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After two years, two seasons and 443 episodes, Major Jackson is stepping down from the host chair. 


A Farewell to Major Jackson

To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.


Supported in Part by National Endowment for the Arts

Raising poetry to a more visible and influential position in American culture.


Produced in Partnership With the Poetry Foundation

Announcements

1511: Dispatch as Prologue or Epilogue by Megan Gannon

Today’s poem is Dispatch as Prologue or Epilogue by Megan Gannon. 


Today’s poem is Dispatch as Prologue or Epilogue by Megan Gannon. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “I once heard the comedian Pete Holmes say, about his past, something along the lines of: “That life was the weird horse I rode to get to this life.” I think the speaker of today’s poem would like that imagery as much as I do. Here’s to weird horses, and to do-overs, and to new beginnings, which are endless.” We’re asking you, our community of listeners, to help us select poems to share on the show in an upcoming week of special programming. What poems have you sent friends and loved ones to encourage them to slow down? Send in your own selection, we’ll mail you a special Slowdown postcard and sticker as a thank you. Submit here: https://cloud.connect.americanpublicmedia.org/slowdown_submissions?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=slowdown_communitysubmissions_fy26

The Slowdown

1510: The Magicians at Work by Nicky Beer

Today’s poem is The Magicians at Work by Nicky Beer.


Today’s poem is The Magicians at Work by Nicky Beer. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem reminds me of the trick that poetry performs, time after time. We can vanish into a poem and emerge whole, but changed. It’s magic.” We’re asking you, our community of listeners, to help us select poems to share on the show in an upcoming week of special programming. What poems have you sent friends and loved ones to encourage them to slow down? Send in your own selection, we’ll mail you a special Slowdown postcard and sticker as a thank you. Submit here: https://cloud.connect.americanpublicmedia.org/slowdown_submissions?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=slowdown_communitysubmissions_fy26

1509: Something there is that doesn’t love by Armen Davoudian

Today’s poem is Something there is that doesn’t love by Armen Davoudian.


Today’s poem is Something there is that doesn’t love by Armen Davoudian. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Fences and walls are human-made structures, and they are inevitably eroded by the landscape itself: the rocks fall or are worn down by wind and rain; the wood rots or topples. And what happens when the boundary between what one person owns and what another person owns falls, or fails? Then what?” We’re asking you, our community of listeners, to help us select poems to share on the show in an upcoming week of special programming. What poems have you sent friends and loved ones to encourage them to slow down? Send in your own selection, we’ll mail you a special Slowdown postcard and sticker as a thank you. Submit here: https://cloud.connect.americanpublicmedia.org/slowdown_submissions?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=slowdown_communitysubmissions_fy26

The Slowdown

Latest Episode

Recent Episodes

1511: Dispatch as Prologue or Epilogue by Megan Gannon

1510: The Magicians at Work by Nicky Beer

1509: Something there is that doesn’t love by Armen Davoudian

Announcements

A Farewell to Major Jackson

Supported in Part by National Endowment for the Arts

Produced in Partnership With the Poetry Foundation

Other APM Podcasts

Truth Be Told

Ripple

The Splendid Table

The Slowdown

Latest Episode

Recent Episodes

1511: Dispatch as Prologue or Epilogue by Megan Gannon

1510: The Magicians at Work by Nicky Beer

1509: Something there is that doesn’t love by Armen Davoudian

Get a poem handpicked by Maggie Smith every weekday. The email includes an abridged version of Maggie’s introduction.

Announcements

A Farewell to Major Jackson

Supported in Part by National Endowment for the Arts

Produced in Partnership With the Poetry Foundation

Other APM Podcasts

Truth Be Told

Ripple

The Splendid Table