Best Robyn ONeilp Podcasts (2025)

1
Episode 397: Nabokov, Merriam-Webster & Bad Documentaries 37:50

Play Pause

2M ago37:50

37:50

"The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities of darkness." - Vladimir Nabokov "I love ruled paper." - Me LINKS: Buy The Best American Essays of The Century Buy Merriam-Webster's Vocabulary Builder Learn more about my drawing HELL See James Ensor in front of Chris…

1
Episode 396: MY 10th ANNIVERSARY EPISODE❣️ / C.K. Williams - Writers Writing Dying 22:14

4M ago22:14

22:14

Dear You, We last spoke in January and I've missed you; I've missed this. A lot has happened. A lot has not. Let's pick back up where we left off, but let's make it better and more loving this time. Let's not let the hoards of negatives overshadow the rest — the ever-present glimmerings of light. I simply can't anymore. I woke up different after th…

1
Episode 395: Lydia Davis - Priority (Again) & Answer Corner 48:45

10M ago48:45

48:45

"It is certainly true that the larger and older the living thing is, the harder it is to know how to care for it." - Lydia Davis "I barely know what a uterus is for God's sake." - Me LINKS: Buy "The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis" HERE. Become a Subscriber on My Substack! Become a Paid Subscriber and get a drawing! My Instagram My Website My Yout…

1
Episode 394: The Life of Northern Calloway (David from Sesame Street) 36:17

11M ago36:17

36:17

"Help! I'm David from Sesame Street, and they're trying to kill me!" - Northern Calloway "Grab the broom of anger and drive off the beast of fear." - Zora Neale Hurston LINKS: The Wikipedia article on Northern Calloway My Substack Damien Jurado's record label - Maraqopa

1
Episode 393: Joshua Rivkin - In the Black (on Cy Twombly) 53:46

11M ago53:46

53:46

Praying for apathy, deciding towards easy. Love, Robyn LINKS: Buy Joshua Rivkin's Chalk: The Art and Erasure of Cy Twombly Here is my SUBSTACK! Here is my website. The Cy Twombly Gallery Robert Rauschenberg Jasper Johns Henry Darger

1
Episode 392: Steve Zirnkilton - In the Criminal Justice System 38:11

11M ago38:11

38:11

"The people who have made me feel the worst were always my best friends." -Detective Olivia Benson "I'll never sell 14 million like Hammer, I just wanna do a good Ice-T show." - Ice-T LINKS: Get your drawing! Subscribe to my Substack Watch the Driver 23 / Atlas Moth Trailer Watch the Fitzcarraldo Trailer The NBC article on Steve Zirnkilton Listen t…

1
Episode 391: Sick Day 1:38

12M ago1:38

1:38

Dear Boss, I am sick. Love, Robyn

1
Episode 390: Leonard Cohen - Book of Mercy 14:14

12M ago14:14

14:14

A - ABLE-MINDED B - BICUSPID C - CROSS-EXAMINATION K - Keeping You Company With love, Robyn LINKS: Well, I've never linked to Amazon for books, but that seems to be the only place I see Leonard Cohen's Book of Mercy, so head over there to buy it! There's also a set of several of his books on there that look really great, so maybe do that! My Subtac…

1
Episode 389: Copy & Paste: The Cold Episode 19:08

1y ago19:08

19:08

LINKS: My Substack Buy my book HERE. Watch American Movie HERE.

1
Episode 388: Encyclopedia Corner - Lighting & Lightning 31:22

1y ago31:22

31:22

"Lighting ranks as the most important factor in seeing." "Writing letters helps bring friends closer together." "Plans for lightning should provide the greatest possible light needed for any task." "Be sure than every statement you make is correct." "A bolt of lightning can kill a person or start a forest fire." -All quotes from 1964's World Book E…

1
Episode 387: Letters of Note / E.B. White / My Voiceover 25:22

1y ago25:22

25:22

"I must decline, for secret reasons." ~E.B. White LINKS: My Substack See Letters of Note on Instagram ME READING STUFF shirts at the bottom of THIS page. California Scrub Jay Stellar's Jay

