Shows
Wacky Poem LifeEpisode 154: Call Me NightmareEpisode 154: Call Me Nightmare explores 4 impromptu poems written by attendees of PopCon Indy in Indianapolis this June 2025. Your co-hosts Shaun and Bill revel in the imagery despite the brain fog of trying to learn how to line dance the night before. Trust us, it will all make sense when you listen. And if it doesn't, that's probably all right, too.
2025-07-2535 min
Tornado Alley Mystery WritersEpisode 38: Interview with Shaun PerkinsShaun Perkins, the founder/director of the Rural Oklahoma Museum of Poetry in Locust Grove, has published several books of poetry and a novel. She is a podcast co-host of Wacky Poem Life and has a book about the fiction of Erle Stanley Gardner, “Cocktails, Coquettes & Cigarettes: Perry Mason Concoctions,” coming out soon from Bear Manor Media. Shaun is a Teaching Artist with the Oklahoma Arts Council. She has also been the webmaster for the Territory Tellers, Oklahoma's state storytelling organization, for many years. In this interview, Shaun reads from her mystery in verse, The Book with the Good Inte...2024-11-1543 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 135: Fray BoggardsEpisode 135: Fray Boggards is a bit about creepy frogs but also about dark and scary poems and the places from which the best scary poems arise. A phantom exists in the podcast room, as well.
2024-10-1831 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 134: Uh Oh, UFOEpisode 134: Uh Oh, UFO begins with a post-it note poem written and folded into a jewelry box and left in the museum for us all to ponder. "When I was 8"....do you remember when you were 8? Do you know what flies through the skies above us? Let's discover it in poetry and wackily informative conversation.
2024-10-0434 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 133: Church GumEpisode 133: Church Gum is about precisely that, and nothing more. Church. Gum. Ah . . . just kidding. It's about getting through church and the gum at the bottom of your grandma's purse and prose poems and Chuck Norris and yeah . . . the whole universe of things that matter. How can you resist? Listen.
2024-09-1935 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 132: I Beg Your PardonEpisode 132: I Beg Your Pardon asks you to consider the rose garden, as Lynn Anderson would so want you to. Well, sort of. Roses and their cliched existence in our history and as symbols in our poetry: That’s what we tackle. Well, sort of. It’s all coming up roses–LISTEN!
2024-09-0633 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 131: Anatomy of a Human BookEpisode 131: Anatomy of a Human Book takes you on a journey into the human as book, anatomy as metaphor, the spine as paper or . . . something else. What is it like to be a book? What kind of innards do you have? What happens when someone steals them? These questions and more are not answered in this podcast. Listen anyway.
2024-08-2233 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 130: Cats Don't Have Our TongueEpisode 130: Cats Don’t Have Our Tongue is obvious when you listen as . . . we have a lot to say about cats and deliver a CATastrophic amount of poems about the cats you posted on the WPL Facebook page. Cat-lovers and poetry-lovers everywhere, unite! And . . . please listen.
2024-08-0950 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 129: Poetry in the WildEpisode 129: Poetry in the Wild begins in a gas station where we ponder the Little Debbie Red Velvet Creme Filled Cakes that we aren't supposed to eat though the alliteration of "Little Debbie can destroy your diet" is very appealing to us, and it ends with a note about tomatoes to Billy that is poetry of the best wild kind. Bunch of other stuff in between, too. LISTEN!
2024-07-2638 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 128: Poetry at the Post Office & Vet ClinicEpisode 128: Poetry at the Post Office & Vet Clinic includes post-Independence Day thoughts that have us traveling to both a post office and a veterinary clinic. Go figure! Enjoy another 30 minutes of wacky right here!
2024-07-0524 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 127: Prediction Machines, Bigfoot & a Hip CampusEpisode 127: Prediction Machines, Bigfoot & a Hip Campus discusses the brain, the mind, memory and perception and a bunch of things that have to do with our noggins. Oh, and some Emily Dickinson in there, of course. Bill and Shaun are joined by Bill's great-nephew Evan, who is very good at cutting through the nonsense. Brain jokes and sketchy knowledge of a variety of things ensue. NOTE: JW Ocker is the author of The United States of Cryptids, mentioned in the podcast.
