Poetry Centered

Linger in the space between a poem being spoken and being heard. Poetry Centered features curated selections from Voca, the University of Arizona Poetry Center’s online audiovisual archive of more than 1,000 recordings of poets reading their work during visits to the Center between 1963 and today. In each episode, a guest poet introduces three poems from Voca, sharing their insights about the remarkable performances recorded in our archive. Each episode concludes with the guest poet reading a poem of their own.

Poetry Centered is a arts podcast hosted by University of Arizona Poetry Center, with 67 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

University of Arizona Poetry Center hosts Poetry Centered, a arts show with 67 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #63

  Richard Blanco: A Home in Language

  Aug 12, 202627 min

  Richard Blanco curates poems that look to language as a spiritual and psychological home, a center from which we make sense of reality. He introduces Ada Limón confronting the limits of what a poem can do (“The End of Poetry”), Robert Hass balancing lyric with narrative to reveal how language helps us understand our lives (“Meditation at Lagunitas”), and Heather McHugh demonstrating a way to conclude a poem with a leap into another universe (“What He Thought”). Blanco closes with his poem “The Splintering,” a piece that inhabits the blessing and curse of first becoming aware of language. Find the full recordings of Limón, Hass, and McHugh reading for the Poetry Center on Voca: Ada Limón (December 4, 2024) Robert Hass (September 19, 1979) Heather McHugh (April 19, 1995) Full transcripts of every episode are available on Buzzsprout . Look for the transcript tab under each episode. Voca is now fully captioned, with interactive transcripts and captions available for all readings! Read more about the project here , or try out this new feature by visiting Voca .

  ListenShow Notes
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  Episode #62

  Eduardo Martínez-Leyva: Being a Good Ancestor

  Jul 29, 202626 min

  Eduardo Martínez-Leyva considers what it means to be a good ancestor, to live and work with the desire to comfort those who will follow us in their own trying times. He shares Gloria Anzaldúa modeling the mixed languages of the border (“mujer cacto”), Rigoberto González leading the gaze to strange beauty (“Walking by the Panteón San Franciscano”), and Adrienne Rich showing the way to walk away from comfort (“August”). Martínez-Leyva closes with his “Learning the Language,” a poem that springs from the ground broken open and prepared by those before him. Listen to the full recordings of Anzaldúa, González, and Rich reading for the Poetry Center on Voca: Gloria Anzaldúa (October 23, 1991) Rigoberto González (September 22, 1999) Adrienne Rich (January 31, 1974) Full transcripts of every episode are available on Buzzsprout . Look for the transcript tab under each episode. Voca is now fully captioned, with interactive transcripts and captions available for all readings! Read more about the project here , or try out this new feature by visiting Voca .

  ListenShow Notes
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  Episode #61

  Laura Da’: No Easy Thing to See Deeply

  Jul 15, 202627 min

  Laura Da’ selects poems that report back to us with forthright courage She introduces James Welch speaking with a ringing sense of sovereignty (“In My First Hard Springtime”), Saretta Morgan crossing thresholds of space and perspective (“Consequences upon arrival (i)”), and Lena Khalaf Tuffaha resolving to speak and continue speaking (“To Be Self-Evident”). Da’ closes with “A High Bank to Spare the Flood,” a poem of returning to Shawnee homelands. Find the full recordings of Welch, Morgan, and Tuffaha reading for the Poetry Center on Voca: James Welch (November 10, 1971) Saretta Morgan (March 28, 2024) Lena Khalaf Tuffaha (February 19, 2026) Full transcripts of every episode are available on Buzzsprout . Look for the transcript tab under each episode. Voca is now fully captioned, with interactive transcripts and captions available for all readings! Read more about the project here , or try out this new feature by visiting Voca .

  ListenShow Notes
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  Episode #60

  Asa Drake: Deep Breath, Long Lines

  Jul 1, 202634 min

  Asa Drake introduces poems that illustrate the long line’s possibilities for creating meaning and connection. She shares Saretta Morgan demonstrating silence and expansiveness (“Dominant orientation lights a corridor wide as Mexico's northern border”), Jennifer Chang exploring distance between speaker and listener (“Dialogues (Against Literature)”), and Solmaz Sharif delving into precision via unrelenting grammar (“Look”). Drake closes by inviting the listener to sit with her in unease with her poem “I’m not here to speak until you feel clarity.” Watch the full recordings of Morgan, Chang, and Sharif reading for the Poetry Center on Voca: Saretta Morgan (March 28, 2024) Jennifer Chang (September 4, 2025) Solmaz Sharif (September 1, 2016) Full transcripts of every episode are available on Buzzsprout . Look for the transcript tab under each episode. Voca is now fully captioned, with interactive transcripts and captions available for all readings! Read more about the project here , or try out this new feature by visiting Voca .

  ListenShow Notes
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  Episode #59

  Prageeta Sharma: Clairvoyant Presence & Future

  Feb 18, 202625 min

  Prageeta Sharma selects recordings by poets who shaped her as a writer, and who have also shaped the landscape of contemporary American poetry by blending a sense of intimacy with direct address. She shares Ai inhabiting a persona that mixes sass and ancient knowledge (“Twenty-Year Marriage”), Michael S. Harper offering a testament spoken to rather than about a historical figure (“Dear John, Dear Coltrane”), and C.D. Wright creating doubleness in a love poem that melds closeness and estrangement ("Floating Trees"). Sharma closes with “A One Won,” a poem from her most recent collection. Find the full recordings of Ai, Harper, and Wright reading for the Poetry Center on Voca: Ai (September 13, 1972) Michael S. Harper (April 4, 1973) C.D. Wright (September 14, 2000) Full transcripts of every episode are available on Buzzsprout . Look for the transcript tab under each episode. Voca is now fully captioned, with interactive transcripts and captions available for all readings! Read more about the project here , or try out this new feature by visiting Voca .

  ListenShow Notes

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