Podcasts Part II – Poetry and Fiction

Following up last week’s post on audio theatre podcasts, here are a few of the poetry and fiction podcasts I’ve been gorging myself on lately — most of which are associated with print and/or online publications for speculative fiction and poetry.
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Uncanny Magazine

Pod-UncannyUncanny Magazine is an bimonthly online Science Fiction and Fantasy magazine that published gorgeous fiction and poetry, as well as essays and interviews. What I love about the Uncanny podcast is the unique format, which incorporates a reading of a short story and a poem from the current issue, followed up by an author interview (most often the author of the short story that was just read). As such, each episode tends to be about an hour in length. Uncanny provides a powerful collection of emotionally moving and beautifully written work, which is read by fantastic narrators.

A Small Selection of Favorite Stories and Poems (so far):

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Lightspeed Magazine

Pod-LightspeedLightspeed Magazine is a monthly publication, providing a wide ranging array of science fiction and fantasy fiction, as well as essays and interviews. Each podcast features an individual story. The narrators are all phenomenal, making it easy to just melt into the story while listening. Most of my (current) all-time favorite stories have been discovered on this podcast.

A Small Selection of Favorite Stories (so far):

  • Amaryllis” by Carrie Vaughn, as read by Gabrielle de Cuir

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PodCastle

Pod-PodCastlePodCastle is unique here in that it is solely an audio journal, providing well-produced audio versions of fantasy stories, most of which have been previously published in other publications. At the end of each episode, feedback is provided for stories that have previously appeared on PodCastle. Since, PodCastle is subscription based, only a selection of the most recent stories are available for free.

A Small Selection of Favorite Stories (so far):

  • Ogres of East Africa” by Sofia Samatar, as read by by Khaalidah Muhammad-Ali and Troy L. Wiggins

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Nightmare Magazine

Pod-NightmareNightmare Magazine is a sister publication to Lightspeed, and often features many of the same set of fantastic narrators. The stories in this podcast are darker, slipping into more horror and dark fantasy, tales to unsettle and creep you out.

A Small Selection of Favorite Stories (so far):

  • Spores” by Seanan McGuire, as read by Kate Baker
  • Fishwife” by Carrie Vaghn, as read by Susan Hanfield
  • Returned” by Kat Howard, as read by Gabrielle de Cuir

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The New Yorker: Poetry

Pod-NY-poetryIn each episode of The New Yorker’s Poetry podcast, a poet is asked to read a poem that has been published in The New Yorker and then to read one of their own poems. Together with the host Paul Muldoon, the poet discusses the poems and why they are compelling. These discussions tend to be more intellectual and academic, which is sometimes more than I can fully focus on when I’m listening on the road home. However, there are some interesting discussions of craft and how the language in certain poems can create an emotionally moving experience in the reader.

I believe there’s also a New Yorker fiction podcast, but I haven’t got to that one yet.

Episodes I Particularly Liked:

  • Ellen Bass’ reading and discussion of Adam Zagajewski’s “Try to Praise the Mutilated World,” as well as her own poem “Reincarnation”
  • Meghan O’Rourke’s reading and discussion of John Ashbery’s “Tapestry,” as well as her own poem “Apartment Living”
  • Ada Limón’s reading and discussion of Jennifer L. Knox’s “Pimp My Ride,” as well as her own poem “State Bird”

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Another two podcasts that I’ve started listening to are Strange Horizons and Apex Magazine, both of which feature great stories and narrators. Although, I’ve found them to not have quite as good of a sound quality and in some cases to be a little more glitchy.

Next week I’ll finish up this little series of posts with my favorite Filmmaking and Screenwriting podcasts.