2024-06-2032 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 126: Down the Dirt RoadsEpisode 126: Down the Dirt Roads is a different WPL episode, as Bill is out of town, and Shaun welcomes Faith Phillips, author of a book that will be the first one in the poetry museum's fall CRIME, SHE SAID book club. We discuss growing up and walking down the dirt roads in Oklahoma and a true crime case here that she wrote the book Now I Lay Me Down about. The book will soon be a multi-episode true crime documentary.
2024-06-1338 minWacky Poem LifeSwept Away in a Sweeping SweepEpisode 125: Swept Away in a Sweeping Sweep takes you on a journey through three poems recently left in the museum. Discussions about the muses, the sport of curling, line graphs, and more ensure.
2024-05-3136 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 124: The Cryptids are Coming!Episode 124: The Cryptids are Coming! Rot-ro! It’s true, Scooby Doo, the 2025 exhibit at the Rural Oklahoma Museum of Poetry will be about cryptids, the hidden creatures of our imagination, folklore . . . and occasionally, real life! Shaun and Bill discuss Bigfoot, Chuck Norris (not a cryptid . . . or . . . hmm) and more in this episode.
2024-05-1727 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 123: On Not Vegetating in an Earth CornerEpisode 123: On Not Vegetating in an Earth Corner takes Mark Twain's advice about travel and applies it to . . . traveling! and poetry! and pigs on the beach! and . . . well, just give it a listen!
2024-05-1028 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 122: Closets I Have KnownEpisode 122: Closets I Have Known is certainly about closets. Would we steer you wrong? Sweep you away? Lock you in? It's also about brooms and witches. And brooms. Sweep. Sweep. Sweep. Poetry and bad jokes, of course, abound.
2024-04-2334 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 121: Responding to Advice with HorseShaun & Bill are joined by Gallery America's Robert Reid on a journey through couplets, spells, curses, advice, empty truck beds, limericks, and lots of stuff about barns. Also, we offer you tips on how to handle advice from 3-year-old Kate and her tent sign.
2024-04-1251 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 120: Magical Petri DishEpisode 120: Magical Petri Dish steers you headlong into a discussion of community message boards and the poetry and tragedy therein. Get ready to laugh or suffer or both.
2024-03-2935 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 119: The Mystery of the Second PersonEpisode 199: The Mystery of the Second Person explores the case of the floating, ambiguous, ethereal, significant, impactful, and multifarious "YOU." If you don't know what we mean, YOU are who we mean. Yeah, something like that.
2024-03-1536 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 118: Cardi B PoetryEpisode 118: Cardi B Poetry isn’t about her, but it’s a shameless attempt to get people to this website to listen to 30-frickin’ minutes of high-class entertainment about cards, not WAP. Yep, you read that right: CARDS. GREETING CARDS. It’s something people used to do. And verse ensued and some poetry, too . . . sometimes, not too often . . . but here and there.
2024-02-2933 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 117: What the Nose KnowsEpisode 117: What the Nose Knows explores the olfactory element of our lives, as it is found in poetry and in the wild and perhaps in wild poetry. We have a variety of smell tests, some bad couplets, and a few wonderful poems by Crystal Wilkinson, William Carlos Williams, and Emily Dickinson. Follow your nose and let your ears enjoy this 1/2 hour of nasal knowing.
2024-02-1732 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 116: Bony Sodden HulkEpisode 116: Bony Sodden Hulk features your favorite February furry creature, the groundhog, just in time for Groundhog Day. No, he's not a bony sodden hulk . . . well, not yet anyway. We'll all be there someday. Please to enjoy this entry with groundhog poems and lore and a wonderful impromptu limerick from Bill!
2024-02-0130 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 115: Bring on the Belly LaughsEpisode 115: Bring on the Belly Laughs celebrates Global Belly Laugh Day with poems by Billy Collins and a special hairdresser/jill of all trades guest Sandy.
2024-01-2533 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 114: Poetry Out Loud & ZestyEpisode 114: Poetry Out Loud & Zesty takes you into the world of poetry memorization and recitation, but wait, don’t run away . . . It’s an entertaining episode, too, wherein Shaun cracks Bill up and vice versa and the sublime and the ridiculous interact, as is the way that life is supposed to work after all.
