Author Archives: Shannon Laws

Poetry Club Talks…Wislawa Szymborska

Poetry Club Talks…Szymborska. The famous female Polish poet Wislawa Szymborska (1923-2012). If you haven’t heard of her or read her poetry, give yourself a treat. This show is an introduction to the person and her poems. Linda shares three of Szymborska’s poems published in “Polish Poetry of the Last Two Decades of Communist Rule: Spoiling Cannibals’ Fun”*

Staycation

So I’m on vacation, day 4. I spent the first three days freaking out every 20-30 minutes thinking I had to be somewhere, call someone, or send an e-mail. Today, I think, I am finally chillin’. The beach is all over me and I’m not going to wash it off, because WebMD says “Enjoy it!” Negative Ions

Poetry Club Talks…Jack Straw Fellows 2021 Part 2

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-e683q-101b250 Topic: Jack Straw Poets 2021 Host: Shannon Poems: “anchor baby” and “porous” Recorded: April 24, 2021 2021 Jack Straw Poets This week Poetry Club discusses two more poems from the Jack Straw 2021 poets, S. Erin Batiste, Patrycja Humienik, and Abi Pollokoff.  Three brilliant and dynamic poets!  In this episode, we discuss Patrycja Humienik’sContinueContinue reading “Poetry Club Talks…Jack Straw Fellows 2021 Part 2”

Poetry Club Talks…Jack Straw Poets 2021

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-scnqc-100b396 Topic: Jack Straw Writers 2021 Host: Shannon Poem: “The Yellow Jackets” and “At Trader Joe’s in South Pasadena​” Recorded: April 10, 2021 2021 Jack Straw Poets This week Poetry Club discusses two poems from each of the three Jack Straw 2021 poets, S. Erin Batiste, Patrycja Humienik, and Abi Pollokoff.  Three brilliant and dynamic poets!  FirstContinueContinue reading “Poetry Club Talks…Jack Straw Poets 2021”

Poetry Club Talks…Wallace Stevens poem The Snow Man

This week at Poetry Club we ask what Is poetry analysis? Poetry analysis is examining the independent elements of a poem to understand the literary work in its entirety.  Poetry Club member Lynn will host the discussion on the poem “The Snow Man” by Wallace Stevens  (1879 – 1955) and we analyze the heck out of it.

The Ugly Truth

Epiphany at 6:53am So in the mid-2010s, I lived with a boyfriend. We moved in together after dating for about a year. I was looking for a place to live and he says, “move in with me.” So I did. You learn a lot more about a person when you live with them. This guyContinueContinue reading “The Ugly Truth”

Poetry Club Talks…Lawrence Ferlinghetti Part 2

This week Poetry Club Talks finishes our discussion about the late poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti.  We take a look at a few of his signature poems, discuss word selection, rhyme and speculate on the author’s intention.

Day 350: Absorption

A shift that has started in my writing is absorption. For the previous decade, poems came to me, loudly, processing through my mind and body and shooting out my fingertips to the page. I appreciated the clarity of the thought. What’s happening now is I hear the poem and just friggin’ savor it.