The Selah Poetry Podcast: Recent Episodes
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This week we get to to go back to Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself." We're taking a look at part 21, where Walt continues investigating the great democracy of the Divine. How have we internalized that we are small and pathetic? Where has humility been forced onto us until it becomes insecurity? Do we see ourselves as lovers of creation? Probably. But do we think we are creation's lovers? Why is it so contentious to say that the universe exists explicitly for you?
Text from today's section:
21 I am the poet of the Body and I am the poet of the Soul, The pleasures of heaven are with me and the pains of hell are with me, The first I graft and increase upon myself, the latter I translate into a new tongue.
I am the poet of the woman the same as the man, And I say it is as great to be a woman as to be a man, And I say there is nothing greater than the mother of men.
I chant the chant of dilation or pride, We have had ducking and deprecating about enough, I show that size is only development.
Have you outstript the rest? are you the President? It is a trifle, they will more than arrive there every one, and still pass on.
I am he that walks with the tender and growing night, I call to the earth and sea half-held by the night.
Press close bare-bosom’d night—press close magnetic nourishing night! Night of south winds—night of the large few stars! Still nodding night—mad naked summer night.
Smile O voluptuous cool-breath’d earth! Earth of the slumbering and liquid trees! Earth of departed sunset—earth of the mountains misty-topt! Earth of the vitreous pour of the full moon just tinged with blue! Earth of shine and dark mottling the tide of the river! Earth of the limpid gray of clouds brighter and clearer for my sake! Far-swooping elbow’d earth—rich apple-blossom’d earth! Smile, for your lover comes.
Prodigal, you have given me love—therefore I to you give love! O unspeakable passionate love
This week we look at a passage from the Old Testament as Moses tries to bring the Israelites up the mountain to meet God, their beloved. I want to look at what this means for us as spiritual people and as creatives as we look for the divine and the Muse. We want to go up to the mountain and find the magic, to create something beautiful, to know the sacred, but what keeps us at the foot? What gets in the way?
You can find most of the verses discussed today here: http://bible.oremus.org/?passage=Exodus+19:1-9,+16-20,+20:18-20
For the last week of Advent 2020, I'm taking a look at "Angels We Have Heard on High." This hymn struck me differently than the other ones we've discussed, and I had to wrestle through it. At first, looking at "Glory to God in the Highest" bothered me because I thought the point of Christmas was that God was brought low. He descended. There was to be no hierarchy or elevation between secular and sacred, between man and the divine. But as I kept digging, I found an interpretation that moved me, that causes me to sing "Gloria in excelsis Deo" even louder now, joining the chorus with my youngest son.
Here are the lyrics I used for today's reading if you want to follow along:
Angels we have heard on high Sweetly singing o'er the plains And the mountains in reply Echoing their joyous strains Gloria in excelsis Deo! Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Shepherds, why this jubilee? Why your joyous strains prolong? What the gladsome tidings be? Which inspire your heavenly songs? Gloria in excelsis Deo! Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Come to Bethlehem and see Him whose birth the angels sing; Come, adore on bended knee, Christ the Lord, the newborn King. Gloria in excelsis Deo! Gloria in excelsis Deo!
This week we continue with our dive into Advent and Advent Hymns/Poems. This week we are taking a look at "Joy to the World" by Isaac Watts, inspired by Psalm 98. To my delight when looking into the poem for the podcast, I discovered a heart of environmental activism in it. Watts is not saying that Jesus is here and now everything is fine. He's saying that the world will rejoice when the King comes and weds her.
This week we continue our exploration of Advent along with Advent Hymns. We're taking a look at "O Come, O Come Emmanuel," and I'm really questioning the text. I want to flip on the head that God needs to come to us at all, and instead look at the hymn as an invitation to see that God has been with us always. The only thing that needs to come is our awareness of her.
Here is the text of the version of the hymn we'll be looking at:
O come, O come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel, That mourns in lonely exile here, Until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free Thine own from Satan's tyranny; From depths of hell Thy people save, And give them victory o'er the grave. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Dayspring, from on high, And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh; Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, And death's dark shadows put to flight. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Key of David, come And open wide our heav'nly home; Make safe the way that leads on high, And close the path to misery. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Adonai, Lord of might, Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height, In ancient times didst give the law In cloud and majesty and awe. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.
Today is the first day of Advent. It is the season of preparation, pining, and waiting as Christmas approaches. I've always loved this season. I think whether you're Jewish or Christian, you can always relate to the idea of waiting and aching. When will things get better? When will the dark times be over? How will we get out of this? How do we get out of this? That's what Advent is all about.
