Poet Reginald Dwayne Betts' New Poetry Collection; Bronx-Based Poet-Activist On Queer Black Life; Manhattan's Dutch, British and Indigenous History

Roya Marsh’s new collection of poems is titled, savings time. She published her first collection, titled DayliGht in 2020.

On today's show:

  • Poet Reginald Dwayne Betts has just released his latest poetry collection Doggerel, named after a kind of amusing, burlesque-inspired poetic form commonly found in nursery rhymes. Betts will share some excerpts from the collection, and share why he selected that form to muse about some of humanity's most steadfast companions: dogs.

  • Bronx-born activist and poet Roya Marsh discusses her second collection of poems, titled savings time which tackles themes like police brutality, urban gentrification and queer identity. Marsh discusses her latest work, a follow up to her first collection, dayliGht, which was nominated for the 2021 Lambda Literary Award for Poetry.

  • The latest book from Russell Shorto explores the historical conflict between the Dutch and the English over the island of Manhattan, as well as the story of the indigenous people who had long occupied the land being contested by two European nations. Shorto shares his insights from Taking Manhattan: The Extraordinary Events That Created New York and Shaped America.