Celebrating National Poetry Month with Annaliese Jakimides

Poetry Medicine for the Soul is a podcast hosted by John Gillespie that invites poets to read, explore, and celebrate poetry. While the 2025 National Poetry Month is over, this summer, Poetry Medicine for the Soul is still celebrating. Episode 31 features Annaliese Jakimides reading “What Seems Like Joy” by Kaveh Akbar, and “Feather” by Margaret Atwood. Annaliese and John then discuss the question: What does national poetry month mean to you? Annaliese Jakimides has been cited in national competitions by poets laureate and other notable writers. Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee, her prose and poetry have been published in many magazines, anthologies, and journals, including Beloit Poetry Journal and Southeast Review. She’s a member of MWPA’s community advisory board and cofounder of the Belfast Poetry Festival. After decades of living in the shadow of Mt. Katahdin in a town of 160, pumping water by hand, she now lives in an apartment in a small Maine city overlooking a library and writes in a closet. Learn more at www.annaliesejakimides.com. This podcast is hosted and produced by John Gillespie. Check out our website or Simplecast podcast feed for more episodes. Listen and subscribe to Poetry Medicine for the Soul in Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Learn more and get in touch: poetrymedicineforthesoul.com