To celebrate and process this season, each week I'll be going through a classic Christmas Hymn like I do "Song of Myself." I'm starting this week with "O Holy Night." It's originally written in French by Placide Cappeau, but we'll be reading the translation by John Sullivan Dwight in 1855.
Text from John Sullivan Dwight:
O holy night! The stars are brightly shining, It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining, Till He appear'd and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices! O night divine, O night when Christ was born; O night divine, O night, O night Divine.
Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming, With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand. So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming, Here come the wise men from the Orient land. The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger; In all our trials born to be our friend.
He knows our need, to our weaknesses no stranger, Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend! Behold your King, Before Him lowly bend!
Truly He taught us to love one another; His law is love and His gospel is peace. Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother; And in His name all oppression shall cease. Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we, Let all within us praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever, His power and glory evermore proclaim. His power and glory evermore proclaim.
I'm happy to return to "Song of Myself" by Walt Whitman. We're taking a look at Part 20 of the poem, and here Uncle Walt investigates the beautiful universe of the self. It is both base and profane, mysterious and simple. We are epic and trivial, all at once. As I put it in the podcast, we are no more sacred than daylight, but we are at least as sacred as daylight. Finally, we discuss what it means to be ourselves. Can we be content with or without other people and their expectations and observations? That's what the poem explores today.
20 Who goes there? hankering, gross, mystical, nude; How is it I extract strength from the beef I eat? What is a man anyhow? what am I? what are you? All I mark as my own you shall offset it with your own, Else it were time lost listening to me. I do not snivel that snivel the world over, That months are vacuums and the ground but wallow and filth. Whimpering and truckling fold with powders for invalids, conformity goes to the fourth-remov’d, I wear my hat as I please indoors or out. Why should I pray? why should I venerate and be ceremonious? Having pried through the strata, analyzed to a hair, counsel’d with doctors and calculated close, I find no sweeter fat than sticks to my own bones. In all people I see myself, none more and not one a barley-corn less, And the good or bad I say of myself I say of them. I know I am solid and sound, To me the converging objects of the universe perpetually flow, All are written to me, and I must get what the writing means. I know I am deathless, I know this orbit of mine cannot be swept by a carpenter’s compass, I know I shall not pass like a child’s carlacue cut with a burnt stick at night. I know I am august, I do not trouble my spirit to vindicate itself or be understood, I see that the elementary laws never apologize, (I reckon I behave no prouder than the level I plant my house by, after all.) I exist as I am, that is enough, If no other in the world be aware I sit content, And if each and all be aware I sit content. One world is aware and by far the largest to me, and that is myself, And whether I come to my own to-day or in ten thousand or ten million years, I can cheerfully take it now, or with equal cheerfulness I can wait. My foothold is tenon’d and mortis’d in granite, I laugh at what you call dissolution, And I know the amplitude of time. 21 I am the poet of the Body and I am the poet of the Soul, The pleasures of heaven are with me and the pains of hell are with me, The first I graft and increase upon myself, the latter I translate into a new tongue. I am the poet of the woman the same as the man, And I say it is as great to be a woman as to be a man, And I say there is nothing greater than the mother of men. I chant the chant of dilation or pride, We have had ducking and deprecating about enough, I show that size is only development. Have you outstript the rest? are you the President? It is a trifle, they will more than arrive there every one, and still pass on. I am he that walks with the tender and growing night, I call to the earth and sea half-held by the night. Press close bare-bosom’d night—press close magnetic nourishing night! Night of south winds—night of the large few stars! Still nodding night—mad naked summer night. Smile O voluptuous cool-breath’d earth! Earth of the slumbering and liquid trees! Earth of departed sunset—earth of the mountains misty-topt! Earth of the vitreous pour of the full moon just tinged with blue! Earth of shine and dark mottling the tide of the river! Earth of the limpid gray of clouds brighter and clearer for my sake! Far-swooping elbow’d earth—rich apple-blossom’d earth! Smile, for your lover comes. Prodigal, you have given me love—therefore I to you give love! O unspeakable passionate love. You can find the rest of the text of "Song of Myself" here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45477/song-of-myself-1892-version
This week we take a break from "Song of Myself" with a different 1800s romantic/transcendental poem. This one is "As Kingfishers Catch Fire" by Gerard Manley Hopkins. Here we discuss the divinity in being ourselves. We explore how we are connected to God and every living thing through being. Simply being. Or as the poet puts it and we explore: "What I do is for me: for that I came."
