Chris Koza & Malena Handeen: Live!

Chris Koza and Malena Handeen

We’re celebrating the last episode of our first season with a special double feature, recorded live at Java River Cafe in Montevideo, Minnesota. Our guests are Chris Koza and Malena Handeen.

Chris Koza is the frontman of the Americana rock band Rogue Valley. In this interview, he reads a poem by U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith that helped inspire his new side project, Nobody Kid.

Malena Handeen is a painter, songwriter, and organic vegetable farmer based in Western Minnesota. In this episode, she reads a poem by Tyehimba Jess and discusses how the weather affects her creative life.

Later on, members of our audience participate in our first ever live Haiku Hotline.

“The Museum of Obsolescence” by Tracy K. Smith appears in the book Life on Mars, published by Graywolf Press. “What the Wind, Rain and Thunder Said to Tom” by Tyehimba Jess appears in the book Olio, published by Wave Books.

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Comedian Mary Mack Reads Roald Dahl

Mary Mack

In this episode, comedian Mary Mack reads “Attention Please! Attention Please!” by Roald Dahl. Mack is a nationally touring stand-up comic, beloved for her singular oddball folk humor. She’s been on Conan and WTF with Marc Maron. Her latest album is Ms. Taco Man.

“Attention Please! Attention Please!” by Roald Dahl appears in the book Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, published by Puffin Books.

Keep up with Mary Mack on Facebook, Twitter, and marymackcomedy.com.

As always, the Haiku Hotline (612-440-0643) is open for your short poems and poetic musings.

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Attorney Nekima Levy-Pounds Reads Maya Angelou

Nekima Levy Pounds

In this episode, Nekima Levy-Pounds reads “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou and discusses the strength she draws from the resilience of her ancestors. Pounds is a decorated attorney, ordained Reverend, and former president of the Minneapolis NAACP.

“Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou appears in the collection And Still I Rise, published by Random House.

Keep up with Dr. Pounds on Twitter and nekimalevypounds.com.

As always, the Haiku Hotline (612-440-0643) is open for your short poems and poetic musings.

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Subscribe on RadioPublic, iTunes, or Stitcher.

Memoirist Kao Kalia Yang Reads Mai Der Vang

Kao Kalia Yang

In this episode, Kao Kalia Yang reads “To the Placenta of Return” by Mai Der Vang and discusses the sacrifices mothers made to protect their families during America’s Secret War in Laos. Over the course of two award-winning memoirs, Yang has charted the physical, political, emotional, and spiritual terrain of the Hmong journey to the United States in the aftermath of that war. Her books include The Latehomecomer and The Song Poet.

“To the Placenta of Return” by Mai Der Vang appears in the collection Afterland, published by Graywolf Press.

Keep up with Kao Kalia Yang on Facebook, Twitter, and kaokaliayang.com.

As always, the Haiku Hotline (612-440-0643) is open for your short poems and poetic musings.

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Subscribe on RadioPublic, iTunes, or Stitcher.

Biologist Rob Wallace Reads Derek Walcott

In this episode, evolutionary biologist Rob Wallace reads “The Sea is History” by Derek Walcott and discusses the importance of questioning historical narratives that justify the status quo. Wallace was alt-CDC before it was a Twitter handle. He blogs at Farming Pathogens and is the author of “Big Farms Make Big Flu: Dispatches on Infectious Disease, Agribusiness, and the Nature of Science,” in which he presents research drawing lines between the economic model of corporate farming and the emergence of new, deadlier strains of influenza. He’s based at the University of Minnesota Institute for Global Studies.

“The Sea is History,” by Derek Walcott appears in the collection Selected Poems published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Keep up with Rob Wallace at Farming Pathogens.

As always, the Haiku Hotline (612-440-0643) is open for your short poems and poetic musings.

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Subscribe on RadioPublic, iTunes, or Stitcher.