787 Why Poetry with Matthew Zapruder Encore

The History of Literature

Jacke Wilson

History, Arts, Books

4.6 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 26 March 2026

⏱️ 62 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In his book Why Poetry, the poet Matthew Zapruder issued "an impassioned call for a return to reading poetry and an incisive argument for its accessibility to all readers." The poet Robert Hass said, "Zapruder on poetry is pure pleasure. His prose is so direct that you have the impression, sentence by sentence, that you are being told simple things about a simple subject and by the end of each essay you come to understand that you've been on a very rich, very subtle tour of what's aesthetically and psychologically amazing about the art of poetry." In this episode, Matthew Zapruder joins Jacke for a discussion on why poetry is often misunderstood, and how readers can clear away the misconceptions and return to an appreciation for the charms and power of poetry. Along the way, they discuss poems by W.H. Auden, Brenda Hillman, and John Keats, and the views of critics like Harold Bloom, Giambattista Vico, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and Paul Valery. [This episode was originally released on April 9, 2018.] Help support the show at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/literature⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠historyofliterature.com/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	The History of Literature Podcast is a member of the Podglomerate Network and Lit Hub Radio.
0:09.7	Jamie Lang and Sophie Haboo have arrived on Disney Plus.
0:14.3	We're having a baby.
0:15.3	We're having a baby.
0:16.9	I've always wanted to be mom.
0:19.2	And we're bringing you on our journey through everything.
0:22.1	I have no idea what we're doing.
0:23.4	Thank you. I have more of an idea.
0:25.3	I think of it like a Tamagocchi.
0:27.5	At the end of all of this,
0:29.7	we're going to have a little baby?
0:31.3	Raising Chelsea, a Hulu original series,
0:34.0	streaming April 2nd exclusively on Disney Plus.
0:36.9	18 plus subscription required T's and T supply.
0:39.8	Hey folks, I think we can all agree on something.
0:42.8	The world needs more poetry.
0:45.4	I don't mean that we need more poems.
0:48.6	We need more poets and poetically minded people, both writers and readers and those people who do both.
0:55.8	We need more poetry in our soul. Whatever it is that's inside human beings that makes us love,
1:02.3	admire, and appreciate poetry is something that needs nurturing. We all need that part of us
1:09.2	to flourish. But that's just the opinion of your humble podcaster.
1:14.2	Eight years ago, I talked to poet and author Matthew Zeprooter about why poetry.
	...

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