As Kingfishers Catch Fire
BY GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS
As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame; As tumbled over rim in roundy wells Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell's Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name; Each mortal thing does one thing and the same: Deals out that being indoors each one dwells; Selves — goes itself; myself it speaks and spells, Crying Whát I dó is me: for that I came. I say móre: the just man justices; Keeps grace: thát keeps all his goings graces; Acts in God's eye what in God's eye he is — Chríst — for Christ plays in ten thousand places, Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his To the Father through the features of men's faces.
We continue with Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself" part 19. We continue exploring what it means to be in an abundant and egalitarian universe. The macro is the micro and the micro is the macro. More than that, we explore the idea of seeing ourselves in the universe and the universe in ourselves. You know, easy and basic stuff. Don't worry, Uncle Walt will explain it with surprising simplicity, elegance, and grace.
19 This is the meal equally set, this the meat for natural hunger, It is for the wicked just the same as the righteous, I make appointments with all, I will not have a single person slighted or left away, The kept-woman, sponger, thief, are hereby invited, The heavy-lipp’d slave is invited, the venerealee is invited; There shall be no difference between them and the rest. This is the press of a bashful hand, this the float and odor of hair, This the touch of my lips to yours, this the murmur of yearning, This the far-off depth and height reflecting my own face, This the thoughtful merge of myself, and the outlet again. Do you guess I have some intricate purpose? Well I have, for the Fourth-month showers have, and the mica on the side of a rock has. Do you take it I would astonish? Does the daylight astonish? does the early redstart twittering through the woods? Do I astonish more than they? This hour I tell things in confidence, I might not tell everybody, but I will tell you. You can find all of "Song of Myself" here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45477/song-of-myself-1892-version
After a long long hiatus and the insanity of COVID's America, I'm back with a discussion of queer spirituality and what it means to be a queer artist. If you've heard of queering as a verb, I'll go through that in this podcast.
In short, to queer is to look past the default and deconstruct the normal, to investigate and sing of the nuanced, complicated, and marginalized. That's the path of the queer, and it defines and shapes my gender, my sexuality, my faith, and my art.
You can find me on Instagram or Twitter @roryhatchel
I'm continuing with my lessons from NaNoWriMo as I try to write a novel in one month. It's an intensive experience, trying to be creative and brilliant each day. A few weeks ago we talked about how it showed me the value of showing up and the discipline needed to do this work. On the other side of that is the pleasantry of being surprised.
This week I talk about the necessity of play in your creativity, of not being so overly obsessed with the great meanings and legacy of your work that you forget you're supposed to have fun. More than that, once you're having fun, really wonderful things tend to pop up. There's immense potential to be surprised as the divine comes in after we've carved room for her.
If you want to see more, you can go to selahpoetry.com or you can reach me at selahpoetry@gmail.com
Walt reaches a crescendo in part 17 of "Song of Myself," reflecting on all that he's covered so far in the first 16 parts of the poem. He makes bold claims that not only are we all connected, but that his ideas themselves are all universal and not new. He says that this conundrum, of us all being divinely equal, is as ubiquitous as the grass.
He then pushes on that claim in part 18, testing to see if we are all really connected in a divine ecosystem, or are we perhaps in competition with each other?
We discuss his thoughts and my own in this episode. If you want to see more, go to selahpoetry.com or email me at selahpoetry@gmail.com
As I've been working through NaNoWriMo this November, I've learned a few things simply by sitting down every morning at 5 AM and writing. I don't think everyone should do this, but I think the value of discipline is sometimes lost on aspiring artists. We hear it as a stressful word, an overly intense word, or perhaps a dirty and abusive word. I want to talk about using discipline to carve room in your life, making space for the Divine to show up and work with you and through you. That's the goal, isn't it?
If you want to see more, go to selahpoetry.com or email me at selahpoetry@gmail.com
Walt Whitman gives us another list poem in section 16 of "Song of Myself." The difference now is that we don't get specifics. We have a vague list of human traits and then a beautiful line: "I resist any thing better than my diversity." What does that mean? How does it relate to our connection and relation to other people? How are we all involved in the greater tapestry of the universe?
If you want more, you can check out my website at selahpoetry.com or email me at selahpoetry@gmail.com
Last week I got a kind and beautiful compliment about my writing. Instead of bristling and refusing it, instead of dismissing it and moving past it, I accepted it. I appreciated it. It moved me. And yet, I found myself struggling with this question: What does it do for me? How can I use this praise? Can I monetize it? Can I get a recommendation? Are there connections involved?
