Walking with Poetry
I have a resource I really want to introduce to you, if you are not already listening to the podcast: Poetry Unbound hosted by Irish poet, Pádraig Ó Tuama. This anthology of mostly modern poems features Ó Tuama’s appealing, unhurried reflections. I find them insightful, and I appreciate how he peppers his analysis with personal anecdotes that help me discover meanings that without Ó Tuama, probably would have passed by me. He has a way of partnering with you as he explores each poem’s artistry and how it can inform our own lives.
Some of the poets featured include Ada Limón, Ilya Kaminsky, Margaret Atwood, Ocean Vuong, Layli Long Soldier, and Reginald Dwayne Betts. Ó Tuama, in a calming Irish brogue, brings to the fore topics to reckon with like self-acceptance, history, independence, parenthood, identity, joy, and resilience.
I feel high school students would be a perfect audience to listen to his podcasts, and select poems could be used with middle schoolers. On my daily walks I love to put my earbuds in, click on his podcast, and be transported. I always return home better for the physical, mental, and spiritual exercise.