Uploaded October 2019 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago

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We’re hungry for fresh ways to tell hard truths and redemptive stories, for language that would elevate and embolden rather than demean and alienate. Elizabeth Alexander shares her sense of what poetry works in us — and in our children — and why it may become more relevant, not less so, in hard and complicated times. (Original Air Date: January 6, 2011)

About the Guest:
Elizabeth Alexander is a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets and president of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Her books include "Crave Radiance" and her memoir, "The Light of the World."

Visit our website to read the transcript, download the episode, or listen to the unedited interview: onbeing.org/programs/elizabeth-alexander-words-that-shimmer

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