As silly and vain as that little dance in my head was, it gave me insight into deeper meditation and revelation. There was something sadly wrong about how I saw the world, about how I interacted with it. I didn't always do that when someone was kind to me or complimented me. Where did I go wrong? And how can I go back?
If you like what you're hearing, you can find more at selahpoetry.com or email me at selahpoetry@gmail.com
In this episode we take a look at Part 15 of "Song of Myself" by Walt Whitman. This is another one of Whitman's list poems, but when we take a look at what he's listing, there is a lot to learn about who we are, what it means to be human, and how that is all inter-related.
This is a bit of a longer episode because the poem is long, and yet I found a way to be long winded in my analysis of it as well. I apologize for my loquaciousness, but I really love what this poem has to say to us as humans, as a country, in these times, and in the height of social media.
Full text for the poem can be found here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45477/song-of-myself-1892-version
You can follow me on twitter @roryhatchel (https://twitter.com/roryhatchel) on Youtube at Selah Poetry (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5KN3hAYr1gTOFoEDt3v7NA ) my website selahpoetry.com or email me at selahpoetry@gmail.com
This week we read Psalm 39 and my version of it, "Handbreath." The psalm wrestles with how short and fleeting life is and whether it matters. Do we attach ourselves to the eternal or embrace nihilism? How can we construct meaning in such a bleak world crammed with suffering?
I take that question and work on it in my version of the poem, thinking of each human life as a note in a song.
You can find the text of the poem on my website, here: http://www.selahpoetry.com/2019/10/12/psalmist-project-psalm-39/
This week we take a look at the next section of "Song of Myself," Part 14. This continues with Whitman's interest in connectivity with all living things, but now Whitman is looking at the limitations of it and importance of it.
The part I latch onto is the inter-connectivity within and between ourselves. As Whitman says, "What is commonest, cheapest, easiest, and nearest, is Me." What does this mean for the way we see ourselves? What does it mean for how we create?
I'm back after a long hiatus with a revisitation to "Audience of One." I'm more convinced that this is the artist's golden rule, and yet, it is the rule we struggle to live by. In fact, every part of our culture, every advancement in connectivity and technology pushes us away from us. We are seduced to make for the masses, for notoriety, for an income. We quickly lose ourselves in that.
This episode is renewal of vows for me. I hope people listen to this. I hope they like it and get something from it. But more than anything, I want to enjoy making it. I want to be proud of it. I want to create. Let the world sort out the consumption bit.
In this episode, we discuss the difference between Art and Entertainment. I recorded this in May, and then my computer died, so the superhero movie I'm referencing is Avengers: Endgame.
I think in today's world, we have to wrestle with the difference between Art and Entertainment. They are both acts of creation. They are both powerful and necessary and holy acts. In this episode, I break strip away those two labels and split creative acts between things that Convey and things that Say. Both have there place, and neither is better or worse than the other.
In this episode, we take a look at the next section of "Song of Myself" by Walt Whitman, namely section 13. This is a section where Walt moves from investigating the people around him and starts taking a look at animal life around him. It begs the question, what is a life and what life has value? Spoilers: everything.
You can find the full text of the poem here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45477/song-of-myself-1892-version
You can contact me on Twitter @roryhatchel or email me at selahpoetry@gmail.com
In this episode, we take a look at Psalm 1 and three different versions I've written of the poem. This poem tries to explore what it means to meditate on Scripture, or in our case, to brew.
You can find the text of the Psalm here: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+1&version=MSG
You can find the text of the poem at: https://www.selahpoetry.com/2019/05/12/psalm-1-brewing/
If you want to reach out to me, you can find me on Twitter @roryhatchel or email me at selahpoetry@gmail.com
This week we continue our discussion on failure. More than questioning our bias towards success, we can also work to undo it by normalizing failure. I talk about the value of failure, which, it turns out, is really just the value of life. As long as you matter, your failure matters. That's why it should be normalized and embraced, instead of ignored or briefly commented on as an unpleasant past tense.
If you want to contact me, you can email me at selahpoetry@gmail.com or find me on Twitter @roryhatchel
This week and next we're talking about failure. Failure is something that needs to be normalized because we are so caught up in success. Today I explain what I mean by "bias towards success" and also walk through the consequences for our creative spirit when we lose ourselves in success narratives.
You can find me @roryhatchel on Twitter or email me at selahpoetry@gmail.com
I've been stuck the past few weeks, trying to create or flat-out unable to. I had to step away and figure this out. What I found was that the more I struggled to create anything that wasn't my authentic self.
