Poetry Moment highlights the wealth of poets and poetry in Pennsylvania. The series is a collaboration between WPSU and a central Pennsylvania poet, who hosts the show.
Marjorie Maddox has hosted the show since 2023. Each week, Maddox selects, introduces, and reads poems by a sampling of Pennsylvania poets from different regions of our state. Poetry Moment seeks to focus attention on the ways poetry speaks to our individual and collective histories and arises out of the places we inhabit and that inhabit us.
She is Professor Emerita of English and creative writing at the Lock Haven campus of Commonwealth University. She has 17 collections of poetry, most recently How Can I Look It Up When I Don’t Know How It’s Spelled? Spelling Mnemonics and Grammar Tricks (kelsaybooks.com); Begin with a Question (paracletepress.com); and the ekphrastic collaborations Heart Speaks, Is Spoken For (shantiarts.co), with photographer Karen Elias, and In the Museum of My Daughter’s Mind (shantiarts.co) with her artist daughter Anna Lee Hafer (hafer.work) and others. Small Earthly Space (Shanti Arts), Seeing Things (Wildhouse 2025), and Hover Here (Broadstone 2025) are forthcoming.
In addition, she has published a short story collection, four children’s books, and, with Jerry Wemple, the anthologies Common Wealth: Contemporary Poets on Pennsylvania (psupress.psu.edu) and the forthcoming Keystone Poetry: Contemporary Poets on Pennsylvania (PSU Press).
Maddox is the great grandniece of Branch Rickey, the General Manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers who helped break the color barrier by signing Jackie Robinson to Major League Baseball. She lives with her husband in Williamsport, where they raised their two children, and where she twice served as visiting author for the Little League World Series. You can find out more about Marjorie Maddox on her website (marjoriemaddox.com). (Photo by Melanie Rae.)
The 2022-23 season was hosted by Penn State Altoona professor Todd Davis.
The 2021-22 season was hosted by then Penn State laureate Shara McCallum.
Poetry Moment's music is by Eric Ian Farmer.
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On this episode of Poetry Moment on WPSU, Penn State Laureate Shara McCallum looks at the work of Gabeba Baderoon including her poem “The Edge of Things." -
On this episode of Poetry Moment on WPSU, Penn State Laureate Shara McCallum looks at the the work of Jerry Wemple and his poem "Night." -
On this episode of Poetry Moment on WPSU, Penn State Laureate Shara McCallum looks at the work of Paula Bohince and her poem "Where Radio Fails." -
On this episode of Poetry Moment on WPSU, Penn State Laureate Shara McCallum looks at the work of Antonio Vallone and his poem "Why I Hate Clowns." -
On this episode of Poetry Moment on WPSU, Penn State Laureate Shara McCallum looks at the work of George Looney and his poem “Figures We're Meant to Believe In". -
On this episode of Poetry Moment on WPSU, Penn State Laureate Shara McCallum looks at the work of Robin Becker including her poem “The New Egypt." -
On this episode of Poetry Moment on WPSU, Penn State Laureate Shara McCallum looks at the work of Le Hinton including his poem “Epidemic.” -
On this episode of Poetry Moment on WPSU, Penn State laureate Shara McCallum looks at the work of Rachel Mennies, including her poem “The Creation of Temple Beth Shalom.” -
On this episode of Poetry Moment on WPSU, Penn State laureate Shara McCallum looks at the work of Julia Spicher Kasdorf, including her poem “Swallows Over Bellefonte.”
