Rita Dove and W.S. Merwin: A Gift for Language

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Rita Dove and W.S. Merwin: A Gift for Language

FromWhat It Takes®

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Length:

39 minutes

Released:

Dec 3, 2018

Format:

Podcast episode

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Two of America's greatest poets - both former Poet Laureates and Pulitzer Prize winners - get to the heart of why poems speak to us when other forms of language fail. They also share stories about the people who inspired them to make a life in literature. And they read some great poems, of course!

Released:

Dec 3, 2018

Format:

Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

Revealing, intimate conversations with visionaries and leaders in the arts, science, technology, public service, sports and business. These engaging personal stories are drawn from interviews with the American Academy of Achievement, and offer insights you’ll want to apply to your own life.

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Best of - Sonia Sotomayor: Power of Words: We celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept 15 - Oct 15) by taking a new listen to our 2017 episode on United States Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Justice Sotomayor tells the extraordinary story of her voyage from the most dangerous neighborhood in the United States, to the highest court in the land -- a voyage fueled by the power of words. In a wide-ranging conversation with NPR's Nina Totenberg, recorded at the Supreme Court in 2016, Sotomayor shares her earliest memories of life in the tenements of the South Bronx: her diagnosis with diabetes, her trips to the market with her beloved grandmother, her father's death, and her love affair with books. She also talks about how she learned to learn, and to rely on the wisdom of friends and colleagues -- skills that carried her through Princeton, Yale, her prestigious legal career, and one beautiful throw from the pitcher's mound. by What It Takes®
59 min listen
Mike Wallace and Art Buchwald: Blues Brothers: One was an aggressive, no-holds-barred television interviewer. One was a newspaper columnist, who employed gentle satire to swipe at the rich and the powerful. Mike Wallace and Art Buchwald were leading media figures for fifty-plus years: Wallace as the co-host of "60 Minutes", Buchwald as the Washington Post humorist whose column was syndicated to over 500 newspapers. They went after the truth in very different ways, but they were the best of friends. They jokingly called themselves "The Blues Brothers" because they helped each other get through serious bouts of depression. Mike Wallace and Art Buchwald talk here about their childhoods (both were first-generation Americans) and share stories of the tragedies in their lives. They also describe how they got into the news business. No doubt you'll be amused to hear Wallace in the early days of radio, reading an ad for Mars Candy Bars! by What It Takes®
52 min listen
Best Of - B.B. King: King of the Blues: BB King began life as a humble Mississippi cotton farmer, and ended up one of the most influential guitarists and singers of the past century. Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Bonnie Raitt, The Rolling Stones and many others are among his disciples. During his lifetime he was celebrated by presidents, kings & queens - and declared a national treasure. The interview you’ll hear in this episode was recorded at the 2004 Academy of Achievement Summit in Chicago, and includes stories about King’s prowess on a cotton field as well his awakening to the racial injustice all around him. He recalls seeing the bodies of people who’d been lynched… and years later, the feeling he had the first time he arrived to play before an adoring crowd of white fans. This episode originally posted in 2015. The thrill is definitely not gone! by What It Takes®
37 min listen
Best of - David McCullough, Stephen Ambrose and David Herbert Donald: Time Travelers: It is the rare writer who can make history so compelling, so alive, that people will flock to read it. David McCullough, who died last Sunday, was one of those writers. He was the author of two Pulitzer Prize-winning books: one about President Harry Truman and one about President John Adams. In honor of Mr. McCullough, we are reposting this episode from 2020 which featured him and two other great presidential historians: Stephen Ambrose and David Herbert Donald. They talk here about their subjects as if they had gone back in time and returned, breathless, to share the stories they'd heard. And each writer explains how he fell under the spell of history and made it his life's work. by What It Takes®
54 min listen
Best of - Bill Russell: Giant of a Man: The most astonishing winning streak in the history of sports, belonged to the Boston Celtics. They won eleven championships between 1957 and 1969, eight of those in a row. And the player at the center of those wins - was Bill Russell, who died this week at the age of 88. Russell changed the game of basketball, with his incredible speed, and his ability to block shots as no player had done before. When he took over as coach of the Celtics (while still playing on the team), he became the first African-American coach of any major sport in the U.S. In this episode, which first ran in 2017, Russell talks about his life in basketball, and he describes how he was shaped by the racism he confronted, on and off the court. by What It Takes®
33 min listen
