Books & Bites Podcast, Ep. 100
JCPL librarians bring you book recommendations and discuss the bites and beverages to pair with them.
We’re in a celebratory mood this April. Not only is it National Poetry Month, it’s also our 100th episode! Whether you’re a new or longtime listener, we appreciate you tuning in to our podcast.
This episode, we discuss books of poetry and novels in verse, a prompt on the Winter-Spring Books & Bites Bingo reading challenge. Our picks include a book by a former Kentucky poet laureate, an updated translation of a classic epic poem, and a middle-grade novel in verse.
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Michael’s Pick
Load in Nine Times by Frank X Walker
This historical poetry collection by the former poet laureate of Kentucky takes you from the days of slavery in Kentucky through Reconstruction and beyond. He imagines the lives of the United States Colored Troops and their loved ones. Walker’s own ancestors were mustered just down the road at Camp Nelson.
Walker humanizes the African American experience during the Civil War by weaving historical documents and figures into his poetry, bringing history to life.
Pairing: Tanzania Peaberry Lyamungo, a medium roast coffee from Sunergos Coffee.
Carrie’s Picks
Beowulf: A New Translation, translated by Maria Dahvana Headley
Headley’s 2020 translation upends some of the traditional, patriarchal depictions of women in the epic poem. Her use of contemporary language and idiom upends tradition, too. For example, she translates the first word of the poem as “Bro!”
This is not the Beowulf you struggled to get through in high school. If you’re a fantasy or action adventure fan, you’ll find plenty to keep you entertained, including battles between people, monsters, and dragons.
Pairing: your favorite bro-ey beer.
Carrie also recommends books by two Kentucky poets:
- The Bearable Slant of Light by Lynnell Edwards
- The Spoons in the Grass Are There to Dig a Moat by Amelia Martens
Edwards will appear on the Prompt to Page podcast later this month, so her book also counts for the square, a book by a Prompt to Page author.
Jacqueline’s Pick
In this middle-grade novel in verse, Freeman uses a variety of prose and poetry forms to tell twelve-year-old Maddie’s story. Longing for a getaway, Maddie schemes to spend a secret weekend with her two best friends at her grandparents’ empty apartment.
Maddie’s plans go awry, and she ends up by herself in the apartment. When she wakes up, her small Colorado town is empty. Everyone is mysteriously gone, including her parents. As months pass, Maddie realizes that she must learn to survive on her own.
Pairing: Crispy Sourdough Grilled Cheese.