Poems That influence Me with poet and Twice 5 Miles Radio host James Navé

Welcome to Twice 5 Miles Radio. I'm your host, James Navé. Today, I’m going solo with my thoughts on how poetry changes life. In this episode, you’ll hear me perform poems that have shaped my thinking over the years. You’ll discover why a line of verse my mother recited to me when I was a boy continues to be my north star to this day. Traveling and being on the road have been constants in my life. Sometimes I’ve loved the journey; other times, I’ve wondered why I’m driving through a storm in Tennessee. In this show, you’ll hear a few of my poems, including "The Road" and "The Tulsa Pool Player." Dylan Thomas makes an appearance with "Fern Hill"—or rather, I show up performing "Fern Hill," a poem I memorized in 1985 while spending two weeks at a Tibetan Buddhist center in the south of France. I touch on environmental themes with my poem "The Bug," followed by Elizabeth Bishop’s "The Fish." I also perform a longer piece by Charles Wright titled "The Lonesome Pine Special." I love performing this poem because it reminds me of how much work I have to do to reach Wright’s level of mastery. There’s a good reason why Charles Wright was the 2014 U.S. Poet Laureate. I close the show with a poem about a jazz band and a touch of love. Overall I enjoyed making this episode, and I hope you enjoy listening to "How Poetry Changes Life."