A celebration of the art of poetry. A well-known poet himself, Jack Foley’s considerable historical knowledge and his awareness of the current “scene” are incorporated into his radio shows and have made them a kaleidoscopic, always stimulating attraction for anyone interested in poetry.
Work that was originally scheduled for the July 4 program. Responding to the Muslim ban, Jack wrote some poems out of his recollections of a wonderful trip he and his late wife Adelle took to Syria in 2003. The theme of Syrians welcoming the stranger is everywhere present in these poems. Adelle also wrote about the trip, producing a sequence in 2003 and then adding to it in 2012. Adelle’s work—and her reading of it—will also be featured on the show.
As many listeners know, Jack’s wife, Adelle died two years ago. Her Yahrzeit is June 27. On today’s show Jack celebrates her memory with an interview he taped with Adelle in August 2005. The interview features Adelle’s work rather than the work they presented as a team, which was usually written by Jack. Poems by Adelle … Continued
Poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti was born in 1919. On March 24, 2018 he turned 99 years old. Today’s show is a celebration of Ferlinghetti’s career and of his new book from New Directions, Ferlinghetti’s Greatest Poems, edited by Nancy J. Peters. This is a rebroadcast of the second half of an interview Jack Foley did with Lawrence Ferlinghetti on April 21, 1994. The interview took place at City Lights and in it Ferlinghetti candidly discusses his entire career.
Poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti was born in 1919. On March 24, 2018 he turned 99 years old. Jack’s next two shows are a celebration of Ferlinghetti’s career and of his new book from New Directions, Ferlinghetti’s Greatest Poems, edited by Nancy J. Peters. The back cover reads, “In 1953 Lawrence Ferlinghetti cofounded City Lights, the first paperback bookstore in the United States, a Mecca for millions. His Coney Island of the Mind is one of the best-selling volumes of poetry by any living American poet. Born in Yonkers, New York, in 1919, Ferlinghetti has received the Robert Frost Memorial Medal and the first Literarian Award of the National Book Foundation.” It has blurbs from Bob Dylan (“A brave man and a brave poet”) and Francis Ford Coppola (“Lawrence gets you laughing then hits you with the truth”). These two shows are a rebroadcast of an interview Jack Foley did with Lawrence Ferlinghetti on January 3, 1990. The interview took place at City Lights and in it Ferlinghetti candidly discusses his entire career.
THE HISTORY OF ENGLISH POETRY
Today’s show continues The History of English Poetry, a Naxos AudioBook written by Peter Whitfield and read by Derek Jacobi with supporting cast. Part Three will continue with “The Elizabethan Achievement.” It will focus on George Chapman (c. 1559-1634); Arthur Golding, “Shakespeare’s Ovid” (c. 1536-c. 1605); Richard Stanyhurst (1547-1618); Samuel Daniel (1563-1619); Michael Drayton (1563-1631); Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593); and William Shakespeare (1564-1616).
A first Wednesday means another edition of the Nina-Jack Show (May Day/M’aider). But don’t be too distressed. It will be another fun filled, emotionally charged pot of poetry at the rainbow’s end (94.1 FM). Nina and Jack give free rein to the horses of Imagination but retain their right to grumble and criticize. Are you in the Trump Dumps? Try Foley and Serrano as The Green Hornet and Kato,
Today’s show, two days after Shakespeare’s birthday, continues The History of English Poetry, a Naxos AudioBook written by Peter Whitfield and read by Derek Jacobi with supporting cast. Part Two focuses on Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593); Sir Thomas Sackville andA Mirror for Magistrates (1559); Tottel’s Miscellany (1557); Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503-1542); Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey (1516/1517-1547); Sir Walter Raleigh (ca. 1554-1618); Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586); and Edmund Spenser (1552/1553-1599). Hosted by Jack Foley.
rom the vast fund of KPFA’s radio archives comes a jewel not heard since 1974: BLUE RAGS, a program written, produced and performed by Beat poet David Meltzer (who also composed the music). Published as a book by Berkeley’s Oyez Press in 1974, BLUE RAGS is subtitled “For Radio, / A Romance.” It’s a brilliant, playful piece, experimenting with language but also moving into areas of deep awareness.
