A conversation with Todd Davis about life and death, religion and poetry
Todd Davis stops by to read some poems from his latest book, The Least of These, as well as from his previous books, and to talk about public reading, what motivates him as an artist, growing up with Mennonites and how that shaped his own beliefs, nature poetry, travel poetry, deer and deer hunting, how to kill in a manner that honors the spirit of the slain, and more.
Here’s a set list of the poems in the podcast:
- Prayer Requests at a Mennonite Church
- What the Woodchuck Knows
- Praying
- Craving
- A Psalm for My Children
- Winter Morning
- Obituary
If you live within driving distance of Altoona, Pennsylvania, don’t miss Todd’s reading on Thursday, February 18, at 7:30 p.m.
Theme music: “Le grand sequoia,” by Innvivo (Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike licence)
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Very interesting interview.
Thanks. Figured you’d especially appreciate the Kentucky background.
What an interesting and eloquent guy. This was, again, such a great podcast. Todd Davies’ poetry seems so grounded, so richly fed, it’s very satisfying. Thanks for the opportunity to hear him read and talk about it.
Glad this resonated with you, Jean. “Grounded” is the right word for Todd’s work, absolutely.
Thanks for another excellent podcast, Dave (and Todd). I appreciated how straightforward Todd was in talking about both his religion and his hunting — two subjects that most people would find much more difficult. He manages to sound clear and grounded – to use Jean’s good word – without a hint of either defensiveness or self-righteousness. And you’re right that he’s a good reader of his own poetry. You must have made him feel comfortable, too.
Yep, Todd’s just an easy guy to talk with. As with Rachel Barenblat, he practically interviewed himself (and made it very hard for me to decide what to cut — we went on for over an hour, and he read a couple more poems than those I included, to give me a better choice).
Thanks to everyone for listening to the interview, and thanks to Dave for being interested in my work and for being such a fascinating friend! Here’s to more Woodrat podcasts in the future. With Dave’s network of friends and thinkers and artists, I’ll be listening weekly.
Todd, if you’re still reading, I’m sorry I misspelled your surname – this is the least courtesy we owe to publshed writers !
Jean,
If you are willing to read a poem of mine, you can spell my name anyway you please! :)
I finally got around to listening to this-missed it last week, and am so glad I did.