Radio Show Archive

KTEP logo
Halloween / Día de Muertos

Halloween / Día de Muertos

Halloween / Día de Muertos October 31, 2021 In this special Halloween/ Día de muertos episode of Words on a Wire hosts, Daniel Chacón & Tim Z. Hernandez talk about legends, horror stories, altars, the meaning of death and the connection with our ancestors. Special...

Joy Harjo

Joy Harjo

A special episode of Words on a Wire where host Daniel Chacon interviews US Poet Laureate, Joy Harjo. Harjo is an internationally renowned performer and writer of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. She is serving her second term as the 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States.

TRACY K. SMITH

TRACY K. SMITH

Daniel talks with Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, Tracy K. Smith. She has written her first memoir, Ordinary Light, and she talks about why she waited many years to write about the death of her mother. She also explains why the memoir allowed her to explore the subject of race and to reflect on how her parents lived and coped in the segregated South.

OCEAN VUONG

OCEAN VUONG

Ocean Vuong is a poetry phenomena. His books “Night Sky with Exit Wounds” and “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous” are best sellers. Vuong joins host Daniel Chacón to discuss his book, his upcoming writing projects and his creative process.

Juan Felipe Herrera

Juan Felipe Herrera

Juan Felipe Herrera previously served as the Poet Laureate of the United States. Before that he was Poet Laureate of California. And before that he was a Fresno poet who was inspiring the dreams and imaginations of thousands of children, their parents, and fellow poets. Herrera joins us again on WORDS ON A WIRE to talk about his Laureateship and how his life has changed (and how it hasn’t) since he was appointed Poet Laureate of the U.S. in 2015.

Edward Hirsch

Edward Hirsch

Daniel talks with poet & critic, Edward Hirsch, about his latest book, A Poet’s Glossary, which is not so much a book of definitions as it is an exploration of the history of the terms and how those terms interrelate to each other. Hirsch explains why it took 15 years to compile the information for this book, and why he believes it can still be more expansive (it’s already over 700 pages long). We’ll learn about the terms “Duende,” “Flarf,” and “Spam Poetry.”

Kim Addonizio

Kim Addonizio

Daniel & Ben talk to poet Kim Addonizio, author of “Lucifer at the Starlite.” She talks about her love of teaching poetry, and why she deliberately chose not to pursue an academic career at a university. Addonizio also talks about the instructional poetry book she co-wrote with Dorianne Laux, “A Poet’s Companion: A Guide to the Pleasures of Writing Poetry,” and her own instruction guide, “Ordinary Genius: A Guide for the Poet Within.”