Show Notes
Our miniseries finale features comedian Mike Birbiglia and poet J. Hope Stein talking about the poetry in comedy and the comedy in poetry. The couple co-authored the book "The New One: Painfully True Stories from a Reluctant Dad" and occasionally bring their mix of jokes and poems to the stage.
Also, a masterclass in metaphor from teacher and poet Peter Kessler, who argues that human beings need metaphor and imagery to fully understand each other. Show notes (in chronological order):
"The New One: Painfully True Stories from a Reluctant Dad" by Mike Birbiglia with poems by J. Hope Stein
"Good Bones" by Maggie Smith
Mike Birbiglia's "The Good Life"
Mike Birbiglia's "My Girlfriend's Boyfriend"
"Don't Think Twice"
"Sleepwalk with Me"
"Wholly Holy" by J. Hope Stein
Voyager 2 and Voyager 1 from "little astronaut" by J. Hope Stein
"Keep a Poem in Your Pocket" by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers
"The Grammar of Fantasy" by Gianna Rodari
"Catrin" by Gillian Clarke
"Prayer (I)" by George Herbert
If you want a hand-picked, heart-plucked "poetry prescription" to help you with something you're going through, send a brief voice memo to [email protected].
All three episodes of You Could Make This Beautiful are out now and can be heard HERE. This show is an experiment, so if you love what you've heard and want more episodes, let us know! Leave us a glowing review in your podcast app, share the series with friends, and write to us: [email protected].
More from Dear Sugars
This episode was originally released on May 5, 2018.
Whether you’re 5, 15, or 50 years old, it can be difficult to usher a stepparent in and out of the family unit. In today’s episode, the Sugars answer letters from stepchildren who have fraught relationships with their stepparents.
In this first episode of "You Could Make This Beautiful," actor Henry Winkler tells hosts Maggie Smith and Faith Salie about the poetry he's found in everything from fly fishing, to the music of Lin-Manuel Miranda, to the acting performances of the late Robin Williams.
In this second episode of You Could Make This Beautiful, hosts Maggie Smith and Faith Salie talk to Peter Sagal, host of the NPR news quiz show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! about a prophetic reading at his first wedding, the poem that has haunted him throughout his life, and about the poetry he's found in the kindness and grace of his children.