Poetry In America

The 12-part series POETRY IN AMERICA draws students of all ages into conversations about poetry. Hosted by Harvard University professor Elisa New, each half-hour episode highlights the work of one distinguished poet (Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks) with a reading by an individual well known for accomplishments outside the humanities (actress and playwright Anna Deavere Smith, Grammy-Award winner Herbie Hancock; former vice president Joe Biden, and rapper/poet Nas), as well as a chorus of others, including: a chorus of pick-up basketball players, young naturalists at the Massachusetts Audubon Society, and students at the Parsons School of Design. The fast-moving, beautifully shot series offers viewers a fully immersive experience in hearing, reading, and interpreting a single American poem. Scholar Elisa New opens a conversation about poetry and encourages viewers at home to extend the discussion past the episode's end.

Sun, Apr 2 10:30 A.M. Harlem - Langston Hughes     NHPBS

President Bill Clinton, pianist and composer Herbie Hancock, poet Sonia Sanchez, and students from the Harlem Children's Zone interpret Langston Hughes's most iconic poem, "Harlem" with series host Elisa New.

Sun, Apr 2 11:00 A.M. New York State of Mind - Nas     NHPBS

Learn alongside host Elisa New as hip hop artist Nas, music executive Steve Stoute, scholar Salamishah Tillet, and a chorus of rappers and fans break down the breakbeats and explore the searing vision of Nas's iconic track "NY State of Mind.

Sun, Apr 2 11:30 A.M. I Cannot Dance Upon My Toes - Emily Dickinson     NHPBS

"I cannot dance upon my toes," Emily Dickinson writes -- "no man instructed me.

Sun, Apr 2 12:00 P.M. Finishing The Hat - Stephen Sondheim     NHPBS

Stephen Sondheim is widely hailed as the greatest modern American musical theater composer.

Sun, Apr 2 12:30 P.M. The New Colossus - Emma Lazarus     NHPBS

Host Elisa New rediscovers the freshness and the still-potent charge of Emma Lazarus's iconic sonnet of immigration alongside singer-songwriter Regina Spektor, activist and founder of the United We Dream Foundation Cristina Jimenez, President of the American Federation of Teachers Randi Weingarten, financier and philanthropist David Rubenstein, and poet Duy Doan.

Sun, Apr 2 1:00 P.M. Hymmnn and Hum Bom - Allen Ginsberg     NHPBS

Joined by rock star Bono, US Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera, and by a chorus of clergy and religious practitioners, host Elisa New tackles two of Ginsberg's most emotionally transporting poems, the "Hymmnn" from Kaddish, and the anti-war chant "Hum Bom.

Sun, Apr 9 10:30 A.M. The Fish - Marianne Moore     NHPBS

This environmental science-themed episode explores Marianne Moore's great poem of marine life, "The Fish.

Sun, Apr 9 11:00 A.M. Cascadilla Falls     NHPBS

Sun, Apr 9 11:30 A.M. Looking for the Gulf Motel     NHPBS

Sun, Apr 9 12:00 P.M. The Gray Heron - Galway Kinnell     NHPBS

In this environmentally-themed, visually splendid episode, Elisa New is joined by evolutionary biologist E.

Sun, Apr 9 12:30 P.M. Mending Wall     NHPBS

Sun, Apr 9 1:00 P.M. Rabbits and Fire and Bear Fat     NHPBS

Sun, Apr 9 1:30 P.M. Urban Love Poem - Marilyn Chin     NHPBS

Explore San Francisco's history--from the Gold Rush and early Chinese immigration to the rise of Silicon Valley--through Marilyn Chin's poem of her San Francisco youth.

Mon, Apr 10 2:00 P.M. I Cannot Dance Upon My Toes - Emily Dickinson     NH WORLD

"I cannot dance upon my toes," Emily Dickinson writes -- "no man instructed me.

Mon, Apr 10 2:30 P.M. Fast Break - Edward Hirsch     NH WORLD

Join poet Edward Hirsch, host Elisa New, NBA players Shaquille O'Neal, Pau Gasol, and Shane Battier, and a group of pick-up basketball players as they read Hirsch's "Fast Break" and use basketball to understand poetry - and poetry to understand the game of basketball.

Mon, Apr 10 3:00 P.M. Those Winter Sundays - Robert Hayden     NH WORLD

Vice President Joe Biden, Inaugural poet Elizabeth Alexander, and psychologist Angela Duckworth join host Elisa New and a chorus of working fathers and sons to reflect on Robert Hayden's moving poem "Those Winter Sundays.

Mon, Apr 10 3:30 P.M. Hymmnn and Hum Bom - Allen Ginsberg     NH WORLD

Joined by rock star Bono, US Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera, and by a chorus of clergy and religious practitioners, host Elisa New tackles two of Ginsberg's most emotionally transporting poems, the "Hymmnn" from Kaddish, and the anti-war chant "Hum Bom.

