The Poetry Vessel Podcast

#030 - Why Every Writer Should Memorize Poetry — Matthew Stillman

The Poetry Vessel Podcast

Show Notes

Spoiler: it's not another memory palace. In this episode of The Poetry Vessel Podcast, Malibu Poet Laureate '23-'25 sits down with Matthew Stillman of StillmanSays to discuss the art of memorization and how poetry can become apart of our everyday lives. Stillman has worked one-on-one with thousands of people, using deep listening and creative techniques to uncover unseen connections. Through his one-of-a-kind workshop, Committed to Heart, Committed to Memory, Stillman guides students through the art of memorizing poetry. Committed to Heart, Committed to Memory is a four-week, small-group poetry workshop focused on memorization as a living, embodied practice. Participants will learn how to carry poems within them—so beauty, language, and meaning are readily available in speech, thought, and daily life.

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MATTHEW STILLMAN'S SUBSTACK: https://stillmansays.com/

🙏 SUPPORT US ON PATREON:https://www.patreon.com/cw/ThePoetryVessel 📜 SUBMIT YOUR POETRY:https://www.thepoetryvessel.com/submit 🧠 HOW POETRY CHANGES YOUR BRAIN COURSE (LIMITED TIME DISCOUNT):https://www.nathanhassall.com/changeyourbrain

EVERYTHING ELSE: 📚 Recommended Reading: https://shorturl.at/SOYRP 👉 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/nathanhassall 📸 Nathan's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nathanhassallpoetry/ 🌀 The Poetry Vessel Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepoetryvessel 📧 Business inquiries: [email protected] 🎥Our Film Gear: https://shorturl.at/j9MTW 🙏 How to Support TPV: https://thepoetryvessel.com/donate/🕰️ TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 – How Memorizing Poetry Rewires Your Mind 00:51 – Who Is Matthew Stillman? 03:45 – A Cassette Tape That Changed Everything: “Your Favorite Poems” 07:12 – Improv Comedy Powered by Poetry: Using Poems as Script11:58 – Poetic “Shards”: Why Lines of Poetry Haunt Our Everyday Speech 13:40 – Poetry as Ancient Technology & Ritual Maintenance 16:06 – Memory Palaces vs. Learning by Heart: Two Ways of Knowing 19:15 – Recitation as Live Theater: Bringing Poems Back to the Body 23:51 – Courting the Muses: Treating Memory Like a Living Being 27:32 – Usable Speech: Poems for Graveyards, Lagoons & Liminal Spaces 32:23 – How Metaphors Shape, Expand & Narrow What We Can Perceive 37:32 – Sex, Spirit & the King James Bible: An Initiation Through Language 40:35 – Poetry in Motion: What a Truly Poetic Response Looks Like 45:00 – Beyond Funerals: Bringing Poetry Back into Ordinary Life 58:20 – A 20‑Word Benediction: The Radical Hospitality of Language

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