Poet on Song

About Poet on Song

Join poet and literature teacher Maryama Antoine for immersive journeys through the work of Baldwin, Morrison, Rumi, Neruda, Tagore, Baudelaire and other great writers—exploring beauty, truth, love, and the good through literature and music. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Publisher

Maryama Antoine

Category

society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

1 Jan 2021

Latest episode

17 Jul 2026

Latest episodes

14 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   17 Jul 2026

   Rabindranath Tagore on ethics and being whole

   If Tagore’s song is capable of great reverence for his beloved country, whose skies and people are the music of his soul, and of the surrender shown in the Gitanjali, his critical lens is much more grounded in the protest politics of his time. As a social reformer, Tagore held a clear vision for his rapidly changing colonial India, and it was modern, open towards the world—yet rooted in the humanistic values of his spiritual background. It is his focused lens—when turned on our Western culture—that illuminates its ability to organize and order the world  while revealing the ways in which its materialism has made so desolate life upon it. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy (https://ausha.co/privacy-policy) for more information.

2. 

   21 May 2025

   James Baldwin on affirming the light

   Baldwin’s lessons are so relevant that his message seems to collapse time. From Go Tell It on the Mountain, to Sonny's Blues, to Another Country, or The Price of the Ticket—from his essays to his plays—there is so much to say, so much to revere, that it feels like it would take a lifetime to articulate the complexities of that utterance. But I’ll take a smaller bit and share with you what he most wanted for us—those who would come after him—that we could at last be governed by the benevolence of love. And he shows us what is required to live from that space. I’ll give you a taste of his lulling blues, his idealism, his act of faith… Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy (https://ausha.co/privacy-policy) for more information.

3. 

   1 Oct 2024

   Mary Oliver on stewardship of the planet

   Poet of the ordinary, the common, the very drab, Mary Oliver was willing to listen, to hear. From that willingness emerges a body of work that is as humble as it is wise. She sang with open throat the prayers of the grass, the waggle of honey bees, the flowing river, the waiting sun, and asked on behalf of the earth crumbling under our carbon footprint that we get to know this haven we have called mother. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy (https://ausha.co/privacy-policy) for more information.

4. 

   15 Dec 2023

   Pablo Neruda on living with passion

   “Neruda’s poetry touches the depth of things. One feels its interdimensional layers in the way fragrance or taste can harbor time. But with him, it seems to go further than that; down, down, and into the fabric of what is being played out in the landscape of the lived moment. Neruda’s song marvels at appearance, investigates texture, inhabits cells, and sings with particles that uni.verse--song that unites us all--Love." Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy (https://ausha.co/privacy-policy) for more information.

5. 

   6 May 2023

   Matsuo Basho on cultivating focus and humility

   Basho’s poetry delves into the present moment and leaves us with flashes, echoes of ordinary things made extraordinary because he took the time to look at them. Short and seemingly simple, it is the very spaciousness of the Haiku that allows him to open the doors of contemplation for us -- and that is what he does, when we let him. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy (https://ausha.co/privacy-policy) for more information.

6. 

   30 Nov 2022

   Walt Whitman on love of self and country

   Whitman's song catalogs a profound empathy for the other, whom he in many ways identified as himself. That sense of oneness pervades his poetry, and in my mind stands as his most important message--that we are one and must therefore include the other. These ideas are conveyed with forward intimacy, a closeness that engages and reflects with you, a voice that speaks directly to you. It is almost shocking how Whitman gets to us, how well he seems to understand what is most vibrant about the American character:  it’s diversity. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy (https://ausha.co/privacy-policy) for more information.

7. 

   8 Jul 2022

   Rumi on wisdom: knowledge seasoned by love

   Rumi's poetry speaks to us from a state of deep inspiration. The luminescence of his verse carries hope, delivers method and the emotional depth needed to find our way to the knowledge seasoned by love—wisdom. From reading Rumi, one learns that there is a rigor to love. That it reaches beyond attachment to something closer to what we do. “Let the beauty we love be what we do.” Love is action, love is devotion, love is a willingness to make sacred the demands of our higher self, cater to its need for beauty, for gentleness, for light. Such practices push us towards the incredible energy, the dynamism that is human happiness. Having acquired it, we naturally share it, deliver it with abundance. It seems that in such a state we no longer ask what can be done? Rather, what is beloved in my life? What do I cherish? What have I rendered sacred? Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy (https://ausha.co/privacy-policy) for more information.

8. 

   7 Mar 2022

   Toni Morrison on the pursuit of goodness

   “Out of the gospel of the middle passage, the blues of slavery, the jazz of big city ghetto nights,” the Nobel Prize winning Toni Morrison whose generative depth and sounding of interiority produces a lyricism that is radiant in its generosity and in my mind can only be described as song. Morrisson rivets because she has an ear tuned to the complexities of the American saga in all of its beauty and travesties. Her dives into her characters' inner lives read like ballads, like rhapsodies, like adagios-- its all music. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy (https://ausha.co/privacy-policy) for more information.

