Audio – Page 8 – Via Negativa

April 6, 2010March 6, 2014 by Dave Bonta

Woodrat Podcast 13: Christina Pacosz, chronicler of an at-risk society

Christina Pacosz

Topics include the Womanspirit movement; lessons from Gyn/Ecology by Mary Daly; where the title “Notes from the Red Zone” came from; fear of the Other; our place in the natural world; Christina’s childhood education, her stint as a visiting artist in North Carolina community colleges and how she met Steve Sherrill; remembering William Stafford; working with “at-risk youth”; remembering Alton Fred Brown.

Links:

Theme music: “Le grand sequoia, by Innvivo (Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike licence)

Podcast feed | Subscribe in iTunes

March 29, 2010March 6, 2014 by Dave Bonta

Woodrat Podcast 12: Steven Sherrill, Renaissance man and recovering redneck

Steve Sherrill with his painting "Dear Abby VIII"

Steven Sherrill stopped by the house last week to read some poems and a section of his latest novel, play a little ukulele, and talk about how he went from being a redneck hellraiser and welder-in-training to a published novelist, poet, painter, and aspiring musician.

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March 22, 2010March 6, 2014 by Dave Bonta

Woodrat Podcast 11: Ai and the art of monologue

No guest this week, just a monologue in honor of the poet Ai, who died on Saturday. I chant Noh and read poems by Ai (obviously), Richard Shelton, and the O’odham of southern Arizona.

Links:

Ai (1947 – 2010), the Poetry Foundation page
Remembering Ai: Tucson, 1970, blue satin dress (Mark Doty)
In Memoriam to Ai (1947 – 2010) by Jerry Williams
Richard Shelton’s website
Thanking Ai: A Remembrance by Rigoberto González

(Update)

Obituary from Oklahoma State University [PDF]

(Update #2, 3/27)

A remembrance from Alfred Corn

(Update #3, 3/28)

New York Times obituary

Japanese temple bell audio is from Daniele Salvati on freesound.org and is licenced under a Creative Commons Sampling Plus 1.0 licence.

Podcast feed | Subscribe in iTunes

March 15, 2010March 6, 2014 by Dave Bonta

Woodrat Podcast 10: John Miedema on Slow Reading

John Miedema talks about his book Slow Reading and the practice and experience of reading in general. Some of the questions he addresses include:

Is the length of a book an indication of profundity?

Are books mind-altering substances?

Which kinds of writing work better in print and which work better on the web?

How do you reconcile technophilia with bibliophilia?

Can slow reading flow from slow writing?

Should we persist in trying to make the web more print-like?

How should we read newspapers and magazines?

Is it possible to read too much?

Do slow readers make better citizens?

Is speed-reading on the web changing the way we think?

Does information overload matter?

How can readers get beyond being passive consumers of information or tourists of the reading experience?

Theme music: “Le grand sequoia, by Innvivo (Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike licence)

Podcast feed | Subscribe in iTunes

March 8, 2010March 6, 2014 by Dave Bonta

Woodrat Podcast 9: Ren Powell, A Poet’s Way in Norway

Ren (Katherine) Powell talks about how living in Norway and translating Norwegian poets, and also a Yemeni poet, have shaped her own growth as a writer

Ren Powell

Included in the conversation are readings of four poems by Odveig Klyve, two by Mansur Rajih, and three of Ren’s own poems, “It Wasn’t the Flu,” “Spring Heralds,” and “Losing My Religion.” See Ren’s website for links to more of her poems online, and Anima Poetics for her Flash animations.

Theme music: “Le grand sequoia,” by Innvivo (Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike licence).

Podcast feed | Subscribe in iTunes

March 1, 2010March 6, 2014 by Dave Bonta

Woodrat Podcast 8: Chris Bolgiano and Marcia Bonta on Greening the Appalachians

Chris Bolgiano and Marcia Bonta talk about some of the threats to natural world they love so much, and what to do about it (Part 2 of 2)

In this second part of our phone conversation, Chris shares some instructive and sobering tales from her years as an environmental writer. Topics include: what we can learn from German foresters; anti-Appalachian prejudice in the nature-writing community; mountaintop removal and the insidious ways of Big Coal; global climate change and how — or whether — to talk about it; Big Wind vs. distributed generation; rooftop solar and the feed-in tariff system.

Links:

Theme music: “Le grand sequoia,” by Innvivo (Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike licence)

Podcast feed | Subscribe in iTunes

February 22, 2010March 6, 2014 by Dave Bonta

Woodrat Podcast 7: Chris Bolgiano and Marcia Bonta Share Tales from the Nature-Writing Trenches

A conversation with Chris Bolgiano and Marcia Bonta (Part 1 of 2)

Two Appalachian-based authors of mid-list nonfiction books about ecology and natural history share their experiences with publishers, editors, Eastern cougars and other dangerous beasts. Today’s show focuses mainly on writing; next week’s show will be devoted to environmental issues facing the region.

Links:

Theme music: “Le grand sequoia,” by Innvivo (Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike licence)

Podcast feed | Subscribe in iTunes

February 15, 2010March 6, 2014 by Dave Bonta

Woodrat Podcast 6: Todd Davis

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)

Podcast feed | Subscribe in iTunes

February 8, 2010March 6, 2014 by Dave Bonta

Woodrat Podcast 5: Radames Ortiz with Jonathan Jindra, Amplified Bards

A conversation with Houston-based poet Radames Ortiz and his audio collaborator, the composer Trills (Jonathan Jindra).

Topics include: How electronic music is composed; the arts scene in Houston; composing and improvising music to accompany poems; making the transition from ambient music to electronica that demands active listening; how Radames started writing poetry and why he chose not to get an MFA; turning a poetry reading into a multimedia experience and getting the audience involved; online reading, e-book readers and the supposed death of the text; the obligation of poets and writers to master multimedia tools; making and watching videopoetry.

Links:

Theme music: “Le grand sequoia,” by Innvivo (Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike licence)