James Wright, Alan Shapiro & Alicia Ostriker: Poems We Love (Part 1)

This week, everyone at the table comes bearing gifts — not their own poems, but someone else's genius they can't stop thinking about. Tim kicks things off with Alan Shapiro's "Closer," a breakup poem disguised as a baseball play-by-play, before Brian O'Sullivan brings us Alicia Ostriker's "Demeter to Persephone," a myth retelling with a shockingly modern mom voice. We also get our first bite of Joe Barca's pick, James Wright's classic "A Blessing" — don't worry, we'll finish that one next week. Close reading, scansion, and a little bit of poem-crush confession, all in one sitting.

At the Table: Katie Dozier, Timothy Green, Dick Westheimer, Joe Barca, and Brian O'Sullivan.