Mon, Apr 10 4:00 P.M. Skyscraper - Carl Sandburg     NH WORLD

Elisa New considers the rise of the skyscraper-- and the emergence of the modernist poem-- in an episode featuring celebrated architect Frank Gehry, Chinese visionary and real estate developer Zhang Xin, poet Robert Polito, and student poets from around the United States.

Mon, Apr 10 4:30 P.M. Harlem - Langston Hughes     NH WORLD

President Bill Clinton, pianist and composer Herbie Hancock, poet Sonia Sanchez, and students from the Harlem Children's Zone interpret Langston Hughes's most iconic poem, "Harlem" with series host Elisa New.

Tue, Apr 11 2:00 P.M. Musee Des Beaux Arts - W.H. Auden     NH WORLD

Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, journalist and ethicist David Brooks, and poet, professor, and painter Peter Sacks join Elisa New to ponder W.

Tue, Apr 11 2:30 P.M. Shirt - Robert Pinsky     NH WORLD

At New York Fashion Week, host Elisa New catches up with fashion designer Johnson Hartig, Bergdorf Goodman's Betty Halbreich, shoe designer Stuart Weitzman and with fashion and poetry students from the New School to discuss Robert Pinsky's poem on labor, craft, and the threads that connect us.

Tue, Apr 11 3:00 P.M. To Prisoners - Gwendolyn Brooks     NH WORLD

Senator John McCain, playwright and activist Anna Deavere Smith, poets Reginald Dwayne Betts and Li-Young Lee, and four exonerated prisoners discuss poetry's special resonance for those behind bars.

Tue, Apr 11 3:30 P.M. The Gray Heron - Galway Kinnell     NH WORLD

In this environmentally-themed, visually splendid episode, Elisa New is joined by evolutionary biologist E.

Tue, Apr 11 4:00 P.M. The New Colossus - Emma Lazarus     NH WORLD

Host Elisa New rediscovers the freshness and the still-potent charge of Emma Lazarus's iconic sonnet of immigration alongside singer-songwriter Regina Spektor, activist and founder of the United We Dream Foundation Cristina Jimenez, President of the American Federation of Teachers Randi Weingarten, financier and philanthropist David Rubenstein, and poet Duy Doan.

Tue, Apr 11 4:30 P.M. Urban Love Poem - Marilyn Chin     NH WORLD

Explore San Francisco's history--from the Gold Rush and early Chinese immigration to the rise of Silicon Valley--through Marilyn Chin's poem of her San Francisco youth.

Wed, Apr 12 2:00 P.M. One Art - Elizabeth Bishop     NH WORLD

"The art of losing isn't hard to master," Elizabeth Bishop wrote in her poem "One Art," universally considered one of her greatest.

Wed, Apr 12 2:30 P.M. The Fish - Marianne Moore     NH WORLD

This environmental science-themed episode explores Marianne Moore's great poem of marine life, "The Fish.

Wed, Apr 12 3:00 P.M. This Your Home Now - Mark Doty     NH WORLD

Series creator Elisa New talks with poet Mark Doty, psychologist Steven Pinker, choreographer Bill T.

Wed, Apr 12 3:30 P.M. Finishing The Hat - Stephen Sondheim     NH WORLD

Stephen Sondheim is widely hailed as the greatest modern American musical theater composer.

Wed, Apr 12 4:00 P.M. You and I Are Disappearing - Yusef Komunyakaa     NH WORLD

Yusef Komunyakaa went to Vietnam as a journalist but he came home a poet.

Wed, Apr 12 4:30 P.M. "This Is Just to Say" - William Carlos Williams     NH WORLD

Just 28 words and mimicking the form of a refrigerator note, is "This is Just to Say" simply the short apology it pretends to be, or something more subtle and passive-aggressive? Join actor John Hodgman, poet and physician Rafael Campo, poet Jane Hirshfield, a chorus of couples, and New as they consider what may or may not lie beneath the surface of William Carlos Williams's brief tribute to marital relations--and the savor of plums.

Thu, Apr 13 2:00 P.M. Whitman     NH WORLD

In 1855 Walt Whitman declared "The United States themselves are essentially the greatest poem.

Thu, Apr 13 2:30 P.M. The Wound Dresser     NH WORLD

Thu, Apr 13 3:00 P.M. Looking for the Gulf Motel     NH WORLD

Thu, Apr 13 3:30 P.M. Cascadilla Falls     NH WORLD

Thu, Apr 13 4:00 P.M. You Can Say That Again, Billie     NH WORLD

Thu, Apr 13 4:30 P.M. Mending Wall     NH WORLD


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