Where to turn to find my place of standing when it feels like the world is on fire? This question surfaced in a public conversation Krista had just a couple of years ago with Pádraig Ó Tuama and Marilyn Nelson, two poet-contemplatives. Pádraig weaves together social healing, poetry, and theology. Marilyn is a lyrical excavator of stories that would rather stay hidden — yet as she coaxes them into the light, they lead to new life. This conversation is a pleasure and balm, and a reminder that the ruptures and unease and reckonings of what we call “this moment” were all before us before the pandemic. Pádraig and Marilyn’s offerings are beyond wise, and distinctly tender and powerful for this now.
Pádraig Ó Tuama is the host of On Being’s Poetry Unbound podcast. Previously, he was community leader of Corrymeela, Northern Ireland’s oldest peace and reconciliation organization. His books include a prayer book, Daily Prayer with the Corrymeela Community, a book of poetry, Sorry For Your Troubles, and a poetic memoir, In the Shelter: Finding a Home in the World.
Marilyn Nelson is professor emerita of English at the University of Connecticut, and Chancellor Emeritus of the Academy of American Poets. She is a recipient of the Poetry Society of America’s Frost Medal “for distinguished lifetime achievement,” and the Poetry Foundation’s Ruth Lilly Prize. She is a writer for all ages: her books of poetry for adults include The Meeting House and Faster Than Light; for children, Papa’s Free Day Party, and for young adults, A Wreath For Emmett Till and the forthcoming Augusta Savage: The Shape of a Sculptor's Life.
Find the transcript for this show at onbeing.org.
This show originally aired in September 2018.
Bryan Doerries — "You are not alone across time."
[Unedited] Bryan Doerries with Krista Tippett
Serene Jones — Grace in a Fractured World
[Unedited] Serene Jones with Krista Tippett
Michael Longley — The Vitality of Ordinary Things
[Unedited] Michael Longley with Krista Tippett
[Unedited] Christine Runyan with Krista Tippett
Naomi Shihab Nye — “Before You Know Kindness As the Deepest Thing Inside...”
[Unedited] Naomi Shihab Nye with Krista Tippett
The Question “Who Am I,” and Movies We Love
Ariel Burger — Be a Blessing
[Extended] Ariel Burger with Krista Tippett
Alain de Botton — The True Hard Work of Love and Relationships
[Unedited] Alain de Botton with Krista Tippett
Living the Questions — What's our communal equivalent of rubbing each other's feet?
The Soul in Depression
[Unedited] Andrew Solomon with Krista Tippett
[Unedited] Anita Barrows with Krista Tippett
[Unedited] Parker Palmer with Krista Tippett
J. Drew Lanham reads his poem “Love for a Song”
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Baseball Tonight with Buster Olney
Selected Shorts
This American Life
The Frank Skinner Show
Judge John Hodgman