Poetry Foundation
172 episodes listed below
Poets Ajanaé Dawkins and Brittany Rogers interview poets about a single poem and its origins.
VS gathers poets into warm, unrushed conversations about the ideas pressing on their work and lives. The show moves from best-friend banter into serious craft talk, making room for lineage, performance, privacy, intuition, legacy, and tenderness.
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VS is an interview-format podcast produced for the Poetry Foundation, built around long-form conversations between co-hosts Ajanaé Dawkins and Brittany Rogers and a single guest poet per episode. Each episode typically opens with informal, personal banter between the hosts before moving into a guest interview structured around a poem reading, a discussion of the poet's collection, and questions about craft and process. Recurring subject matter includes revision as an act of care toward the reader, non-linear and hybrid poetic form, grief and impermanence, and the intersection of race, gender, sexuality, and body in contemporary poetry. Guests are established and emerging poets, frequently Black women or queer writers, many affiliated with organizations like Cave Canem Foundation, Bread Loaf Writers Conference, or the Academy of American Poets. Conversations often turn to the guest's formative literary influences, with names like Lucille Clifton, Toni Morrison, Sharon Olds, and Fernando Pessoa recurring across episodes. The hosts also treat the show itself as an archival project, framing the preservation of Black poets' voices and ideas as part of the show's purpose. Listeners interested in poetry craft, literary biography, or discussions of grief and identity through a literary lens are the core audience. The show's final episode, in which the two hosts interviewed each other, indicates the series ran in this format through at least January 2026 before concluding. Production is straightforward two-host-plus-guest audio interview, without narrative sound design or reenactment elements evident in the sample.
Made for: Readers and writers of contemporary poetry interested in craft discussions, literary biography, and Black women's literary voices.
What sets it apart: Structures each episode around one poet reading and unpacking a single poem, rather than broad literary criticism or news coverage.
The VS podcast is a bi-weekly series where poets confront the ideas that move them. Hosted by poets Ajanaé Dawkins and Brittany Rogers, produced by Cin Pim/Ombie Productions, and presented by the Poetry Foundation.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
VS makes poetic craft tangible through intimate interviews about revision, performance, artistic ethics, and the responsibilities carried by a poem.
VS turns interviews with poets into searching conversations about how poems are made, revised, performed, and carried into public life. Ajanae Dawkins and Brittany Rogers bring an easy intimacy to the table, moving from jokes and personal stories to precise questions about…
Poetry becomes laboratory and moral contract here, if you like your craft talk with actual stakes.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A warm VS farewell about friendship, poetic lineage, and the care behind making an archive.
Brittany and Ajanae close this run of VS with a farewell that feels tender, funny, and a little stunned by its own ending. They begin in the loose rhythm of friends finding the mic, with Ajanae still thinking about Erykah Badu's Mama's Gun anniversary concert and both hosts…
aja monet treats performance as a charged exchange between audience, safety, Black feeling, and collective presence.
In aja monet vs. Alignment, performance becomes a live question of safety, attention, and exchange. The episode opens in the comic irritation of a night out gone sour: Trap Karaoke, surveillance, signed-away likenesses, faces thrown onto screens, and the less abstract need for…
A loose, urgent VS conversation about poetry, intuition, AI, and the systems that make original thought harder to trust.
Khadijah Queen vs. Intuition starts in the chatty register VS does so well, all Christmas pajamas, holiday anxiety, and the minor tragedy of missing a Doja Cat concert.
A live VS farewell where poetry legacy becomes a conversation about voice, experiment, risk, and responsibility.
Legacy arrives here as influence in motion. At the Poetry Foundation in Chicago, Major Jackson and Cornelius Eady meet for the final VS Live episode, with Ajene and Brittany framing the night as both celebration and farewell.
A warm, serious craft conversation about revision, trust, and what a poem asks of its reader.
Omotara James vs. The Speaker turns on a sharp craft question: what does a poem owe the person reading it? James speaks with uncommon clarity about revision as an ethical act, describing poems she removed because they sounded good but did not yet make meaning, offer care, or…
A thoughtful VS conversation on Omotara James, the speaker, revision, and the care a poem owes its reader.
Omotara James' visit to VS is strongest when it turns a familiar workshop question into an ethical one: what does a poem owe the person reading it?
Long-form Apple talk with sharp product judgment and deep tech history.
Weekly film, music, and arts criticism from Monocle 24's Midori House studio in London.
Two product designers talk Figma workflows, button sizing, and AI design tools weekly.
Chris Coyier and Dave Rupert dissect CSS, CMS workflows, and AI coding agents weekly.
Stack Overflow's Ryan Donovan interviews founders and engineers on AI agents, protocols, and dev tools.