2024-01-1235 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 113: Boldly Fruity Acts of BarbarismEpisode 113: Boldly Fruity is a potpourri episode where hosts Bill and Shaun walk in not knowing what the other is going to discuss. A paper bag full of gum, a writer's toolkit, various poems and barbarism ensue.
2024-01-0540 minWacky Poem LifeMessage in a Bottle to JupiterEpisode 112: Here you shall learn all you would want to know about messages in a bottle, or at least, a lot of cool stuff about them. Throw one in the Crutchfield Relief beside the poetry museum, and we'll be happy! Sign up with NASA and send your name in a bottle to Jupiter with a poem by U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limon!
2023-12-2242 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 111: Purrfectly FamiliarEpisode 111: Purrrfectly Familiar delves into the concept of the witch's familiar and the various animals that have served this purpose, or at least, served it in someone's eyes enough to make the woman A WITCH! Crocodiles, ferrets and hedgehogs are all welcome, along with the traditional cats.
2023-12-1531 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 110: Make Art--Eat CerealEpisode 110: Make Art--Eat Cereal takes you on a journey to a child's yard sale art stand to the origins of creativity, into cereal and foxes with tails on fire and creative play as a necessary component of everyone's lives. All in 30 frickin' minutes. Be in awe.
2023-12-0833 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 109: Feeding Two Birds with One SconeEpisode 109: Feeding Two Birds with One Scone answers the age-old question of why we ever considered killing them instead. Tune in to hear how the poetry of language shall be ignored to our utter destruction as a civilization. Or just listen to the bad jokes.
2023-11-2937 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 108: Potpourri for $200, AlexEpisode 108: Potpourri for $200, Alex is our first potpourri episode, wherein neither host knows what the other is going to discuss before recording starts. Thus, you will hear about A.E. Houseman, Edwin Way Teale and nature poetry and the case for the poet/Jack the Ripper suspect. A potpourri for the senses!
2023-11-1733 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 107: The Voluptuous Texture of SpellsEpisode 107: The Voluptuous Texture of Spells takes us into Wendy the Good Witch's Chant Closet at the Rural Oklahoma Museum of Poetry, where we explore 3 chants left by visitors and also discuss wart spells and brooms and Hecate. All in 30-frickin' minutes. It's incredible, really.
2023-11-1030 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 106: Barbie Boxed InEpisode 106: Barbie Boxed In delves into the shadow box art tradition, particularly those created by artist and podcast co-host Bill Guthrie for the Rural Oklahoma Museum of Poetry's current exhibit Her Kind: The Witch in History, Popular Culture & Poetry. We chant about ekphrastic poetry and Barbie dolls, sailors and avatars and so much more. Please to enjoy.
2023-11-0336 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 105: Queen of Mystery & MagicEpisode 105: Queen of Mystery & Magic allows us to escape to New Orleans for a time to explore the poetry surrounding Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen, who lived a life unlike many popular stories about her have led us to believe.
2023-10-2834 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 104: A Woman Ferocious and UntameableEpisode 104: A Woman Ferocious and Untameable delves into the folklore of Baba Yaga, the Slavic witch of folktale, literature and popular culture. We have frequent mentions of cannibalism also, without actually using the word “cannibalism.” We do not have the courage that Baba Yaga has! But you do so LISTEN!
2023-10-2033 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 103: An Improper WitchEpisode 103: An Improper Witch is a fun little ride through the pop culture favorite "Bewitched," starring Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha Stephens. We start with a poem about her and go into some trivia and key moments from the show that are bewitchingly poetic.
2023-10-1336 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 102: She’s a Witch!Episode 102: She’s a Witch! is the first episode in our series about witches that will accompany the opening of the Rural Oklahoma Museum of Poetry’s exhibit on witches. In this episode we discuss Mother Shipton, and Bill also gives you his Top Ten Witchy Songs!