I've found that other artists have similar struggles. They feel tempted to give up entirely or This week, we enter into this, trying to figure our way out of it. I get some answers, and the beginning of where to look.
If you want to reach out to to me, you can find me everywhere. Check out selahpoetry.com or selahpoetry@gmail.com or on Tumblr at selahpoetryblog or on Twitter @roryhatchel and finally Instagram at selahpoetrypodcast
Today we explore Psalm 37 and it's classic line "Be still and wait patiently on the Lord." That was the inspiration for my poem, "Bilabial." We discuss being jealous of others, but more importantly, we discuss what to do with that insecurity and fear. We're told to be still, but what does that mean? What does that feel like? Why is that difficult?
Today's Poem:
Bilabial
“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.” – Psalm 37:7
Whispers hover above the waters
At vespers in purple light.
Hear the breeze between the willows,
Downy and floating between my lips.
A pause, a gasp, a Selah.
Say to the still, small voice,
“There is a bomb in this heart
Pleading for a reed pipe.
Pan, if you hear us, send
The moon out once more.”
If you want to reach me, check me out selahpoetry.com or email me at selahpoetry@gmail.com You can also find me on Twitter @roryhatchel or Tumblr at selahpoetryblog and finally, you can find me on instagram at selahpoetrypodcast
I'm back after a three week hiatus, and we get right back into it with Part 12 of "Song of Myself" by Walt Whitman. In it, we discuss being an artist and not worshipping productivity. We also discuss intentionality and deliberateness as a form of mastery, as oppossed to quantity.
You still have value, even when you are resting. If you have struggled with the idol of productivity, Walt challenges that directly in this poem, and we talk about it.
If you want to reach me, check me out selahpoetry.com or email me at selahpoetry@gmail.com You can also find me on Twitter @roryhatchel or Tumblr at selahpoetryblog and finally, you can find me on instagram at selahpoetrypodcast
Important announcement: I'm a failure. I'm a failure, and that has nothing to do with creation or creativity. It has nothing to do with why or how I create, but failure helps me ask what is the intention behind my work? That's what we discuss this week. We need to know why we are creating, what questions do we bring to our work, in order to understand and healthily engage failure.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to connect with me at selahpoetry.com, on twitter @roryhatchel or at selahpoetry@gmail.com
Here I discuss the value of theme to establish meaning in a work, and how that can be applied to our lives for the new year. Theme gives context to the year without worshipping perfectionism or control. As artists, theme gives us direction without too many constraints, and therefore represents the healthy balance of control and liberation that should exist within our art.
We have an email: selahpoetry@gmail.com We have a website: selahpoetry.com We have a Tumblr: https://selahpoetryblog.tumblr.com/
In this episode, I discuss the danger of New Year's Resolutions, not as something to be avoided, but as something to be reconsidered. I urge us all to focus on reflecting over the previous year before we rush into the new year. Say goodbye to the old, learn from it, reflect on it, practice Selah before you rush off into the future and speak life over it and into it with resolutions.
If you want to tell me why I'm wrong or ask me questions, feel free to email me at selahpoetry@gmail.com or check out my site at selahpoetry.com
Last week we talked about the humility of the Incarnation. This week, I want to talk about the participation of the Incarnation. There are two Incarnations in the Bible: Luke/Matthew/John 1 and Acts 1. For creativity, the first Incarnation leads to the second Incarnation, and the second is what gives us the power to create.
What we do matters because of the divine living in us. The divine lives in us because it first dwelt among us. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. That is what we celebrate at this time of the year.
If you have further questions or comments, please check out selahpoetry.com or email me at selahpoetry@gmail.com
It's time for the Christmas episode! Or if you don't like that, think of it as the Winter episode, the Holiday episode, whatever your season, it's a time where celebrate and experience magic, the supernatural, the greater movements in creation and mankind.
Coming from the Christian tradition, I want to talk about the Incarnation. God becomes man, and what does that mean for us? What are we really celebrating during this time of the year? What's the big deal and what does that mean for artists and creatives?
If you want to follow up or ask any questions, feel free to visit selahpoetry.com or email me at selahpoetry@gmail.com
In this episode we take a look into the Advent season and what that means for artists. Traditionally, Advent is a time to await the arrival of Jesus. It focuses on the lament of waiting, the tragedy of a broken world that needs saving. However, it doesn't stop there. It also rejoices that there is hope. There is a conclusion to this story, and the story of creation is a comedy.
