Posted August 11, 2011

NPR Broadcast a spot on All Things Considered on August 10, 2011 concerning the appointment of Philip Levine as Poet Laureate for the United States.  The Detroit born poet took his inspiration from Southern preachers he heard in his youth. 

What followed was a poem read by Levine – and it is available as a free download from the Poetry Foundation.  The poem “What Work Is”,considers waiting for work, brotherly love and the work of writing poetry.  One section describes a man leaving a night shift working in an automobile factory  and going home to study German, so he could sing Wagner.  It’s a wonderful piece of prose, but it seems Levine doesn’t care for Wagner.

Here is a link to “What Work Is”

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/features/audioitem/2312