2023-10-0634 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 101: A Little Comma-RaderieEpisode 101: A Little Comma-Raderie is a celebration of National Punctuation Day, which we turned into National Punctuation Week. Shaun, Bill and special guest Kathleen discuss punctuation in poetry, sing a punctuation song, and debate the Oxford comma. It’s scandalous stuff, but don’t take our word for it. Listen! The song at the beginning and end “Punctuation Blues” is by Jonathan Taylor Brittunculi.
2023-09-3038 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 100: Excess Fowl Who Came to EarthEpisode 100: Excess Fowl Who Came to Earth involves a hullabaloo for our podcast’s 100th episode, including special guests Verla Fletcher and Les Kern, a discussion of the town’s Goose Grab and a review of the county police blotter, with poetic emphasis on Rocklahoma and a new version of our state song. It’s exhaustive . . . and highly entertaining. The wonderful Marea Breedlove also filmed a video of the podcast, which you can watch at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQMjaHabtMw&t=1s
2023-09-2356 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 99: Haiku Hit-Me StanceEpisode 99: Haiku Hit-Me Stance takes you on a journey into the world of tai chai, taekwondo, haiku, poetic truths and truths of everyday life. That’s right, dear listeners, this is some heady stuff, short on the wacky this time, but long on the enlightening bliss! Special guest: Master Paul Flaherty.
2023-09-1539 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 98: The Dude Inside of YouEpisode 98: The Dude Inside of You is about a dude hand poem left in the museum and much dudeness and macaroni, Yankee Doodles, bad singing, and the eternal ponderings of the universal human encased in skin with meat and skeleton.
2023-09-0834 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 97: Fruit of the Unenclosed LandEpisode 97: Fruit of the Unenclosed Land is a collage of broken things, with some fruit and goblins thrown in there, plus some anaphora and assonance and other a-words, such as acorns, along with a defense of pockets. Really, does it matter what we say in this description? Thank you to our fans Nora and Verla for the poem suggestion!
2023-08-3137 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 96: To Ramble About PlunderingEpisode 96: To Ramble About Plundering includes discussion of one of the best poems we have received at the museum in quite some time. Check out Holly Van Auken’s “In Its Time” and then tolerate Bill and Shaun getting into aesthetics, strip malls, Barbie jokes and more.
2023-08-2636 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 95: Barbie’s Accumulating EmergenciesEpisode 95: Barbie's Accumulating Emergencies borrows a phrase from Adrienne Rich, invites a Barbie Manifesto, discusses creativity in the young and rhapsodizes on the importance of creativity and nurturing the fragile growing mind. Yes, we did all that in 30 minutes. Listen and find out.
2023-08-1835 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 94: Picnicking with the DeadEpisode 94: Picnicking with the Dead is about cemeteries and poems about cemeteries and fears of being buried alive. Bad jokes from both Shaun and Bill., the Master of Metaphor who gets his appropriate birthday present. Enjoy!
2023-08-1134 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 93: Tunnels I Have KnownEpisode 93: Tunnels I Have Known begins with a perfectly lovely poem written in cursive on blue paper and left on the NATURE wall in the museum and then becomes something about tunnels of love because Shaun can't get over Bruce Springsteen. Bill poses questions he knows the answers to, and more subtle wacky ensues. Enjoy.
2023-08-0439 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 92: WWBDEpisode 92: WWBD delves into the quandary of What Would Burt Do, meaning, in terms of swimming. What would Burt Lancaster of the 1968 film “The Swimmer,” based on the sublime story by John Cheever, do in a situation? Or, in other words, what would a group of folks who gathered to celebrate Yevgeny Yevtushenko’s birthday in the hamlet of 1,400 people, Locust Grove, Oklahoma, have to say about swimming, inspired by the Yevtushenko poem, as read by Zhenya Yevtushenko, his son? I think those were questions. Listen and find out what the heck all this means!
2023-07-2833 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 92: WWBDEpisode 92: WWBD delves into the quandary of What Would Burt Do, meaning, in terms of swimming. What would Burt Lancaster of the 1968 film "The Swimmer," based on the sublime story by John Cheever, do in a situation. Or, in other words, what would a group of folks who gathered to celebrate Yevgeny Yevtushenko's birthday in the hamlet of 1,400 people, Locust Grove, Oklahoma, have to say about swimming, inspired by the Yevtushenko poem, as read by Zhenya Yevtushenko, his son? I think that was a question. Listen and find out what the heck all this means!
