Book Hype hosts Karen, Brittany and Kristen dig into the wonderful world of poetry in honor of National Poetry Day!

You can find Book Hype on Twitter at @BookHype.

What we’re reading:
–Stranger Than Fanfiction by Chris Colfer
–Renegade Red by Lauren Bird Horowitz
–Egomaniac by Vi Keeland
–T2 Trainspotting script by John Hodge

Book Bites:
A short poem, “Invitation” by Shel Silverstein, read by Brittany Lovely, a gift to all.

The wonderful world of poetry
-We’ve all written poetry ourselves.
-Brittany peaked at age 6 and retired from the art form.
-Kristen stopped somewhere around middle school and declares them travesties.
-Karen hasn’t written any recently, but she has the longest lasting poetry career of all the hosts.

Our favorite poets
-Shel Silverstein is one of Karen’s favorites and gives her treasured middle school flashbacks.
-His visual aesthetic was so distinct, especially compared to the colorful world of Dr. Seuss.
-Kristen is a Langston Hughes and Emily Dickinson fan.
-Ginsburg and T.S. Eliot are two of Brittany’s favorites.
-Thanks for Howl, Rory Gilmore.

Our favorite poems
-“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot is Brittany’s favorite poem, and has a quality line in: “I measure my life in coffee spoons.”
-Karen is going way back with her favorite, “I’m Being Swallowed by a Boa Constrictor.”
-She has some distinct memories of a life-scarring moment including a microphone and performances.
-Kristen is sticking to her favorites with “Dreams.”

Poetry: Love it or hate it?
-We each have our own reasons for loving and hating poetry.
-Kristen’s mention of slam poetry reminds Karen of Watsky and his incredible words. If you haven’t heard of Watsky, give him a Google.
-Brittany regales us with tales of her semester studying prison poetry in college, and of a few poets she met that left their mark, especially Jericho Brown and Christine Hemp.

Book News:
–One book, One NY program and Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
-According to a Nielsen survey, eBook sales are in decline, especially thanks to children’s books.
-We have a quick books vs. eBooks discussion.
-Will you be tuning into Midnight, Texas? True Blood fans are probably rejoicing.
–Benedict Cumberbatch is going to be Melrose, a five-part miniseries on Showtime based on the semi-autobiographical works of Edward St. Aubyn.
-Are we ready for the Obamas’ memoirs?

What’s Next?
-A very special interview with Diane Ackerman, author of The Zookeeper’s Wife, which has a movie adaptation hitting theaters March 31, 2017.

Listener feedback!

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