In Episode 16 of Multi-Verse, poet Devon Walker-Figueroa reads “Private Lessons,” in which a dying man determines that his young pupil must become a prima ballerina, and chats with host Evangeline Riddiford Graham about the uses of silence, breaking Dante’s rhyme scheme, and what it means to be haunted by lessons long since over.

What use?” her dancer wonders, “in maligning his methods now?”

This is not your grandfather’s ghost story.

“Private Lessons” can be found in Walker-Figueroa's collection Philomath (Milkweed Editions, 2021).

In Episode 15 of Multi-Verse, poet Philip Metres reads “Fugitive” and talks with host Evangeline Riddiford Graham about memory, home-longing, and paying attention to the accordion of time.

“Fugitive” can be found in Metres's latest collection, Fugitive/Refuge (Copper Canyon Press, 2024).

In Episode 14 of Multi-Verse, poet Barbara Tran reads “Loon Song” and chats with host Evangeline Riddiford Graham about the fever, living with uncertainty, and the wisdom of the beehive.

“Loon Song” can be found in Tran's debut collection, Precedented Parroting (Palimpsest Press, 2024).

In Episode 13 of Multi-Verse, poet Eugene Ostashevsky reads five sonnets and talks with host Evangeline Riddiford Graham about mixing humor with horror and the stupidity of war.

Eugene Ostashevsky's latest poetry collection is The Feeling Sonnets (New York Review Books, 2022).

In Episode 12 of Multi-Verse, poet Timothy Liu reads “Last Christmas” and chats with host Evangeline Riddiford Graham about the poem's themes of love, desire, and loneliness—and how much detail is enough to tell a story.

“Last Christmas” can be found in Liu's collection “Down Low And Lowdown: Timothy Liu’s Bedside Bottom-Feeder Blues” (Barrow Street Press, 2023).

In Episode 11 of Multi-Verse, poet Monica Youn reads and discusses “Study of Two Figures (Agave / Pentheus).” In a conversation with host Evangeline Riddiford Graham, Youn explores representations of Asian identity in Greek myth and the immigrant family sitcom—"Euripides meets Margaret Cho."

“Study of Two Figures (Agave / Pentheus)” can be found in Youn's collection “From From” (Graywolf, 2023), available here: www.graywolfpress.org/books/from-from

In Episode 10 of Multi-Verse, poet Niina Pollari reads and discusses “How to Read This Poem.” In a conversation with host Evangeline Riddiford Graham, Pollari talks about what it means to be honest in a poem about grief.

“How to Read This Poem” can be found in Pollari's collection “Path of Totality” (Soft Skull, 2022), available here: softskull.com/books/path-of-totality/

Listen to more poetry: www.multiversepoetry.org
Explore the Multi-Verse newsletter: eriddifordgraham.substack.com/

In Episode 9 of Multi-Verse, poet J. Mae Barizo reads and discusses her poem “Sunday Women on Malcolm X Boulevard.” In a conversation with host Evangeline Riddiford Graham, Barizo explores the rhythms of the body, wildfires near and far, and the intimate power of the couplet.

“Sunday Women on Malcolm X Boulevard” is part of J. Mae Barizo’s second poetry collection, Tender Machines, published in May 2023 with Tupelo Press.

Get the book: www.tupelopress.org/product/tender-machines/

Listen to more poetry: www.multiversepoetry.org
Explore the Multi-Verse newsletter: eriddifordgraham.substack.com/