2023-07-2833 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 91: Flirting with Self-ActualizationEpisode 91: Flirting with Self-Actualization is about travel and maps, floorplans, blueprints and the poetry within all of that mess. It sounds hifalutin’ but it’s just our usual nonsense, profound, but nonsense nonetheless. Enjoy!
2023-07-1933 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 90: One-Cylinder Guitar PickerEpisode 90: One Cylinder Guitar Picker is about Woody Guthrie, the Poet of the People, from Okemah, Oklahoma, whose birthday is July 14. We discuss songwriters who are poets and poets who are poets and Bill masterfully completes some WG quotes, and there's only a tad bit of profanity. Lots of crickets though. Some polk greens, too.
2023-07-1435 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 89: Yelling Expletives for over an Hour ContinuouslyEpisode 89: Yelling Expletives For Over an Hour Continuously takes us back to the Police Blotter in our county paper and a trip through memories, poetry, crime, stolen grills and a quarrel about numbers at Cooper's Bridge. ALSO: Special guest Robert Reid from OETA, the man behind Gallery America, talks about the show and his new podcast and plays along impeccably with us.
2023-07-0755 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 88: Summertime Tootsie WootsieEpisode 88: Summertime is exactly what it sounds like--all things poetic, muddy and salty within the purview of summertime. What is your summer song? What is your summer self? Find it in this episode, while we walk with our tootsie wootsie in the good ole summertime.
2023-06-3048 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 87: Round BarnEpisode 87: Round Barn is about a red round barn, a rondelet or two, singing pigs, electrical outages, the Nelson brothers and guzzling things. Just go with it, folks.
2023-06-2332 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 86: Totally PoetryTulsaEpisode 86: Totally Poetry Tulsa is our second episode with special guest Zhenya Yevtushenko, who talks with us about poets and poetry happenings in Tulsa, just a short lovely drive from our podcast home. He also shares some of his wonderful poetry with us.
2023-06-161h 07Wacky Poem LifeEpisode 85: Yevgeny YevtushenkoEpisode 85 boasts a special guest, Zhenya Yevtushenko, the great poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko's son, who talks about his dad, reads his poetry, and discusses his legacy. and his life in Tulsa and points beyond. The opening music snippet is from Shostakovich's Symphony No. 13 based on Yevtushenko's poem "Babi Yar," with Oleg Tsibulko conducting the Russian National Orchestra.
2023-06-0853 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 84: Off the Beaten PathEpisode 84: Off the Beaten Path explores the most misunderstood poem in the world, diverges into misunderstood song lyrics, and includes a multitude of poetic ways of seeing what a "path" is and which one you are on. There's a little bit of wacky to satisfy the "wacky" in our name, of course.
2023-06-0236 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 83: She Seen GunholesEpisode 83: She Seen Gunholes takes us into the wacky world of incident calls reported in our local paper in the POLICE BLOTTER column. Of necessity, the entries are heavy on nouns and verbs and guess what else is . . . poetry. We have found our calling.
2023-05-2533 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 82:Old Bobi the DogEpisode 82: Old Bobi the Dog is about the oldest living dog and dogs we have loved, dogs that are suitable for poetry . . . or not. Dogs who hide under trailers. Dogs named Toby Keith. Dogs everywhere. Dog Dog. Arf!
2023-05-1934 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 81: Plague Doctor Rat TaxidermyEpisode 81: Plague Doctor Rat Taxidermy is precisely what it sounds like, a foray into the world of taxidermy, well, sort of, and literary taxidermy, cool plague doctor rats and all things stuffed or stuffing. ALSO, be sure to enter the Literary Taxidermy Contest and win a free WPL t-shirt! Enjoy!
2023-05-1235 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 80: War MonsterEpisode 80: War Monster steps back to let the Poppy Lady speak. She stands in the museum in the theme area about WAR. Write your war experience haunting you on a red poppy card and offer it to her. We read some of the offerings.
