Tagged: poetry

In childhood, our allegiances, our loves, are often black and white, simplistic. One of the difficult parts of becoming an adult is reconciling ourselves to the failings and flaws in what we have loved and admired. Sometimes the task involves recognizing our own complicity in those failings.

America's deadline poet Calvin Trillin presents this talk about the 2012 presidential election -- in verse. With wry humor, Trillin discusses politics, campaigns and poetry, including the frustrating difficulty of trying to rhyme words with presidential candidate names. He spoke at Seattle's Town Hall on December 10, 2012.

Journalist Calvin Trillin is a longtime writer for The New Yorker and The Nation magazine's "Deadline Poet." He has published more than 20 books, ranging from memoir ("About Alice") to humor ("Quite Enough of Calvin Trillin: Forty Years of Funny Stuff"). His latest book, "Dogfight: The 2012 Presidential Campaign in Verse," is a poetic recap of the memorable milestones along the campaign trail. Trillin joins us to reflect on the people, pitfalls and promises of the 2012 campaign.

In "Fooling Around," poet and translator Alice Derry considers the implications of the artistic life — whether it is chosen, or thrust upon us.