Feel free to check out more at selahpoetry.com or email me at selahpoetry@gmail.com
In this episode, I go over three more lessons I've learned from NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. We discuss the value of limitations and how that breeds creativity, the need to let go of plans and perfectionism and leave room to be surprised and co-create, and finally, the need to face our demons because they are there even if we don't show up.
These lessons create little mini episodes, and if you want me to talk more about any one of these, feel free to message me at selahpoetry@gmail.com I'd love to hear from you and talk more about it.
In this episode, I go over two lessons I've learned from NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. We discuss the value of showing up, and the need to sort through the crap. After discussing the creative implications, we dive into the spiritual implications of these lessons.
These lessons create little mini episodes, and if you want me to talk more about any one of these, feel free to message me at selahpoetry@gmail.com I'd love to hear from you and talk more about it.
Here we discuss one of the fundamental questions plaguing most artists: who do I create for? Here, I argue that we create for an audience of one. A creative life seeking the approval of masses leads to despair, loneliness, and bad art. We're called to much greater than that. There is beautiful freedom in working for the one.
In this episode, we go back to "Song of Myself" by Walt Whitman. In this we get a little bit sexy. There's water, bathing, dripping water, naked bodies, hands moving, and more dripping water. More importantly, Walt takes us back to nature, and the primal artform available to all humans: imagination. We find that imagination is a reflection, or as I call it, a shadow, of the soul, and that it leads to an immediate and deep intimacy.
You can find the text here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45477/song-of-myself-1892-version
After a six month hiatus, I'm back. I have a lot to talk about. This time, I don't just want to talk about poetry and spirituality. I want to talk about creativity as well. This is an SOS to all artists whose spirit calls to them, whose spirituality leads them to create. In this episode, I talk about where I went, where I am, and where I'm going. I'm so excited to take this further.
Feel to free to email me questions or suggestions at selahpoetry@gmail.com
In this episode, we investigate Psalm 50 and my inspired poem from the psalm, "What Susie Asado Prays For." We discuss the necessary complexity of the spiritual life and reject the desire to overly simplify. There is beauty and divinity in the complex.
I'll warn you that the audio at the end seems to cut off abruptly, but it is not an error, just a indelicate landing.
Feel free to check out similar content at selahpoetry.com or tumblr.com/selahpoetryblog
In this episode we take a look at Part 10 of "Song of Myself." Here, we investigate connection in different scenes that Walt Whitman paints for us. We talk about barriers of connection and finding intimacy for greater healing and interconnectedness. it looks into the layers of community and drawing from the abstract into the personal, the risky.
I meant for this episode to be published on April 30th, so that it may still be a part of National Poetry Month, but I'm imperfect. Nevertheless, we continue talking about poetry, specifically creation, in this episode as we read Walt Whitman's poem, "O Me! O Life!" We talk about creativity as a necessity of the spiritual life.
You can find the full text of the poem here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/51568/o-me-o-life
In this episode, we look at one of my poems I wrote this National Poetry Month, "Emergence." This is a poem about learning and unlearning, about God and what is not God and what masquerades as God and what we are taught is God and what is truly God.
You can find the full text for the poem here: http://www.selahpoetry.com/2018/04/24/emergence/
We continue discussing National Poetry Month with Billy Collin's poem, "Introduction to Poetry." We use it to talk about the point and method of poetry, as well as the various ways we construct meaning. If you or a loved one hate poetry, this is the podcast for you.
You can find the full text of the poem here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46712/introduction-to-poetry
My thanks and apologies to Billy Collins. I love this poem and love sharing it with others. It's always how I start conversations about why Poetry matters, how we've been taught it wrong, and how to approach poems.
April is the cruelest month! It's also National Poetry Month! Today we read part 1 of "The Wasteland" by T.S. Eliot, "The Burial of the Dead." We enter into a barren poem of confusing imagery and try to conjure meaning from it. We end up finding "The Son of Man" and all the implications of that.
You can find the full text of the poem here: http://wasteland.windingway.org/poem#42
In this episode, we take a look at my poem, "Easter Sunday." It's not about a psalm or Walt Whitman, but it is a chance for us to talk about hope and why Christianity is centered around the resurrection on Sunday and not the death on Friday.
We continue the Psalmist Project with Psalm 77. This is a typical psalm about feeling down and abandoned by God, but then choosing to have faith in him despite that. My version of this psalm, "Necking with Nostalgia," follows that approach and is an attempt at almost a literal update to Psalm 77. We talk about vulnerability, perception, the past, and God. It's a good time.