2023-05-0540 minWacky Poem LifeLizards Will Be RunningEpisode 79: Lizards Will Be Running was originally titled Skinks in May, and it is about skinks and about May and about skinks in May, but it is about so much more, dear listener, so very much more. Enjoy! Opening bird song recorded by Bill Guthrie.
2023-04-2834 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 78: Reba Has Pockets!Episode 78: Reba has Pockets may or may not mention Reba McEntire, but it is all about pockets, particularly POEM IN YOUR POCKET DAY, and we are quite sure that Reba would stuff a poem in the pocket of one of her pairs of REBA jeans!
2023-04-2144 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 77: Hunt and PeckEpisode 77: Hunt and Peck begins with a wonderful ode to typewriters by Zhenya Yevtushenko and proceeds to give you a bunch of useless information about typewriters. Qwerty Qwerty Qwerty . . . Guffaw! Guffaw! Guffaw!
2023-04-1436 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 76: 76Episode 76: 76 is not an episode where we couldn't think of a title. It's actually episode #76 about the #76. We have our reasons, both poetic and popular. Then again, we are full of snot and Grenache, too.
2023-04-0437 min
Grit#132 Former 49ers Quarterback Alex Smith and Former Warriors Guard Shaun Livingston: Hard StepsGuests: Alex Smith and Shaun Livingston, former players for the San Francisco 49ers and Golden State Warriors“I just thought, the best of my life is behind me.” That’s what former NFL quarterback Alex Smith recalls of a devastating leg fracture in 2018 that threatened to end his football career forever. Former NBA guard Shaun Livingston suffered a similar injury early in his career, and both men were told the only way forward might be leg amputation & retirement. They endured through depression, surgeries, and painful physical therapy, and both of them found their way back to pro sports...2023-04-0355 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 75: Oklahoma BookshelfEpisode 75: Oklahoma Bookshelf delves into a imagery-filled Oklahoma found poem by a local writer and podcast fan and includes numerous bad Chuck Norris jokes and Bill’s attempts to deflect Shaun from continuing to make them. Also, some great poems by some Oklahoma poets now on display in the oklaPOEThoma exhibit in the museum.
2023-03-2938 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 74: Trash and TreasureEpisode 74: Trash and Treasure is about precisely that, or more imprecisely, about women and how you can't put them on a pedestal, nor can you bury them under it. Can we just learn how to be decent human beings? No. Okay . . . well, let's just read some poems and tell trashy jokes then.
2023-03-2435 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 73: Stalked and BrandedEpisode 73: Stalked and Branded is a sort of continuation of Episode 72, where we discuss more poet stalking information around the Ruth Finley case, plus other poets as stalkers or stalkers as poets and carving poems in desks. Oh, also a branding or two.
2023-03-1742 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 72: Poet as StalkerEpisode 72: Poet as Stalker diverges from the normal WPL path and into serial killer/stalker territory with a true crime case not far from home. When poetry is therapy, when it is threat, when it is . . . therapy once again. And in the midst of it all: Blood and railroad tracks.
2023-03-0940 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 71: Agent Hunger and the Flaming DucksEpisode 71: Agent Hunger and the Flaming Ducks is the working title of a new fantasy novel about a world where a secret agent is aided by a band of pyromaniac fowl in a land devastated by a poultry apocalypse . . . just kidding. It's about the poetic symbolism of fire . . . and ducks.
2023-03-0335 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 70: Love Is . . .Episode 70: Love Is . . . begins with a knock knock joke and concludes with a fart joke. In between, there is Shakespeare and the biology of truth and trust as explained with a cell diagram by Dr. Bill, and through it all . . . ah! . . . the power of metaphor!
2023-02-2439 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 69: Rhianna is PregnantEpisode 69: Rhianna is Pregnant is perhaps not about Rhianna, but you will just have to listen to find out. You may discover it's about the poetic things that people have left in the world for others to see . . . or perhaps not see. Or maybe it's about the little known news that Rhianna is pregnant.
2023-02-1739 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 68: It’s the Real ThingEpisode 68: It's the Real Thing is not about a Coca Cola ad, which you would not even think about anyway if you are under the age of 55, but it is about hands, hand in hand, fingerprints on one's hands, Ma Barker's gang of outlaws during the Depression and . . . hands, particularly Nancy June's hands and her lovely poem.