Best of - John Hume and David Trimble: A Vision of Peace: These two remarkable men, from opposite sides of the 30-year "Troubles" in Northern Ireland, bravely reached across the divide and waged peace. They were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998. David Trimble, who died on July 25th, 2022, was the leader of the Protestant pro-British Ulster Unionist Party. John Hume, who died in 2020, was a Catholic civil rights and political leader. In a poll several years ago, he was voted the greatest person in Irish history. They talk here about the underpinnings of the brutal fighting that tore Northern Ireland apart, and they explain how and why they were able to negotiate a peace deal and begin the healing. They also offer some important lessons to the rest of the world. This episode originally ran two years ago. We are re-posting it this week in honor of David Trimble. by What It Takes®
50 min listen
Best of - Frank McCourt: Teacher Man: No one could tell a story better than Frank McCourt. His first book, Angela's Ashes, remains one of the most compelling accounts of poverty, alcoholism, and the longing for a better life. It won a Pulitzer Prize 25 years ago, and transformed McCourt from a modest immigrant and a lifelong high school teacher, into a literary celebrity. In this episode, which originally posted in 2017, you'll hear McCourt hold forth with tremendous humor and that lyrical voice - about the miseries of his childhood in Ireland, as well as his passion for teaching and writing. by What It Takes®
45 min listen
Best of - Steve Jobs and Tony Fadell: Inventing the Future: Fifteen years ago, a sleek pocket-sized device was introduced that would change much about how we interact in the world: the iPhone. This is the intimate history of the two men who created it. Steve Jobs famously co-founded Apple. In the late 90’s, when the company was failing, he hired a young engineer and designer named Tony Fadell, who created a little device that became known as the iPod. It not only turned Apple’s fortunes around, it transformed the music industry and the experience of listening. Fadell’s next assignment was the iPhone, which changed the nature of communication itself. After leaving Apple, Fadell went on to found Nest Labs, a company that has begun to alter the technology of the home. You’ll hear Tony Fadell’s fascinating personal story, told with all the passion and enthusiasm he brings to his game-changing inventions. And you’ll hear Steve Jobs, speaking as a young man (in 1982) about what it takes to i by What It Takes®
62 min listen
Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman: The Vaccine Revolution: The COVID-19 vaccine came out at warp speed because of the work of these two scientists. For many years they had been investigating the secrets of messenger RNA (mRNA). And when the pandemic began, their research was ready and waiting. On this episode you’ll hear Katalin Karikó talk about her humble beginnings in Hungary, and the forces that enabled her to persevere, even though for decades people thought her ideas about mRNA were laughable. She was denied grants, lost jobs and wasn’t taken seriously, but she never wavered. Fortunately, she met Drew Weissman one day at a copy machine, where they both worked at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Weissman was an immunologist, working on a vaccine for HIV. He was interested in Karikó’s work and they began to collaborate. Even when they made major discoveries, they could not get support for their work… until the Corona Virus appeared. Now the scientific world sees the potential by What It Takes®
58 min listen
Best of - Lauryn Hill: Family, Faith & Hip-Hop: Lauryn Hill has had an outsized impact on the world of hip-hop, soul and R&B. She entered the music world in the mid-1990’s as one third of the band The Fugees, and soon after released a solo album, “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill”. It was a phenomenon, and swept the Grammys. But then Ms. Hill pretty much vanished from music and public life, in an internal battle between fame, family and faith. On this episode you’ll hear the incomparable and enigmatic Lauryn Hill, speaking in 2000, just as she had begun her retreat. She’s open, honest, raw and very funny about the transformation she was undergoing. This episode originally posted in 2016. We're bringing it back to usher in summer! by What It Takes®
39 min listen
Best of - Daniel Inouye and Norman Mineta: In Defense of Liberty: Norman Mineta spent three years in a internment camp for Japanese-Americans when he was a child. But this shameful period in American history did not deter him from becoming a celebrated civil servant, one who broke racial barriers to become a 10-term U.S. Congressman from California and the first Asian-American member of the Cabinet. In honor of Norm Mineta, who died last week at the age of 90, and in celebration of Asian-American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we invite you to take a second listen to our episode from 2020. It also features the story of long-serving U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye, a veteran of the most decorated regiment in US history, the 442nd. The 442nd was a segregated Japanese-American unit that fought in Europe after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. These two stories stand in stark contrast, and reflect some of the worst - and best - impulses in America. And they are a testament to the triumph of by What It Takes®
61 min listen
Best of - Naomi Judd: Dream Chaser: As a tribute to Naomi Judd, who died on Saturday night at the age of 76, we are re-posting our episode from 2017. Ms. Judd's life and storied career had more ups and downs than a rollercoaster, as she talked about here. For eight glorious years, she and her daughter Wynonna were the biggest country music sensation of the 1980's, with fourteen number one hits, sold-out stadium tours, and too many rhinestones to count. But Naomi's life before and after was far from glamorous. Her early years in a small-town Kentucky were tumultuous and at times traumatic. She struggled as a young single mom on welfare. But singing transformed her relationship with Wynonna, and took them to the heights of the music industry. As she shared in this conversation, however, a devastating case of Hepatitis brought it all crashing down, then eventually led her to a place of tremendous insight and gratitude. Naomi Judd died just one night before she and Wynonna were inducted by What It Takes®
