverfront Readings series. He is proud to be a part of Words Save Lives. And the proceeds from the 365 Poetry anthologies he edits go to Operation Breakthrough.
I might swear like once.
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Janette Schafer stops in to the first podcast she ever listened to in order to talk about her new book Something Here Will Grow available from Main Street Rag. During the course of our conversation we talk about where poems come from, whether or not everything that makes it to a poem actually happened, and Janette reads 3 great poems.
It’s nice to be back from hiatus, and always there’s swearing.
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Bart Solarczyk is a Pittsburgh poet whose ability to capture a moment in time with very few words fills me with envy and admiration. His new book Tilted World is out on Low Ghost Press, and in this podcast Bart reads extensively from the book (Hey, they’re short poems!), and we talk poetics, de-industrialization, and the inherently surreal nature of Lunchables.
You can get all of Bart Solarczyk’s books (including Tilted World, Walt Whitman’s Watching, Right Direction, and Vicodin and the Christian Broadcasting Network) directly from him at a reading or hit him up via email at bsolarczyk[at]comcast[dot]net if you’re not local. However, the best thing to do is to hit him up at the Tilted World Book Launch Party on Saturday February 22, 2020, where you can also say goodbye to the Coffee Buddha.
As always, there’s light but pleasant swearing.
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In an attempt to forge new frontiers of podcastdom We’re All Gonna Die tries our hand at podcasting over the phone, and I’m sorry about the constant hum. I ran noise reduction and the compression software multiple times, and well…it’s at least an amusing conversation between myself, Stephanie Brea, Jason Baldinger, and all the way from a U-Haul parking lot in Kansas City James Benger.
During our talk we discuss the holiday season, why labor and poetry go together, James and Jason’s great new book Little Fires Hiding, the 5th Annual Bah Humbug:Writers Wrestle with the Holiday Spirit reading, and James has to get out of his car and explain why he’s talking on the phone in a U-Haul parking lot
At this point, I try to earn the explicit tag on every single podcast.
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