Willard Spiegelman's guest appearances

Willard Spiegelman

Poetry Lectures

The Virtual Memories Show

Sarah Williams

Ashton Applewhite

Kurt Andersen

David Shields

Bob Stein

Seamus Heaney

Eddy Portnoy

Andrew Parker

Gary Clark

Bill Griffith

Caleb Crain

Robert Frost

Scott McCloud

Marjorie Perloff

Judith Butler

OwlTail

Author, critic, professor and now biographer Willard Spiegelman rejoins the show to talk about his amazing new book, NOTHING STAYS PUT: The Life and Poetry of Amy Clampitt (Knopf). We get into his winding history with Amy Clampitt, why he thought a biography of her would be impossible and why he decided to write it anyway, what made her poems so special, and what it was like to have such a late-blooming career (she first published at 58). We talk about the learning curve of writing his first (and only) biography, why he thinks Clampitt stubbornly stuck with prose instead of poetry for decades (and why she stuck with a terrible play about the Wordsworth circle in her last few years), how coastal Maine helped her write about her home prairies of Iowa, and why Willard choose to use the poems to expand on phases of her life from decades earlier. Plus we discuss Clampitt's resonances with Emily Dickinson, the epiphany she had at the Cloisters that started her on the path to poetry, her spiritual and political engagement and how she felt about being a "female poet", and her enthusiasm for enthusiasm. Plus, Willard looks back at the 10 years since we first recorded! • Listen to my conversations with Willard from 2013, 2016, and 2018 • More info at our site • Support The Virtual Memories Show via Patreon or Paypal and via our Substack

Author, critic, professor and now biographer <a href="https://www.thegreatcourses.com/professors/willard-spiegelman/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Willard Spiegelman</a> rejoins the show to talk about his amazing new book, <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/4669/9780525658269" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">NOTHING STAYS PUT: The Life and Poetry of Amy Clampitt</a> (Knopf). We get into his winding history with <a href="https://www.amyclampitt.com" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Amy Clampitt</a>, why he thought a biography of her would be impossible and why he decided to write it anyway, what made <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/4669/9780375700644" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">her poems</a> so special, and what it was like to have such a late-blooming career (she first published at 58). We talk about the learning curve of writing his first (and only) biography, why he thinks Clampitt stubbornly stuck with prose instead of poetry for decades (and why she stuck with a terrible play about the Wordsworth circle in her last few years), how coastal Maine helped her write about her home prairies of Iowa, and why Willard choose to use the poems to expand on phases of her life from decades earlier. Plus we discuss Clampitt's resonances with Emily Dickinson, the epiphany she had at the Cloisters that started her on the path to poetry, her spiritual and political engagement and how she felt about being a "female poet", and her enthusiasm for enthusiasm. Plus, Willard looks back at the 10 years since we first recorded! • Listen to my conversations with Willard from <a href="http://chimeraobscura.com/vm/podcast-the-magnificent-seven" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">2013</a>, <a href="http://chimeraobscura.com/vm/episode-185-willard-spiegelman" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">2016</a>, and <a href="http://chimeraobscura.com/vm/episode-258-willard-spiegelman" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">2018</a> • More info <a href="http://chimeraobscura.com/vm/episode-528-willard-spiegelman" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">at our site</a> • Support The Virtual Memories Show via <a href="https://patreon.com/vmspod" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a> or <a href="https://paypal.me/vmspod" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Paypal</a> and via <a href="https://vmspod.substack.com" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">our Substack</a>

Episode 528 - Willard Spiegelman

Critic and essayist Willard Spiegelman returns to the show to talk about his new book, If You See Something, Say Something (SMU Press), collecting his art reviews from the Wall Street Journal. We get into the notion of legacy after his retirement from 45 years of teaching, then tackle the process of learning to look at paintings, his favorite museums, the question of whether David Hockney's happiness makes him less of an artistic genius than grim/tormented artists, whether one should buy art to match one's furniture, his love of Marfa, TX, the differences between being a pilgrim and a tourist, the role of curiosity as a remedy for boredom, the challenge of editing a literary magazine in this day and age, whether he's a role model to younger gay people, the first time he had a student who was the child of one of his first students (that is, when he realized he was getting old), and more! • More info at our site • Support The Virtual Memories Show via Patreon or Paypal

Critic and essayist <a href="https://www.thegreatcourses.com/professors/willard-spiegelman/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Willard Spiegelman</a> returns to the show to talk about his new book, <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/arts/visual-arts/2017/03/01/willard-spiegelman-leaves-dallas-lovely-parting-gift-see-something-say-something" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">If You See Something, Say Something</a> (SMU Press), collecting his art reviews from the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/search/term.html?keyword=willard%20spiegelman&amp;mod=" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Wall Street Journal</a>. We get into the notion of legacy after his retirement from 45 years of teaching, then tackle the process of learning to look at paintings, his favorite museums, the question of whether David Hockney's happiness makes him less of an artistic genius than grim/tormented artists, whether one should buy art to match one's furniture, his love of Marfa, TX, the differences between being a pilgrim and a tourist, the role of curiosity as a remedy for boredom, the challenge of editing a literary magazine in this day and age, whether he's a role model to younger gay people, the first time he had a student who was the child of one of his first students (that is, when he realized he was getting old), and more! • More info <a href="http://chimeraobscura.com/vm/episode-258-willard-spiegelman" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">at our site</a> • Support The Virtual Memories Show via <a href="http://patreon.com/vmspod" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a> or <a href="http://paypal.me/vmspod" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Paypal</a>

Episode 258 - Willard Spiegelman

Willard Spiegelman returns to the show to talk about his new book,  Senior Moments: Looking Back, Looking Ahead (FSG). We get into the process of deaccessioning, Mark Strand's advice on paring down to 100 books, Willard's take on 45 years living in Dallas (and what he'll miss about it now that he's retired), the joy of getting lost in Italy, the best way to pick someone up in NYC, the contrast of his 50th high school and college reunions, and more! More info at our site • Support The Virtual Memories Show via Patreon or Paypal

<a href="http://chimeraobscura.com/vm/podcast-the-magnificent-seven" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Willard Spiegelman</a> returns to the show to talk about his new book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0374261229/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=0374261229&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=virtualmemories-20&amp;linkId=9d723f26486b6d1d4f0921e762673740" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Senior Moments: Looking Back, Looking Ahead</a> (FSG). We get into the process of deaccessioning, Mark Strand's advice on paring down to 100 books, Willard's take on 45 years living in Dallas (and what he'll miss about it now that he's retired), the joy of getting lost in Italy, the best way to pick someone up in NYC, the contrast of his 50th high school and college reunions, and more! More info <a href="http://chimeraobscura.com/vm/episode-185-willard-spiegelman" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">at our site</a> • Support The Virtual Memories Show via <a href="http://patreon.com/vms" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a> or <a href="http://paypal.me/vmspod" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Paypal</a>

Episode 185- Willard Spiegelman

Willard Spiegelman discusses poet Amy Clampitt. Need a transcript of this episode? Request a transcript here.

Willard Spiegelman discusses poet Amy Clampitt. Need a transcript of this episode? <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/transcript-request" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Request a transcript here</a>.