Episode description

In a world that feels divided, two storytellers invite people to share what shapes their politics through poetry, using the prompt “Where I’m From.”

Host Kai Wright–inspired by a listener voicemail–considers poetry as a potential vehicle for facilitating challenging conversations. He’s joined by poet and filmmaker Bob Holman, owner of the Bowery Poetry Club and original slam master of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, and Steve Zeitlin, author of “The Poetry of Everyday Life: Storytelling and the Art of Awareness” and founding director of the grassroots cultural preservation organization CityLore. 

Holman and Zeitlin run a project called Across the Great Divide, which asks people to write poems using the prompt “Where I’m from,” to promote communication and positive social change. They unpack some submissions from the project and turn the prompt to callers as they respond to poems live. 

You can learn more about Across the Great Divide and how to submit a poem here. 

Companion listening for this episode: 

Living With And Learning From Estrangement (1/23/2023)

Estrangement isn’t linear. For those who have severed ties or been cut off, it can be necessary, empowering, devastating and confounding—all at once. 

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Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.