A Writer’s World with Shaun Griffin

Shaun Griffin is a poet and writer who hopes to bring some part of that world to you every other week on KWNK with a new audio segment on Sundays at 5pm. Listen back below on Spotify or on 97.7FM mixed into our regularly scheduled program.

LISTEN BACK
Beyond the Face of Hunger

A meditation on hunger in this culture.

Sam Green and the Pacific Northwest Tradition

A meditation on the poetry of Sam Green.

Natural, Luminous, Deep, and Spare

A meditation on the poetry of Stanley Kunitz.

In That Imagined Room

A reflection on teaching at the prison in the time of Covid.

When the Oligarchs are Gone

A meditation on our possible futures after the election.

Gailmarie Pahmeier’s Nevada Gospel

A reflection on her new book of poems.

Robinson Jeffers and the New Frontier

A reflection on Jeffers on this time.

Colombia at the Crossroads

A reflection on Marquez’s novel, One Hundred Years of Solitude, when so many in the country are suffering due to the virus.

Poetry and Fire

A meditation on Hayden Carruth and the “after-times,” meaning what can we do in the face of so much that ails?

Poetry in the Hands of Young People

A reflection on the spontaneous quality of words in the hands of young artists.

Living without Each Other

A reflection on trying to navigate the headwinds of this time.

What Can a Poem Do,

A reflection on just how much poetry can matter in this time.

What Remains Unspoken,

A reflection on living in this time of intolerance.

To Lie In Waiting Of Readers
Keeping Quiet with Pablo Neruda
James Baldwin In The Time Of COVID
These Unsettling Times,

A reflection on trying to find solace in literature.

They Encumber as Stones

A reflection on the weight we carry as people, often without thinking about it.

Reflections on an Untruth

A meditation on the recent political events in this country and beyond as viewed through the lens of poets and artists.

Poets are immigrants in the world.

For this end of the year segment, Britt Curtis, the director of the Holland Project, asked me to do a literary highlights of 2019. When I mentioned this to my wife, Debby, she remarked “Poets are immigrants in the world.” This segment is about the poets who have been immigrants—sometimes in their own land—and for the many immigrants all over the globe who write the poems with their lives.

The Island Between Us

A meditation on the refugees at the US border with Mexico as viewed through the lens of poets and artists.

Beware the Critic,

This segment, the first of the New Year, is entitled “Beware the Critic,” a meditation on critics and their role in the distillation of literary taste.

Silences

This segment is about the threshold a writer faces when time is running out. Like all artists, they must grapple with what is left unexpressed.

Going to the Mountain.

This segment is about that moment when an apprentice in any field meets the master, in this case a great writer.

Letter to Failure.

This segment is on finding the will to continue writing when there is no good reason to do so.

The Rose that Will Not Cease to Bloom—Notes on the Poet and Novelist June Sylvester Saraceno.

This segment is on the poet and novelist, June Sylvester Saraceno.

Forgotten.

This segment is on teaching poetry in the prison where I have worked as a volunteer for many years.

Without Mississippi,

This segment is on Kiese Laymon, author and essayist, who was the keynote speaker at the Nevada Humanities Literary Crawl in September, 2019. It is entitled "Without Mississippi," his birthplace.