In this episode, we read and discuss Philip Levine's most famous poem, "What Work Is." We consider his deft use of the second-person perspective, the sociability and narrative energy of his poetry, and his deep concern for the insecurity that defines the lives of so working-class laborers.
Click here to read "What Work Is": https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/52173/what-work-is
Photo credit: Geoffrey Berliner
"What Work Is" was published in What Work Is (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/100554/what-work-is-by-philip-levine/) (Knopf, 1991). Thanks to Penguin Random House for granting us permission to read this poem.