35 min listen
Andrea Ghez and Donna Strickland: Frontiers of Knowledge: Only four women have ever received the Nobel Prize in Physics. This episode features two of them! Andrea Ghez unlocked a secret of the universe when she figured out how to prove the existence of a super-massive black hole in the center of our galaxy. Donna Strickland devised a way of producing far more intense and precise lasers. Those lasers have changed manufacturing, cancer treatments, and eye surgeries, and promise to offer insights into the fundamental principles of physics. Both Ghez and Strickland talk here about their lives and about becoming world-class scientists at a time when women were under-represented, under-appreciated, and often unrecognized for their achievements. by What It Takes®
58 min listen
Best of - Edward Teller: Destroyer of Worlds: Russia's war in Ukraine, and Vladimir Putin's threat to unleash nuclear weapons, has put the world on edge. In 2018 we explored the complicated history of the nuclear age, and we thought it was an opportune time to revisit that episode. Our story focuses on Edward Teller, often called "The Father of the Hydrogen Bomb". He was also the force behind Reagan's Star Wars initiative, and the model for "Dr. Strangelove". Teller was a Hungarian math prodigy who fled Hitler's Germany. In America, he became one of the leading scientists at Los Alamos, developing the atomic bomb in a race against the Nazi war machine. But while many of Teller's colleagues later became disheartened by what they had unleashed, Teller stayed the course. His story is told here in his own voice, and by many of the other scientists who created the first weapons of mass destruction. by What It Takes®
71 min listen
General C.Q. Brown and Lt. Col. James Harvey: Wings of Freedom: The Tuskegee Airmen were some of the bravest and best pilots to ever fly for the United States Armed Forces. One of the last surviving members of the pioneering African-American fighting force, is Lieutenant Colonel James Harvey. He faced tremendous discrimination during his career, but he became the very first winner of the Top Gun competition. The success of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II led to the desegregation of the military. And that opened a path for fighter pilot Charles Q. Brown, the current Chief of Staff for the U.S Air Force, and the first African-American to lead any branch of the military. Both men share their extraordinary stories, and talk about how they persevered against the odds. by What It Takes®
60 min listen
Best of - Coach John Wooden: Character for Life: During March Madness, can you think of anything more satisfying to do between games than listen to an interview with legendary UCLA coach John Wooden?! Wooden led his team to more NCAA championships than any other coach in history, and he did it with a quiet, old-fashioned approach that challenged notions of what it takes to win. Even if you're not a sports fan, you can find lessons and inspiration from Coach Wooden's leadership. In this episode, which originally posted in 2016, Wooden talks about his fatherly love for the players, his famous pyramid of success, and the difference between reputation and character. He also explains why basketball is the greatest spectator sport there is. by What It Takes®
38 min listen
Best of - Lynsey Addario: Portraits of Love and War: Last week, a shocking photograph was seen around the world. It showed a Ukrainian mother and her two children - lying dead on the street - killed by Russian mortar fire. The picture was taken by Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Lynsey Addario. Addario has covered wars and humanitarian crises in 70 countries, including Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, and now Ukraine. She has been kidnapped twice and has been badly injured on the job, but she is determined to open our eyes to the state of the world and the human toll of violence, no matter the risk. This episode originally posted in 2018, but is just as timely today. Lynsey Addario is a lively storyteller who brings emotion and humor to every tale, whether she’s describing growing up the child of hairdressers, the harrowing details of her kidnapping in Libya, or the heartbreaking work of documenting women who die in childbirth. by What It Takes®
53 min listen
Best of - Andrew Young: My Life, My Destiny: Andrew Young has worn many hats: pastor, congressman, ambassador & mayor, but his first role in public service was as Martin Luther King Jr’s strategist and negotiator. He was at King’s side for many of the biggest battles of the civil rights movement, and he helped draft and secure the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In this encore episode (originally published in 2016), Young shares his unique, personal stories about that turbulent period in our country’s history - from the center of the storm. He pays tribute to the women who were the often unacknowledged backbone of the civil rights struggle. And he recounts his fascinating life story, from his youngest days growing up in New Orleans, where his father taught him to fight racism with brains and heart, to his spiritual revelation at the top of a mountain. Our next episode will feature a brand new interview with Andrew Young, as he turns 90 years old, and reflec by What It Takes®
46 min listen

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Rita Dove and W.S. Merwin: A Gift for Language

Rita Dove and W.S. Merwin: A Gift for Language

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