9. 

   1 Jun 2021

   Charles Baudelaire on suffering in the first world

   “Baudelaire’s life ended in 1861 in syphilitic delirium in a hotel room in Brussels. With him died the caustic dandy: the son of an art critique, the translator who brought Edgar Allan Poe to the French public, the stepson of general Jacques Aupick, the aesthete of impeccable style whose trenchant remarks often made him cruel, who flaunted his Haitian Mulatto mistress- his Black Venus- in the face of bourgeois conventions, and whose every breath and every stroke of the pen showed us why it hurts…” Musical Selection for this Podcast Für Alina by Arvo Pärt Bird on the wire by Rosemary Standley and Dom la Nena Spiegel im Spiegel (mirror in the mirror) by Arvo Pärt O cessate di piagarmi (Please stop bothering me) by Alessandro Scarlatti, Nora Fischer, Marnix Dorrestein Suzanne by Leonard Cohen King Arthur or The British Worthy by Henry Purcell interpreted by Andreas Scholl and The Accademia Bizantina Où vont les fleurs?(Where have the flowers gone?) by Marlène Dietrich Vocalise Op.34 No. 14 by Sergei Rachmaninoff  interpreted by Mstislav Rostropovich O Solitude by Rosemary Standley and Dom la Nena Les Fleurs by Clara Luciani L’article Charles Baudelaire on suffering in the first world (https://poetonsong.com/podcasts/charles-baudelaire-on-suffering-in-the-first-world/) est apparu en premier sur Poet on song (https://poetonsong.com/). Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy (https://ausha.co/privacy-policy) for more information.

10. 

    1 May 2021

    Paul Laurence Dunbar on accepting the truth about who we are

    “Paul Laurence Dunbar was the first to take a bird’s-eye view of black identity in America. The first to look at his people objectively and catalog their humor, their pain, their strength, their shortcomings. In short, he offers one of the first literary portraits of Black America. He introduces an African-American character to our literary landscape, one that rises above the painted black faces which made the minstrels such a landmark of our theater.” Musical Selection for this Podcast The shadow of your smile by Dexter Gordon Farewell Blues by Eric Weissberg Trouble by Mahalia Jackson A change is gonna come by Otis Redding Picking time by Smokey River Boys Chain Gang by Sam Cooke Lenny by Stevie Ray Vaughan Trouble Blues by Sam Cooke I believe to my soul by Ray Charles My home is in the Delta by Muddy Waters L’article Paul Laurence Dunbar on accepting the truth about who we are (https://poetonsong.com/podcasts/paul-laurence-dunbar-on-accepting-the-truth-about-who-we-are/) est apparu en premier sur Poet on song (https://poetonsong.com/). Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy (https://ausha.co/privacy-policy) for more information.

11. 

    1 Apr 2021

    Rainer Maria Rilke 's invitation to contemplative insight

    “With Rilke there is always this sense that the universe was not made for us; rather we are a part of it and subject to greater hierarchies–that celestial realm that he felt we could access by leaning into our pain. Beauty is both turmoil and peace, alluring and alarming–a pregnant emptiness. Creativity. This understanding and continuity is what Rilke adds to the frame of our personal stories. As if to say: “Someone like you has sat in such a chair before and has wondered the same things eons ago. Someone like you will desire and reach in the same way that you have long after you are gone. So pay attention now.” Musical Selection for this Podcast Six Romances by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, interpreted by Lisa Batiashvili, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor Regina Caeli Laetare from Pietro Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana, interpreted by Jessy Norman and Rosa Laghezza with the Paris Orchestra, Semyon Bychkov, conductor Die Nacht by Franz Burgmüller interpreted by Anja Lechner and Pablo Marquez 3 Nocturnes for Cello and Guitar: Nocturne No. 1 in A minor By Franz Burgmuller interpretation by Anja Lechner and Pablo Marquez Auf Flügeln des Gesanges(On the wings of song) by Felix Mendelssohn interpreted by Mischa Maisky and Sergio Tiempo From Schwanengesang (Swan Song) by Franz Schubert: Ständchen in D minor interpreted by Misha Masky Daria Hovora. Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major: Air by Johan Sebastian Bach, interpreted by Yoyo ma, Ton Koopman, conductor Chants d’Auvergne: Baïlèro by Joseph Canteloube interpreted by Anna Moffo, American Symphony Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski, conductor. Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor Op. 18.2 Adagio Sostenuto by Sergei Rachmaninoff, interpreted by Daniil Trifonov with The Philadelphia Orchestra, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor Vladimir’s Blues by Max Richter L’article Rainer Maria Rilke on leaning into pain as a way to transcend it (https://poetonsong.com/podcasts/rainer-maria-rilke-on-leaning-into-pain-as-a-way-to-transcend-it/) est apparu en premier sur Poet on song (https://poetonsong.com/). Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy (https://ausha.co/privacy-policy) for more information.

