Episode Nine: Poetry

In this episode, prose writer Dan Wakefield talks about the importance of poetry in his own life and in his writing. This is a wide-ranging conversation that touches on many poets, writers, and musicians: including the teacher who gave him the Carl Sandburg poem that gave him permission to leave Indiana for New York; memories from his deep friendships with poets May Swenson, Anne Sexton, and Maxine Kumin; brief encounters with Robert Frost, Richard Wilbur, George Starbuck, and Kerouac; to the importance of lyrics in pop music.