#4489, Poetry and Music
"The combination of poetry and music is probably as old as poetry itself," posits host John Schaefer. Epic poems like Beowulf in England, The Iliad in Greece, the epic Manas of the Kyrgyz people in Central Asia, and the creation story Kalevala in Finland were originally sung or chanted. Listen to contemporary poets who have reestablished that link and have recorded poetry with musical accompaniment.
Hear music and poetry from Ross Gay’s album called Dilate Your Heart, a series of musical collaborations that also helps mark the 25th anniversary of the eclectic, exploratory record label Jagjaguwar. Listen to both the poem “Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude” with musician Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and “Burial” done with harpist Mary Lattimore. Then, sample music from psych-soul artist Nick Hakim with sax player and poet Roy Nathanson, in collaboration with members of the Onyx Collective.
Plus, hear Laurie Anderson’s prose poem, “Another Day in American” set to a brooding score. There’s also music from Cuban pianist Roberto Fonseca with poet, rapper, and spoken word artist Mike Ladd, and a work by U.S. Poet Laureate and sax player Joy Harjo of the Muscogee Creek Nation. Listen to the piece “Calling the Spirit Back,” from an early collection of Harjo’s poems. And more. -Caryn Havlik
Program #4489, Poetry and Music (First Aired 4/28/2021)
ARTIST: Benjamin Bagby
WORK: Legend of Beowulf [1:35]
RECORDING: WNYC Live, January 4, 2001
SOURCE: Not commercially available.
INFO: bagbybeowulf.com
ARTIST: Joy Harjo
WORK: Calling The Spirit Back [5:04]
RECORDING: I Pray For My Enemies
SOURCE: Sunyata Records
INFO: joyharjo.com/music/i-pray-for-my-enemies
ARTIST: Ross Gay/Mary Lattimore
WORK: Burial [4:49]
RECORDING: Dilate Your Heart
SOURCE: Jagjaguwar
INFO: https://rossgay.ffm.to/dilate-your-heart
ARTIST: Nick Hakim, Roy Nathanson, with Onyx Collective
WORK: Things to Like and Not Like in America [4:19]
RECORDING: Small Things
SOURCE: NYXO Records /tmwrk records
INFO: https://nickhakim.bandcamp.com/album/small-things
ARTIST: Laurie Anderson
WORK: Another Day in America [11:25]
RECORDING: Homeland
SOURCE: Nonesuch 524055
INFO: nonesuch.com
ARTIST: Roberto Fonseca with Mike Ladd
WORK: Mi Negra Ave Maria [5:22]
RECORDING: Yo
SOURCE: Concord Jazz
INFO: robertofonseca.com
ARTIST: Ross Gay/Justin Vernon
WORK: Catalogue of Unabashed Gratitude (clean edit) [14:40]
RECORDING: Dilate Your Heart
SOURCE: Jagjaguwar
INFO: https://rossgay.ffm.to/dilate-your-heart