You can find the full text for the poem and psalm here: http://www.selahpoetry.com/2018/03/20/psalm-77-necking-with-nostalgia/
We read part 8 and 9 of "Song of Myself" by Walt Whitman. Here, we will take apart some moments of intentionality. We'll discuss the power of noticing. We'll try to understand the divine in the clutter and chaos of everything. We'll figure out how we're all connected and why any of that matters. It should be a groovy time.
You can find the full text of the poem here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45477/song-of-myself-1892-version
In this episode, we continue the Psalmist Project and look at Psalm 118 and the love of God that endures forever. From there, we look at my version of the Psalm, "Waiting," about long prayers and big answers. We talk about placing rocks like monuments and remembering miracles.
This week's episode is dedicated to my sister and her newborn son. He is well worth the wait.
You can find the full text of the poem and the Psalm here: http://www.selahpoetry.com/2018/03/07/psalm-118-waiting/
In Episode 23, we look at Psalm 118 and my version of it: "Steadfast." This poem is mostly about the fronts we put up when it comes to our faith. There is an artificiality to our communal life that comes when we have to pretend to be perfect Christians instead of flawed sinners in search of a Savior.
You can find the full text of the poem here: http://www.selahpoetry.com/2018/02/28/psalm-112-steadfast/
In this episode we continue looking at Walt Whitman's epic, "Song of Myself." We read part 7, and discuss why anyone would say it is lucky to die. We investigate the notion of all being good, immortality, but more importantly, we remember that we are mates and companions of all.
Remember: "I am the mate and companion of people, all just as immortal and fathomless as myself."
You can find the full text of the poem here: http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/s_z/whitman/song.htm
In this episode we revisit Walt Whitman's epic poem, "Song of Myself." Today we look at part 6, where a child asks Uncle Walt, "what is the grass?" We get more into Whitman's understanding of interconnectedness and a surprising view of death.
You can find the full text of this poem here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45477/song-of-myself-1892-version
In this episode we continue the Psalmist Project with Psalm 145. My version of this psalm is called "Compassion." The etymology of 'compassion' is 'to suffer with.' In this poem, I take a look at what it means that God has compassion on us, that he suffers with us.
You can find full text of the poem and the psalm here: http://www.selahpoetry.com/2018/02/06/psalm-145-compassion/
This episode we return to "Song of Myself" and take a look at part 5. As you recall, Walt left us off discussing the part of him that is him but not him, integral to his identity but not physically located. Here he names it: his soul. We'll look into the part of ourselves which is not ourselves and the value of loafing. Like bread, but spiritual.
Full text for the poem can be found here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45477/song-of-myself-1892-version
Here we read my poem about the new year titled, "To Fight Off the Cold." This is a poem of reflection about making it through a year and the preposterousness of that all. Somewhere in that, I find myself relating to a barn in Bethlehem.
You can find the full text of the poem here: http://www.selahpoetry.com/2018/01/24/to-fight-off-the-cold-2/
In Episode 17 we go through the writing process of a poem I wrote around and about Christmas called "Incarnation." I read the final draft of the poem and then the first draft of the poem. From there, I explain how draft one transformed.
You can find the full text of the poem here: http://www.selahpoetry.com/2018/01/16/incarnation/
We go back to Uncle Walt and his epic, 52-part poem "Song of Myself." We take a look at part 4 about the "Me myself" that is apart from all the hubbub, suffering, and striving we find in day-to-day life. Walt begins trying to find out who he is by looking at what he is not, and we follow him there a bit.
For the text of this poem, you can find it here: http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/s_z/whitman/song.htm just make sure to scroll down to part 4.
In this episode, I continue the Psalmist Project with Psalm 30 and my version of it: "Rivers Like Ribbons." This is a poem about time, place, and identity. I explore identity as a beautiful braid of the past, present, and future self and talk about the rivers that make and made me.
For the text of this psalm and this poem, go to: http://www.selahpoetry.com/2018/01/03/psalm-30/
We continue looking at the Psalmist Project with Psalm 28 and my version of it, "There are Rocks Everywhere." This has a relationship with Psalm 28, Bolivia, and 1 Corinthians 10:4. We look into the broken places and find the divine.
You can find the full text for this psalm and this poem at my website here: http://www.selahpoetry.com/2017/12/24/psalm-28/
In this episode, we return to the Psalmist Project and Psalm 80, as well as my version of it, "Girls Make Dirt Bikes Holy." Here we look at the face of God, He looking at us, and us looking at Her. What delights God? Is it as simple as the things that delight us?
