Episode 8 - Poetry that Blows the Door off your Brain with Anna Deem

In this episode, Anna Deem, a high school English teacher in Chicago, and I discuss how seasons of life change our reading habits, her love of poetry, and our definitive shared overrated book. We also discuss the influence of the Beat generation on her writing and end with some excellent recommendations for books she enjoys with her 4-year-old daughter. 

 

Books mentioned in this episode: 

 

What Betsy’s reading: 

Dune by Frank Herbert 

The Nix by Nathan Hill 

Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman

Sisters of the Lost Nation by Nick Medina

 

Books Highlighted by Anna: 

The Stranger by Albert Camus

Native Son by Richard Wright 

The Crown Ain’t Worth Much by Hanif Abdurraqib 

Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs, Jr. 

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner 

Just Kids: An Autobiography by Patti Smith 

Anthropology of an American Girl by Hilary Thayer Hamann 

Howl by Alan Ginsberg 

 

Other Books Mentioned in the Episode:

All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.  

Fast Times and Ridgemont High by Cameron Crowe (out of print) 

The Nineties: A Book by Chuck Klosterman 

Junky by William S. Burroughs 

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace

Promises of Gold by José Olivarez 

The Breakbeat Poets: New American Poetry in the Age of Hip-Hop edited by Kevin Coval, Quraysh Ali Lansana, and Nate Marshall 

Selected Poems of Anne Sexton by Anne Sexton 

The Collected Poems by Sylvia Plath 

Very Good Hats by Emma Straub and Blanca Gómez 

Dress-Up Day by Blanca Gómez 

Taylor Swift: A Little Golden Book Biography by Wendy Loggia and Elisa Chavarri