SoundPages
SoundPages is produced by Jack Straw Cultural Center as part of the Jack Straw Writers Program. This podcast features interviews and live readings from artists in the Jack Straw Writers Program. Each year a series of twelve episodes is produced featuring the current Jack Straw Writers and curator.-
Haunting in Words – Laura Hirschfield
In her writing, Laura Hirschfield explores what’s not said, or what’s missing. She works with the concept of haunting; expressing in words an idea or a voice that inhabits her. Her examination of haunting is revelatory, personal, and poignant.
Music by the Bella Musica Woodwind Trio, produced as part of the Jack Straw Artist Support Program.
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A Story’s Sound – Alma García
In Alma García’s quest to portray the human side of a story, she reaches into the center of her characters to share a delicate intimacy with the reader. Her blend of voices and scenes has a natural rhythm which she attributes to her training as a musician. In her words, she understood how a story should sound from a very young age.
Music by Rik Wright, produced as part of the Jack Straw Artist Support Program.
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Exploring Voice – Rachel Dilworth
In her writing, poet Rachel Dilworth seeks to illuminate new perspectives and understanding through the exploration of voice. Her focus on voice as connected to self, loss of voice, and regaining voice, allows her subjects to be heard in new ways.
Permission to use portions of The Wild Rose Asylum by Rachel Dilworth has been granted by the University of Akron Press. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.
Music by Sean Osborn, produced as part of the Jack Straw Artist Support Program.
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A Writer’s Palette – Michael Magee
Years of living and traveling in Europe and a profound interest in the visual arts, inform Michael Magee’s work. His writing, which crosses many disciplines, is full of wit, color, and panache. His dynamic range of subjects and artful turn of phrase are both fresh and entertaining.
Music by Matt Weiner and Del Rey, produced as part of the Jack Straw Artist Support Program.
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Poetry as Visual Art – Priscilla Long
In her far-reaching poem Rhapsody in Red, Priscilla Long weaves cultural, political, and scientific threads together in a lyrical statement featuring the color red. Full of historic references and bright imagery, Long’s writing draws the reader through memory and experience.
Music by Amy Rubin and Dawn Clement, produced as part of the Jack Straw Artist Support Program.
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From Poetry to Prose – Anna Balint
In her second Jack Straw Writers Residency, Anna Balint explores themes of war, motherhood, ethnic identity, and family legacy. She draws upon her diverse experiences, as an activist, mother and grandmother, in her writing.
Music by Christopher Roberts, produced as part of the Jack Straw Artist Support Program.
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Following Little Red – Lana Hechtman Ayers
Through her series of poems about Little Red Riding Hood, Lana Hechtman Ayers has pushed a storybook character into the throes of real life. Red deals with complex relationships, temptation, and frustration with traditional gender roles. Lana says in her live reading that she was abducted by Red and consumed with writing about her.
Music by the Tom Varner Tentet, produced as part of the Jack Straw Artist Support Program.
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A Writer’s Inheritance – Kevin Craft
Inspired by the ancients, Kevin Craft weaves classical themes into contemporary poetry. His studies and travels have led him to write with a deep sense of history. As he puts it, every writer has an inheritance, and he sought his in the Mediterranean.
Music by Yerba Buena, produced as part of the Jack Straw Artist Support Program.
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A Poet’s Grit – Brian McGuigan
As a poet and a storyteller, Brian McGuigan tells it like it is, and then some. A listener of his work can feel grimy streets underfoot and see cracks in the buildings. His poems are personal and visceral and he has a great appreciation for the way things used to be.
THIS PODCAST CONTAINS ADULT LANGUAGE.
Music by Johanna Kunin, produced as part of the Jack Straw Artist Support Program.
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Observing the Natural World – Judith Skillman
Judith Skillman grew up amidst a family of scientists and her poems reflect her early exposure to the natural world. She was often awakened at night to see a meteor shower or lunar eclipse. Her writing plays on themes in nature, elucidated by strong, earthy images.
Music by the Bird Tribe Orchestra, produced as part of the Jack Straw Artist Support Program.
