44 Poems on Being with Each Other

“Thought-provoking.” —Alex Clark, Irish Times

This celebratory anthology explores human connection through forty-four poems curated by Pádraig Ó Tuama, the host of On Being’s Poetry Unbound podcast.
44 Poems on Being with Each Other is a new volume that offers immersive reflections on the human connection. With an observant eye, Pádraig Ó Tuama shares an enlightening meditation on each poem, revealing the ways we relate to each other, the world around us, and ourselves. Among the selections, Ó Tuama examines friendship and its loss through Langston Hughes’s “I Loved My Friend,” changing familial bonds in Rita Dove’s “Eurydice, Turning,” the relationship with the past in Mary Oliver’s “The Uses of Sorrow,” the power of declaration in Lucille Clifton’s “Won’t You Celebrate with Me,” and the necessity of connection to land in Joy Harjo’s “Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings.”

Blending humor with insight, tension with tenderness, complexity with care, 44 Poems on Being with Each Other articulates the power of poetry itself. Through careful and incisive readings, it illuminates aspects of the human condition, particularly the ways we are inextricably linked to each other, and provides inspiration for grounded self-reflection. It is an anthology that will delight readers, just as Pádraig’s podcast has done for millions around the world.