Poetry Games
Celebrating the ancient link between the athletic and the poetic.
'Swim Your Own Race' Wins NPR's Poetry Games()
August 10, 2012 Poet Mbali Vilakazi was inspired by a fellow South African, swimmer Natalie du Toit, who lost one of her legs at age 17 and is the first female amputee to qualify for the Olympic Games. "It's not about what happens to you, it's about how quickly you can get up," Vilakazi says.
Honoring The Games, And The Past, With Poetry()
July 27, 2012 In the days of the ancient Greeks, poetry and sport went hand in hand at athletic festivals like the Olympics. Morning Edition is reviving that tradition with the Poetry Games. We've invited poets to compose original works celebrating the Olympics. You will judge who should win the victor's crown.
'Lifting,' And Lifted By, Words()
July 30, 2012 Poet Ouyang Yu imagines an Olympic event in which he lifts up just one extraordinary word. "The magic of the word is that, when well lifted, it has the power to transform," Yu says.
'Olimpicamente': In Praise Of Feistiness And Big Feet()
July 31, 2012 Poet Monica de la Torre takes inspiration from Mexican taekwondo champion Maria del Rosario Espinoza. "I am dumbfounded and positively moved by Maria del Rosario's improbable story," the poet says.
'Once More,' Passing The Torch To One And All()
August 1, 2012 Slovenian poet Ales Steger says that the Olympics are for everyone, even "bankers with pacemakers" to "naked sumo wrestlers." The poem is a playful, "lightly humorous call to action," says Brian Henry, Steger's award-winning translator.
'The Wrestler' Grapples With Myth, Power And Love()
August 2, 2012 Poet Kazim Ali found inspiration in an ancient Greek mythological story about a wrestling bout between Meleager and Atalanta. In Ali's poem, a wrestler finds strength in his breath and body in movement with another.
Against All Odds, You 'Swim Your Own Race'()
August 3, 2012 Poet Mbali Vilakazi pays tribute to South African swimmer Natalie du Toit, the first female amputee ever to qualify for the Olympic Games. For Vilakazi, du Toit's accomplishment is "everything the Olympics represent ... the triumph of the human spirit."
