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PODCAST

Lucky Words

Jeffrey Windsor

A weekly* email newsletter about literature, art, trail running or hiking or riding or camping or walking or just sitting in the Utah mountains or the desert of the Colorado Plateau, and a good deal of poetry. luckywords.substack.com

arts literature

All Episodes

6:32

Edna St. Vincent Millay, a sonnet (Lucky Words...

Lucky Words ·

2025/07/07

I recorded this while sitting on the shady bank of the Provo River, shoes off and feet in the water. It was over 90º outside, and my spot was one of the best places I can imagine along the entire Wasatch Front today.Text of poemThis is the second sonnet in Edna St. Vincent Millay’s Renascence and Other Poems, published in 1917.Time does not bring relief; you all have lied Who told me time would ease me of my pain! I miss him in the weeping of the rain; I want him at the shrinking of the tide; The

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12:43

Shakespeare’s sonnets 4-6 (Lucky Words podcast 2025,...

Lucky Words ·

2025/06/19

Recorded on a lovely afternoon in early June 2025, up on Cascade mountain, a couple thousand feet above my house. In the recording, I promised a photo. Here it is:The recording might be a bit quiet, and I apologize about that. If it’s annoying to you, just send me a note so that I’ll be motivated to find a better solution next time.Text of poemsSonnet 4 Unthrifty loveliness, why dost thou spend Upon thyself thy beauty's legacy? Nature's bequest gives nothing but doth lend, And being frank she lends

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5:43

“One Patch of Quilt” by Susan Marsh (Lucky Words...

Lucky Words ·

2025/06/02

Recorded on site and in one take on the banks of the Provo River, May 2025.Today’s poem is by Susan Marsh who is in her own words a “writer, poet, artist” based in Wyoming. That career description is one I aspire to, though, of course I’d choose Utah. The poem was published in 2022.Text of poem“One Patch of Quilt” by Susan MarshWe know about the way they treat the chickens But on a budget, buy the cheaper eggs. One man says wolves are meant for shooting, Another lives with a wolf named Cucumber. At

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6:27

"Why Did the Children Put Beans in Their Ears?" by...

Lucky Words ·

2025/05/21

In the spirit of getting more prescriptive, this is the first of an intermittent and irregular series about how and why of poetry. Today: the portability of poetry, illustrated with a classic by Carl Sandburg, “Why Did the Children Put Beans in Their Ears?”## Text of poem“Why Did the Children Put Beans in Their Ears?” by Carl Sandburg"Why did the children put beans in their ears when the one thing we told the children they must not do was put beans in their ears? "Why did the children pour molasses

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12:48

“Variations on the Word Love” by Margaret Atwood...

Lucky Words ·

2025/05/15

Recorded live on the La Virkin Creek Trail in Kolob Canyon, Zion National Park, May 2025. You’ll hear the wind noise pretty prominently at times, and I’m sorry if it annoys you. Not sorry enough to do anything about it, because I personally find it kind of charming.There are a bunch of photos you can see if you visit the website (luckywords.net) that don’t show up in podcast notes.## Text of poem“Variations on the Word Love” by Margaret AtwoodThis is a word we use to plug holes with. It's the right

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9:14

Shakespeare’s Sonnet 3 (Lucky Words podcast 2025,...

Lucky Words ·

2025/05/06

Text of poemLook in thy glass and tell the face thou viewest,Now is the time that face should form another,Whose fresh repair if now thou not renewest,Thou dost beguile the world, unbless some mother.For where is she so fair whose uneared wombDisdains the tillage of thy husbandry?Or who is he so fond will be the tombOf his self-love, to stop posterity?Thou art thy mother’s glass, and she in theeCalls back the lovely April of her prime;So thou through windows of thine age shalt see,Despite of

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14:47

Delmore Schwartz, “ Calmly We Walk through This...

Lucky Words ·

2025/04/24

Recorded on site next to the river, up Provo Canyon in the second week of April 2025. As I was talking, the sun came from behind the mountain on the east and I went from slightly chilly to filled with glorious light. It was a good day.Text of PoemHere is is: “Calmly We Walk through This April’s Day” by Delmore SchwartzCalmly we walk through this April’s day, Metropolitan poetry here and there, In the park sit pauper and *rentier*, The screaming children, the motor-car Fugitive about us,

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6:54

Shakespeare’s sonnet 2 (Lucky Words 2025, episode 3)

Lucky Words ·

2025/04/14

This was recorded two weeks ago, on a day that I woke up and it was dumping snow. I went up Rock Canyon, which was just gorgeous. Now, just twelve days later, it’s warm and delightful.Sorry about the sound quality, too. I was not planning to record, and this was just me and my phone.Text of poemWilliam Shakespeare’s sonnet 2, “When forty winters shall besiege thy brow”When forty winters shall besiege thy brow,And dig deep trenches in thy beauty’s field,Thy youth’s proud livery so gazed on now,Will

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6:45

“Spring” by Edna St. Vincent Millay (Lucky Words...

Lucky Words ·

2025/04/08

Text of poem“Spring” by Edna St. Vincent MillayTo what purpose, April, do you return again?Beauty is not enough. You can no longer quiet me with the redness Of little leaves opening stickily. I know what I know. The sun is hot on my neck as I observe The spikes of crocus. The smell of the earth is good. It is apparent that there is no death. But what does that signify? Not only under the ground are the brains of men Eaten by maggots. Life in itself Is nothing, An empty cup, a flight of uncarpeted

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11:05

Lucky Words Podcast 2025: Episode 1 — Shakespeare’s...