2023-02-1028 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 67: Lady Gaga ScarecrowEpisode 67: Lady Gaga Scarecrow is actually about scarecrows, which we dare to discuss in winter, as this poem left in the museum pissed off Shaun but then it was all right and then, it becomes a pretty good poem or "pome," as the case may be. Bill reads it 3 or 4 times. We lose count and then we talk about Lady Gaga in her lampshade dress and stuff like that.
2023-02-0334 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 66: Murder PoetsEpisode 66: Murder Poets is really only about one murdering poet, but it’s also about a poet writing about that murdering poet and . . . also Barbie and Ken. In all seriousness, we celebrate the winning poem from our Okie Outlaw Poem Contest, which Bill McCloud wrote: a lovely lyric about Bonnie Parker, herself a proclaimed poet. Reba McEntire also enters the picture, as does the town of Chickiechockie.
2023-01-2735 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 65: Fallen WomanEpisode 65: Fallen Woman takes you on a journey to the roadside haunts of a female in distress, a Precious Moments doll (to be honest), rescued by Bill and the instigator for Frankenstein-like transformation and poetry and tales of empathy of those who cannot suffer a naked baby doll. Yeah . . . that about covers it. OH, ALSO! Suggest a name for the transformed doll at WackyPoemLife@gmail.com.
2023-01-2037 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 64: Rodeo ClownEpisode 64: Rodeo Clown has us tripping through the land of Couplets and Clowns, of the rodeo kind, in particular. Learn about the history of the rodeo clown, the joys of the couplet and hone your clown joke skills, while riding in a barrel through the 30 luxurious minutes of this episode. You know you want to.
2023-01-1337 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 63: Wooly-Headed DeclineEpisode 63: Wooly-Headed Decline takes its name from a computer-generated poem about loss. Never fear: Real poems are also a part of this episode, along with restless shadows, brain dissection, losing one's marbles and general cluelessness involving the meaning of the lyrics in Steely Dan's "Rikki Don't Lose That Number."
2023-01-0636 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 62: Abject TerrorEpisode 62: Abject Terror takes its title from Professor Darren Hick’s response when he realized his students were using a program that writes essays for them. Thus, this is not a Halloween episode or a Poe or King story, but it could be–depending on your sensibilities. Bill and Shaun discuss computers writing poetry and the end of the world as we know it.
2022-12-2938 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 61: Fish are Biting TodayEpisode 61: Fish are Biting Today details the inner workings of the fish mind, a wonderful poem by a visitor to the museum and a wonderful poem by Elizabeth Bishop, a memory of floating turds and various and sundry other memories. Do tell.
2022-12-2436 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 60: Being NobodyEpisode 60: Being Nobody begins with Chuck Norris, goes into Bruce Lee, and ends with a lovely Christmas poem, and in between we have a poem about just existing and Emily Dickinson sits in the corner and does her Nobody act for all the world to see. Or something like that.
2022-12-1635 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 59: How StillEpisode 59: How Still is about the Brady Bunch, paper dolls, asses, and Mrs. Santa Claus. Actually, it’s about a perfectly lovely Matsuo Basho haiku sent to us on a postcard from Japan in the year 2013. And it’s also about the Brady Bunch, paper dolls, asses . . .
2022-12-0934 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 58: Antique DollEpisode 58: Antique Doll is about dolls. And Ukraine. And candles in the window. Tickle Me Elmo jokes. Dolls vs Action Figures. It’s about all of these things and more. It’s about life. And poetry. . . . And stuff like that.
2022-12-0234 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 57: Sibling SituationsEpisode 57: Sibling Situations dives into the sibling battles and joys and times your sister tied a bully to the tree or locked the other sisters in the cellar. Oh, not your experience? Well, enjoy these sibling poems and situations vicariously then!
2022-11-2634 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 56: Mushroom MessageEpisode 56: Mushroom Message relays the messages and dream interpretations one might associate with that friendly fungus, the mushroom. Shroom, shroom, shroom. Someone left us a great mushroom poem in the museum, so here we go.......Opening music from Walter Jahn's YouTube channel.
