Mark Yakich joins Timothy Green on The Rattlecast for a conversation about reading poetry, writing poetry, experimental poetics, and what makes a poem work. Yakich is the Gregory F. Curtin, S.J., Distinguished Professor of English at Loyola University New Orleans and director of its Center for Editing and Publishing. His books include Spiritual Exercises, The Importance of Peeling Potatoes in Ukraine, and Unrelated Individuals Forming a Group Waiting to Cross, winner of the National Poetry Series, as well as the unconventional craft book Poetry: A Survivor’s Guide. His most recent project is The Poetry Reader: An Anthology, published by Bloomsbury in 2025.
In this episode, we’ll talk about how to read poetry, why poems can be difficult or strange, ambiguity and accessibility, experimental poetry, and the relationship between reading and writing. We’ll also discuss The Poetry Reader, which brings poems from across centuries and traditions into conversation with one another, and revisit poems from across Yakich’s own career. What makes a poem a poem—and what should a reader actually do with one? As always, we’ll open the lines for this week’s prompt-based poetry reading.
Find more on the guest here:
https://markyakich.com/
This Week’s Prompt from Katie Dozier:
Write a poem in which you lose something but ultimately gain.
Next Week’s Prompt:
Write a poem about a time you stumbled upon a poem.
Submit your poem through Submittable by midnight Sunday for a chance to be invited on the show:
https://rattle.submittable.com/submit/269309/rattlecast-prompt-poems-online
The Rattlecast livestreams every Monday on YouTube, Facebook, and X, then becomes available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you listen.
