[encore] 1175: Hunger by Kelli Russell Agodon

The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily

American Public Media

Arts, Performing Arts

4.8 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 11 July 2025

⏱️ 8 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Today’s poem is Hunger by Kelli Russell Agodon.

Last spring, we asked our community to submit poems that have helped you slow down in your lives. This week we’re revisiting these selections. Today’s selection was submitted by Jeannine from Washington.

In this episode, Major writes… “What is it about this stage of dating that has us turn off the radar, render us blind to the red flags, to what we hope our instincts should catch? We become wild in our desperation to present ourselves as worthy of love. Our passionate hearts render us prey to the lost souls who present facades of well-being.”

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hey, it's producer Micah Kilban.
0:03.0	Thanks for staying tuned as we get ready to return with a new host.
0:06.6	Last spring, the slowdown team and I asked you to help us select for the podcast,
0:10.8	to send in poems that have helped you slow yourself down.
0:14.4	It was such a beautiful way to connect with our community that we wanted to reshare these episodes.
0:19.3	Here's one of our community curators
0:21.0	to share what's special about their submission.
0:24.4	My name is Dine Hall Galey.
0:26.3	I live in Woodinville, Washington.
0:28.5	This poem really fits the slowdown
0:30.5	because it's dark and funny.
0:32.3	The first time you read it,
0:33.4	you can understand everything it says,
0:35.4	and you can understand it at a certain level.
0:37.7	But the more you go back and read it and think about it,
0:39.8	like it really has these dark, twisty turns that you're like,
0:43.4	oh, what was that poem really about, which is something I love?
0:46.7	Love can heard.
0:47.9	You're like, oh, well, that's sort of innocuous.
0:49.8	And then you're like, is it innocuous?
0:51.8	What do we do for love?
0:53.3	Good question.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 13 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from American Public Media, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of American Public Media and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.