Lucky Words ·

2025/04/01

For the past few years, I’ve recorded a series of podcasts every April for National Poetry Month. It’s 2025, and I’m doing it again. Woohoo!The original goal was to do a new poem every day: 30 poems over the course of the month. That is always too much work: finding the poems, doing some research, recording (on site outdoors!), editing, and posting. A daily podcast, even just a little ten minute job, could be a full-time job. In the past, I’ve had a full-time job and I don’t have the energy for two,

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10:13

Episode 5.01 Simon Dach’s “Written in Bed in The Year...

Lucky Words ·

2024/04/05

It’s April again, which means it’s National Poetry Month! The podcast is back, again. My ambitions are much more modest this year, and also moving in different directions. The excitement, for me at least is that I’m going to be adding in video to the mix. I’ve been learning a lot, and the curve is steep. But it’s been rewarding to become acquainted with an entirely new set of skills. For today, however, we are going old school: just the audio like always. I’ve moved my podcast hosting from

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00:07:28

Episode 4.17 Kay Ryan’s “This Life”

Lucky Words ·

2023/04/21

Recorded live on location at... my backyard. It was a lovely morning, and so I decided to read a poem. I didn't mention it in the recording because, well because I didn't think about it. I was thinking about Ryan's great poem. And so I recorded a nice short podcast about it.I love this poem. It's one that I've copied out, longhand, in my own notebook that I'm carrying around right now. It's nice and short, for one, and it's fun to read out loud. "It's a pickle, this life" is a great opener, and

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00:12:38

Episode 4.16 Three Poems by Stephen Crane

Lucky Words ·

2023/04/21

Recorded on West Mountain, just west of Spanish Fork, Utah. It was blustery and cold, but kind of weirdly beautiful regardless. Beautiful in its desolate ugliness, I guess.The painting I mentioned is indeed by Francisco Goya, but I got the name of the painting wrong. It is "Saturn Eating His Children" which you can see and read about [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn_Devouring_His_Son). It's still a perfect painting to accompany this, I think.I will be sending out a weekly email soon

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00:13:32

Episode 4.15 Wordsworth's "Lines Written in Early...

Lucky Words ·

2023/04/19

Recorded by the shore of Utah Lake on a windy but pleasant day, though not as pleasant as what Wordsworth described what with his green bower and all. My favorite part of this recording is the sounds of the killdeer, which I wish were louder, but of course every time I got close they decided to fly away.#### TEXT OF POEM"Lines Written in Early Spring" by William WordsworthI heard a thousand blended notes, While in a grove I sate reclined, In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts Bring sad

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00:10:23

Episode 4.14 Walter Scott’s “Innominatus”

Lucky Words ·

2023/04/18

Recorded on the Watchman Overlook in Zion National Park. There are always too may people at Zion, but I found a spot where I could have some quiet privacy and record a poem. Unfortunately, technology was conspiring against me, and so this sounds kinda lousy. Sorry.Also, I referred to the trail as "The Watchman" but what I meant was the Watchman _Overlook_: a much less ambitious undertaking. This is another one of those poems that is popular with people who don't really like poetry. That's not fair,

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00:10:23

Episode 4.13 Thomas Hardy’s “The Convergence of the...

Lucky Words ·

2023/04/15

Recorded in a tiny little canyon that I never learned the name for, but it was peaceful and quiet. Everyone should have a peaceful, quiet little place to read a poem every now and again. As I mention in the commentary, this is interesting because it's simultaneously modern -- I mean, it's talking about an event in the 20th century! -- but also has something older about it. All of Thomas Hardy does, I think, and this in particular. We don't worry much about the role that Fates play in our lives these

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00:10:29

Episode 4.12 W. H. Auden’s “Musee des Beaux Arts”

Lucky Words ·

2023/04/15

Recorded sitting next to some trickling water just outside the mouth of Hellhole Canyon, in Ivins, Utah. In part, my analysis was a chance for me to talk a little about my process in reading a poem—the messy stuff that gets cut out in my editing.Because not only do I typically record things in a single take and live on a hike, I also don't use any notes or any script. I have, of course, read and thought about the poem, but I don't have a written plan: I read the poem and then talk about it, just

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00:11:31

Episode 4.11 Jim Harrison’s “I Believe”

Lucky Words ·

2023/04/13

A reading and short analysis of Jim Harrison's poem, recorded live in [Hellhole canyon](https://hikestgeorge.com/hiking-trails/hellhole-canyon/), outside St. George, Utah. #### TEXT OF POEM"I Believe" by Jim Harrison, from his book [_In Search of Small Gods_](https://www.amazon.com/Search-Small-Gods-Jim-Harrison/dp/1556593198)I believe in steep drop-offs, the thunderstorm across the lake in 1949, cold winds, empty swimming pools, the overgrown path to the creek, raw garlic, used tires, taverns,

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00:12:36

Episode 4.10 E. E. Cummings “sweet spring is your,”...

Lucky Words ·

2023/04/12

Three poems (more than two!) poems by E. E. Cummings recorded on the shore of the Virgin River in northern Arizona, at the edge of the Mojave Desert. I was sitting on a big, jutting chunk of red sandstone, surrounded by Joshua trees and cacti.These three poems are of varying levels of difficulty, but for today, the only one that gets the double treatment is "sweet spring is your." One thing I didn't mention—because I am a man with great self-control—is that I can't read "viva sweet love" without

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00:15:32

Episode 4.09 An Easter reading of Rudyard Kipling’s...

Lucky Words ·

2023/04/09

Recorded on site at the tiny, old cemetery in Charleston, Utah. Some of my ancestors are buried there, which makes it relevant for me at least, on this particular day.You can find some interesting commentary about what Kipling might have been thinking about while composing this poem on [the Kipling Society page about this poem](https://www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/readers-guide/rg_nativity1.htm). It talks much more about World War I and the death of Kipling's son Joseph—all things that I did not

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90 results

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