12. 

    1 Mar 2021

    Anna Akhmatova on the human cost of populism

    “Akhmatova’s song is capable of articulating love with exactitude and an emotional precision that cuts to the core of you. What makes her so powerful a voice is the emotional history she carries. It’s that feeling documented about what tyrannous institutions do to the human soul; what happens to us when that compassionate part of ourselves is in retreat, when our baser instincts are masters of the public scene.” Musical Selection for this Podcast Another man done gone by Odetta We praise thee by Pavel Chesnokov interpreted by Dmitri Hvorostovsky with the Saint Petersburg Chamber Choir- Nikolai Korniev, conductor. 6 Impromptus, Op. 5 by Jean Sibelius interpretation by Leif Ove Andsnes Melody in F Op. 3: No. 1 by Anton Rubinstein, interpretation by Moura Lympany Salvation is created Op. 25: No. 5 by Pavel Chesnokov, with The PaTRAM Institute Male Choir; Vladimir Gorbik, conductor We hymn thee by Pavel Chesnokov interpreted by The Tenebrae Choir, Nigel Short conductor Lied der unruhevollen (Song of turbulent youth) by The Erich-Weinert-Ensemble Les Pleurs (Tears) by Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe interpretation by Jordi Savall Kogda my byli na voyne (When we were at war) performed by The Sretensky Monastery Choir Kinderszenen, Op. 15: No. 7 in F Major by Robert Schumann interpreted by Ivan Moravec Joy of the Celestial Forces by The Drevnerussky Rospev Male Choir Liturgy of St John Chrysostom Op. 41: VI. Cherubic Hymnby Andrey Zaboronok and The Bolshoi Theater’s Children Choir Les yeux noirs ( Dark eyes) by Stenka Razine, Op. 13  interpreted by Philippe Davenet, Martial Murray L’article Anna Akhmatova on the human cost of populism (https://poetonsong.com/podcasts/anna-akhmatova-on-the-human-cost-of-populism/) est apparu en premier sur Poet on song (https://poetonsong.com/). Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy (https://ausha.co/privacy-policy) for more information.

13. 

    1 Feb 2021

    Derek Walcott on loving the Caribbean into history

    “Walcott is in my mind — without a doubt –the great poet of the late 20th century. His is a mellifluous song; a voice of such breadth and longing…perhaps a longing to right old wrongs. In any case, he enshrines an entire people in truth beyond all confabulations so that we may come to know how they came to be who they are now. In, Omeros, Walcott’s sun-dusted rewriting of Homer’s epic, we ride with the crest of a history where Helen of Troy is Helen of the West Indies, personified in the haughty defiance of a stunning black maid. Achilles and Hector? Valiant fishermen in love with the same woman..” Musical Selection for this Podcast A cool wind is blowing by Djivan Gasparyan Mouneissa by Rokia Traoré Cantiga de mi Amigo by Amália Rodrigues Fado Portuguêsby Amália Rodrigues Sombra by Amália Rodrigues Strange fruit by Rokia Traoré Goree by Nuru Kane L’article Derek Walcott on writing an entire nation into history (https://poetonsong.com/podcasts/dereck-walcott-on-writing-an-entire-nation-into-history/) est apparu en premier sur Poet on song (https://poetonsong.com/). Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy (https://ausha.co/privacy-policy) for more information.

14. 

    1 Jan 2021

    William Carlos Williams on showcasing the American temperament

    “My tribute to the doctor, novelist, playwright, imagist and poet William Carlos Williams whose rigorous notes strike close to the core of the American ethos because they are scrupulously just. He has two fingers on the American pulse: its beauty, its devastation, its solitude, its reveries, its ignorance…yes. Creative imaginings whose excacting strophes are as simple as they are meaningful. What makes William Carlos Williams remarkable are his snapshots of the American landscape. In essence, he showcased the mood, the temperament of a whole country – the people, their inner turmoil…” [PATERSON by William Carlos Williams, copyright ©1946, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1958 by William Carlos Williams. Use by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp.] Musical Selection for this Podcast Shhh/Peaceful, In a Silent Way by Miles Davis Concierto de Aranjuez: Adagio, Sketches of Spain by Miles Davis L’article William Carlos Williams on showcasing the American temperament (https://poetonsong.com/podcasts/express-your-creativity-through-amazing-tatoo/) est apparu en premier sur Poet on song (https://poetonsong.com/). Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy (https://ausha.co/privacy-policy) for more information.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

5 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

8 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 16 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

18

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

32

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.