Poetry in America

Explore San Francisco's history, from the Gold Rush and early Chinese immigration to the rise of Silicon Valley, through Marilyn Chin's poem of her San Francisco youth. Guests include Maxine Hong Kingston, Randy Komisar and local residents.

Guests including Katie Couric, Sheryl Sandberg, Yang Lan, Mary Chapin Carpenter and others discuss Elizabeth Bishop's masterpiece on losses, great and small.

An exploration of Marianne Moore's great poem of marine life. Guests Al Gore, Jorie Graham, and scientists from Conservation International dive into her portrayal of the ocean's always-changing history, and its future in a warming world.

Elisa New talks with Mark Doty, Steven Pinker, Bill T. Jones, Simon Doonan and Jonathan Adler about "This Your Home Now," where a visit to the barber shop sparks a meditation on love, the AIDS crisis, and the satisfactions of getting older.

Stephen Sondheim is widely hailed as the greatest modern American musical theater composer. Elisa New speaks with Broadway stage actors and Adam Gopnik to explore Sondheim's singular ability to blend lyrics and music.

Yusef Komunyakaa went to Vietnam as a journalist but came home a poet. John Kerry, Julie Taymor, Elliot Goldenthal, a chorus of veterans and Komunyakaa himself discuss the beauty and horror of war – and the challenge of making art of it.

Join John Hodgman, Rafael Campo, Jane Hirshfield, a chorus of couples and host Elisa New as they consider what may or may not lie beneath the surface of William Carlos Williams's brief tribute to marital relations.

Join host Elisa New to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Walt Whitman's birth. Guests Elena Kagan, Tony Kushner, Mark Doty, Marilyn Chin, and a group of National Student Poets discuss Whitman's powerful and timeless work.