Pop Culture and Celebrating National Poetry Month

Winter is coming for the last time as Game of Thrones kicks off its final season tonight. And it’s goodbye to Broad City and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, shows that were fearless in their hilarious depictions of young, female adulthood. Plus when is a country song not country enough? Fans and critics are divided over “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X. Also, a Burger King ad featuring diners with chopsticks sets off a controversy.

Guests:

Rachel Rubin - Professor of American studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Michael Jeffries - Associate professor of American studies at Wellesley College.

Later in the show…

It makes sense that in an era of tweets, Instagram and push notifications, poetry would make a comeback. The art of packaging worlds of meaning into succinct turns of phrase is perfect for the age of ever-shortening attention spans. It could be one reason the number of adults - and young people - reading poetry is higher than it’s been in over 15 years. We’re celebrating National Poetry Month with Poetry Out Loud champion Rose Hanson and nationally acclaimed poet Kwame Alexander.

Guests:

Kwame Alexander - Newbury Medal-winning author, poet and publisher. He is the author of The Undefeated.

Rose Hansen – Sophomore at Norwell High School and the 2019 Massachusetts State Poetry Out Loud Competition champion.