In the final episode of Versus, Poetry Foundation podcast co-hosts Brittany and Ajanaé interview each other with audience-submitted questions, reflecting on the show's run and their friendship of more than half Ajanaé's life.
Surveillance state ruins the party.
Two co-hosts discuss holiday macaroni and cheese traditions and buying a glamorous bag for a niece, introducing their poetry podcast.
The VS Poetry Foundation podcast hosts Brittany and Ajene interview poet Khadijah Queen, author of eight books including the 2025 memoir 'Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: A Veteran's Memoir.' Queen reads her poem 'Tower' and discusses grief at 50 after her father's death in March, her memoir's 20-year gestation (delayed until her son was an adult for his protection), and her belief that intuition is a democratizing power deliberately suppressed because it requires no education or money.
The hosts of Versus podcast introduce themselves and their first personal milestones before transitioning to an interview with poet Rachel Eliza Griffiths.
Legacy gets personal here.
The host shares a personal critique of reading Fifty Shades of Grey for the first time, describing it as terrible BDSM fan fiction and reflecting on the experience of hate-reading, before briefly mentioning her youngest child turning five.
Two teachers celebrate personal achievements, including film laurels and a new classroom with windows, while discussing the struggles and joys of education.
Poets Ajanaé Dawkins and Brittany Rogers discuss personal epiphanies about morning routines and self-discovery.
Poets Ajanaé Dawkins and Brittany Rogers discuss their experiences with erotic poetry and slow-burn romance in literature.
Poets Ajanaé Dawkins and Brittany Rogers share personal anecdotes about Game of Thrones and using Cardi B's music to cope with flight anxiety.
Poets Ajanaé Dawkins and Brittany Rogers interview poet M.
Poets Ajanaé Dawkins and Brittany Rogers discuss pop culture and personal anecdotes before introducing an interview with poet Tiana Clark about permission.
This episode features an interview with authors Deesha Philyaw and Kiese Laymon, exploring how they confront and navigate genre in their writing.
This live podcast episode features interviews with poets E.
The hosts discuss their obsession with Sierra's new video and share a fun poll about their drink preferences.
The hosts introduce their podcast where poets confront ideas, sharing personal anecdotes about a stray puppy and April Fools pranks.
The hosts of a poetry podcast introduce themselves with personal anecdotes about a stray puppy and April Fools pranks, setting up an episode where poets confront ideas.
Charlie gets the first shout out.
Hosts Ajanaé Dawkins and Brittany Rogers introduce themselves and share personal anecdotes before beginning a poetry discussion.
A stray puppy gets the room laughing first.
Poets Ajanae Dawkins and Brittany Rogers interview Vanessa Angelica Villarreal about mushrooms, quantum entanglements, borders, and ethics in writing.
Poets Ajanae Dawkins and Brittany Rogers introduce a conversation with poet Vanessa Angelica Villarreal about mushrooms, quantum entanglements, borders, and ethics in writing.
Poets Ajanaé Dawkins and Brittany Rogers discuss TV shows, beauty standards, and introduce an interview with poet Amanda Charleston.
Hosts announce the final season of the poetry podcast VS, discussing poetic lineages and the canon, with a personal anecdote about beauty maintenance.
Poets discuss the concept of stillness and how physical activities like skating and singing help achieve it.
Hosts Ajanaé Dawkins and Brittany Rogers discuss their writing processes and prepare to interview poet Jericho Brown.
Poets Ajanaé Dawkins and Brittany Rogers discuss how public treatment of Whitney Houston shifted their political and ethical views, leading into an interview with poet Mia S.
Poets Brittany Rogers and Ajanaé Dawkins introduce their podcast and interview poet Maya Marshall, discussing personal interests and alternate careers.
Poets Ajanaé Dawkins and Brittany Rogers chat about DIY projects, emotional support book stacks, and prepare to interview poet Naomi Shihab Nye.
Poets Ajanaé Dawkins and Brittany Rogers interview Texas poet laureate Lupe Mendez about familial responsibility, archival, and masculinity.
Poets Ajanaé Dawkins and Brittany Rogers introduce a mini tour of the South and interview poet Joy Priest about car culture, road tripping, and Black theory.
Poets Ajanaé Dawkins and Brittany Rogers introduce a mini tour of the South and interview poet Joy Priest about car culture, road tripping, and Black Theory.
Hosts Ajanaé Dawkins and Brittany Rogers interview poet Wes Matthews about his experiences as a youth poet and the culture of poetry slams.
Poets Ajanaé Dawkins and Brittany Rogers discuss pleasure and joy, touching on pop culture and personal experiences.