2022-11-1935 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 55: Poems in MoviesEpisode 55: Poems in Movies is not a regular Wacky Poem Life episode, as Shaun flies solo and talks about a trio of movies in which poems play some sort of role. It’s a bit rough, a bit philosophical, a bit personal and doesn’t really go anywhere . . . but maybe you’ll like it anyway!
2022-11-1027 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 54: Crawl OutsideEpisode 54: Crawl Outside encourages you to do so, especially if it’s out a window, especially if it might be uncomfortable and you might land in the Rose of Sharon bushes and then have to go get a massage. Opportunity waits out there, so says our poet of the week, so says Oklahoma’s favorite son Will Rogers, whose birthday is the day this podcast was recorded, November 4. Crawl outside, crawl into this episode, which begins with a recording from Rogers himself.
2022-11-0439 minWacky Poem LifeEpisode 53: Halloween TeethEpisode 53: Halloween Teeth covers a delightfully ghoulish Dark & Scary poem contest winner that has us theorizing about odontophobia and philia and macabre thoughts of the season, along with a particularly distasteful Poetry Court poem.
2022-10-2834 min
Poem LifeEpisode 12: Naming the Gaudy NeighborThis episode explores the concept of naming and how part of the poet's job is to name things accurately and part of growing up involves living with or choosing the name that suits us.
2020-04-0727 minPoem LifeEpisode 11: The Play is the ThingThis episode describes the connection between plays and poetry and how the two connect in the life of a budding poet.
2020-03-2821 minPoem LifeEpisode 10: Running AwayThis episode explores a theme of many young adult novels, running away, and how this theme also relates to growing up, both ideas of major importance in the life of a young poet.
2020-03-2226 minPoem LifeEpisode 9: Young RomanceThis episode describes romance comic books of the 1970's and the possible influence of the genre in the poetry of teenage girls.
2020-03-1928 minPoem LifeEpisode 8: Moving BackwardThis episode explores the function of the typewriter and publishing format in the development of a poet, who is seeking to connect but is moving backward.
2020-03-1724 minPoem LifeEpisode 7: Notes on Poetic MemoryThis episode describes how childhood events become or do not become poetry and also ponders the nature of memory's influence on our writing.
2020-03-0227 minPoem LifeEpisode 6: The Longing for RuinThis episode explains how the stuff of good poetry does not come naturally or biologically to us as children but a longing for ruin does.
2020-02-2423 minPoem LifeEpisode 5: Library Blocks & Heart StonesThis episode explores the theme of abandonment in our actual lives and in literature and the interplay between the two that can create poetry.
2020-02-1921 minPoem LifeEpisode 4: Ghosts in Autograph BooksThis episode explores the phenomenon of autograph books and junior high note writing and the lives and the poetry that emerge from them.
2020-02-1619 minPoem LifeEpisode 3: Strong Girls and Young YearsThis episode describes two books that introduced the poet to a world of the imagination where both passive ladies and strong girls lived.
2020-02-1321 minPoem LifeEpisode 2: Snake Creek & Story Trail OriginsThis episode details the places and other influences that shape the beginnings of a life in poetry.
2020-02-1122 minPoem LifeEpisode 1: IntroductionIn this first episode of POEM LIFE, Rural Oklahoma Museum of Poetry founder/director Shaun Perkins introduces her forensic study of a life in poetry. Why do people begin writing poetry? Why did she?
2020-02-1009 min
Shaun D Wilson: D is for...Shaun Denial Wilson/Shaun Decaffeinated WilsonThis is 'The Shaun Denial Wilson/Shaun Decaffeinated Wilson Show'! That's right; two SDW's for the price of one (well actually they are all free, but I dunno maybe bandwidth comes into it for you). You will also have the privilege of being in the audience while the show is recorded and enjoy the talents of the two warm-up acts: Peter Perkins and 'Brun'. If you're wondering why none of the audience laughs during the show you should realize that it's not a laugh out loud funny show, it's far more subtle. Actually I don't know why I bother with booking o...2007-04-3006 min