Poetry Unbound: 50 Poems to Open Your World

Expanding on the popular podcast from On Being, Poetry Unbound offers immersive reflections on fifty powerful poems.

In the tumult of our contemporary moment, poetry has emerged as an inviting, consoling outlet with a unique power to move and connect us, to inspire fury, tears, joy, laughter, and surprise. This generous anthology pairs fifty illuminating poems with poet and podcast host Pádraig Ó Tuama’s appealing, unhurried reflections. With keen insight and warm personal anecdotes, Ó Tuama considers each poem’s artistry and explores how its meaning can expand into our own lives.

Focusing mainly on poets writing today, Ó Tuama engages with a diverse array of voices that includes Ada Limón, Ilya Kaminsky, Margaret Atwood, Ocean Vuong, Layli Long Soldier, and Reginald Dwayne Betts. For anyone who has wanted to try their hand at a conversation with poetry but doesn’t know where to start, Poetry Unbound encourages understanding and appreciation, presenting a window through which to celebrate the art of being alive.