For the text of the psalm and this poem, go to: http://www.selahpoetry.com/2017/12/13/psalm-80/
In this episode, I read and discuss "Song of Myself" by Walt Whitman. This is Part 3 of 52. In this, I'm incredibly enthusiastic about Part 3 and apparently having a really good day. In this, Uncle Walt shows us how he is connected to everything. To him, all is one and exists in contradictions. It's confusing and beautiful and I do my best to guide you through it.
In the meantime, go bathe and admire yourself.
If you want the text of this poem, you can find it here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45477/song-of-myself-1892-version
Here we return to "Song of Myself" by Walt Whitman. We take a look at the second part, where Uncle Walt urges us to look at the real without barrier. He also encourages us to notice the constants in our life, to increase awareness.
This poem is beautiful as an example of reflection and awareness, which this podcast is all about.
You can find the full text of this poem here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45477/song-of-myself-1892-version
Here we take a look at a meditative poem designed for worship and reflection, “Holy.” This is more of an experimental form and style for a poem. It is meant to be listened to and performed. It starts as a meditation and builds into a poem.
I encourage you to find a quiet place to listen to this poem. Don't waste this while in a rush. Find the time and space to reflect and listen.
You can find the text to this poem at http://www.selahpoetry.com/2017/10/31/holy/
Also, I mention Ruth Fazal in this podcast. She is incredible. Here is some great stuff of hers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFjJXG7DPT8&list=PLB1IlP2mBucwXTHO9EyBUTunNr03oPNXO
In this episode, I'm honored to read and discuss Kathy Fish's flash fiction, "Collective Nouns for Humans in the Wild" This is a beautiful piece examining what humans are as a group, the good and the bad.
You can find the text for this flash fiction at https://jellyfishreview.wordpress.com/2017/10/13/collective-nouns-for-humans-in-the-wild-by-kathy-fish/
If you want to read more by Kathy, please visit her website at www.kathy-fish.com
Thanks Kathy!
A special episode celebrating my 5 year wedding anniversary. This episode looks at Psalm 98 and my version of it "A Joyful Noise." All of it is an ode and gift for my wife, though. I love you so much, Rebecah. Everything you do is a joyful noise.
You can find the text for the psalm and the poem at http://www.selahpoetry.com/2017/10/14/the-psalmist-project-psalm-98/
I continue my break from the Psalmist Project to take a look at "Song of Myself" Part 1 by Walt Whitman as I work on reflecting and inviting my soul into the mundane after a weekend retreat. We will more than likely visit the other 51 parts of "Song of Myself," as this poem was a huge inspiration for me as a poet.
You can find the text for this part, and many other parts of "Song of Myself" at https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/song-myself-i-ii-vi-lii
This is episode 5 and continues the Psalmist Project with Psalm 12 and my version of is, "Words for Dinah." This poem discusses facing brokenness and not having the words to deal with that hurt. I would advise listeners that this episode does discuss sexual abuse in a vague manner.
Full text of the psalm and the poem can be found at http://www.selahpoetry.com/2016/11/11/psalm-12/
Here we discuss the very last Psalm, Psalm 150. It's a great poem of praise, and, to me, is about art and creation. My version of the poem is called "Ineffable" about the moment before Genesis 1 when things didn't exist yet, but they did. There is a beautiful tension in all the things that were yet to be, but were, and had always been.
You can find the full text of the poem and the psalm at http://www.selahpoetry.com/2017/09/22/psalm-150/
In this episode we continue our work in the Psalmist Project and I discuss Psalm 27 and my rendition of it, "Confident." This is a poem about the need for faith or trust or hope in a world that often feels so fragile.
You can find the text of the psalm and the poem at http://www.selahpoetry.com/2016/10/09/psalm-27/
Welcome to the first official episode of the Selah Poetry Podcast! In this episode, we start our look at the Psalmist Project, which is my attempt to write my own interpretations and versions of each Psalm. Today, I specifically talk Psalm 95 and my version of that psalm written to my son, Judah, while he was still in the womb called "God or Thunder or Louis."
Feel free to see the text of this poem at http://www.selahpoetry.com/2016/10/23/psalm-95/
Welcome to the Selah Poetry podcast! This is a show where I get to talk about poetry and spirituality and try to create a space for pause and reflection. Life is busy and hectic, try to carve out fifteen minutes of your day to slow down and pause.