Carolyn Forché on Writers on Writing, KUCI-FM
Poet, teacher, and activist Carolyn Forché has witnessed, thought about, and put into poetry some of the most devastating events of 20th-century
world history. An articulate defender of her own aims as well as the
larger goals of poetry, Forché is perhaps best known for coining the
term “poetry of witness.” Her memoir about her time in El Salvador, What You Have Heard Is True, was a finalist for the 2019 National Book Award in nonfiction.
Carolyn joins Marrie Stone to talk about In the Lateness of the World, her fifth collection of poetry, and the first collection in nearly two decades. She discusses the importance of poetry during times of political and social strife, the role of the witness, as well as many other important insights into poetry’s role and the process by which she creates work.
Download audio. (Broadcast date: May 6, 2020)
Carolyn joins Marrie Stone to talk about In the Lateness of the World, her fifth collection of poetry, and the first collection in nearly two decades. She discusses the importance of poetry during times of political and social strife, the role of the witness, as well as many other important insights into poetry’s role and the process by which she creates work.
Download audio. (Broadcast date: May 6, 2020)