1
Episode 386: Anne Carson - Short Talks 19:38

1y ago19:38

19:38

"A trotting animal can restore red hearts to red." - Anne Carson (Short Talk on My Task) LINKS: Buy Anne Carson's Short Talks Listen to Anne Carson's reading on "Shade" (it's at the 19 minute mark, but you should listen to the entire thing) Listen to me reading her writing on Shade from years ago. Buy my Book on my website. And if you're a pickle g…

1
Episode 385: Mary Ruefle & John Clare 19:45

1y ago19:45

19:45

"In the end I would rather wonder than know." -Mary Ruefle LINKS: Follow me on Substack: https://robynoneil.substack.com/ Buy "Madness, Rack, and Honey" "Red" read by Mary Ruefle herself! Buy "I Am: The Selected Poetry of John Clare"

1
Episode 384: John D'Agata & Studio Update 30:44

1y ago30:44

30:44

D'Agata writes in the introduction to The Making of the American Essay: "The world provides non-fiction, and humans provide the rest." My own work has been dealing endlessly with the problems humans incessantly seem to provide. In desperation, I now pray that for the rest of my days, my eyes can shift their focus to the innumerable glories & ongoin…

1
Episode 383: Franz Kafka & Katt Williams 31:34

1y ago31:34

31:34

"'I have never been one of those who cares about happiness. Happiness is a strange notion. I am just not made for it." - Werner Herzog "People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they're doing." - Dale Carnegie "People rarely have fun in what they're doing unless they succeed." - Me "….ENJOY your mothafuckin' YOUTH.... while you GOT IT. Wha…

1
Episode 382: Catullus 85 23:36

1y ago23:36

23:36

Tonight, I give you a reading from New Directions' Love Poems of Catullus and a reiteration of my preference for the CH Sissen translation of Catullus 85. Art event or not, put it all on a Carr's Table Water Cracker. And if you have an interest in words, take 2 minutes to try this podcast out: Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day. Thank you guys for l…

1
Episode 381: Emily Dickinson, Petrichor & Me 23:58

1y ago23:58

23:58

An After Dark Episode! Tonight I read from Emily Dickinson's Final Harvest: https://bookshop.org/p/books/final-harvest-poems-emily-dickinson/110106?ean=9780316184151 I explain how this book by Alex Soojung Kim Pang both solved my life & ignited a nervous breakdown the size of Pangaea: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/alex-soojung-kim-pang/r…

1
Episode 380: "Part 1: Party" featuring words by Charles Simic & Melody Beattie 22:19

1+ y ago22:19

22:19

"Go inside a stone. That would be my way. Let somebody else become a dove." -Charles Simic Buy absolutely anything by Charles Simic. Buy "The Language of Letting Go" Daily Meditations by Melody Beattie. And thank you for being with me today. I've missed you guys. Love, Robyn

1
Episode 379: Mike White - Levi's Letter from Rehab on "Enlightened" + RIP Charles Simic 26:39

3y ago26:39

26:39

"We're animals, Amy. And some animals like to party. For me, God is a beer on the beach. Maybe that's fucked up, but at least it's honest." - Levi, Enlightened "Inside my empty bottle I was constructing a lighthouse while all others were making ships." - Charles Simic "Today wasn't anything spectacular and that's what I loved about it." Me, January…

1
Episode 378: Eliot Weinberger - An Elemental Thing (The Rhinoceros) 42:39

3y ago42:39

42:39

"Modern natural philosophers have found God in the folds of the skin of the rhinoceros." - Voltaire "I found the saltiest, greasiest corn chip at the bottom of this Juanita's bag this morning. It totally blew my mind." - Me LINKS: Buy the book here: https://www.ndbooks.com/book/an-elemental-thing/ See what you think about these Daniel Ladinsky "HAF…

1
Episode 377: I'll Be Back! 9:20

3y ago9:20

9:20

Checking in after a long illness. Can't wait to start talking with you guys again! LINKS: Send your questions/comments/concerns to: [email protected] My website: www.robynoneil.com Me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robyn_oneil/?hl=en

1
Episode 376: Dire Straits - Money For Nothing 52:46

3y ago52:46

52:46

"We got to install microwave ovens, custom kitchen deliveries." - Dire Straits "I love turkey sandwiches." - Me LINKS: Check out the Dire Straits video for "Money For Nothing" HERE! See Damien Jurado's website for tickets to his upcoming 25th anniversary show. My #1 Favorite Damien live video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1d1eobg9QY My #2 Favor…

1
Episode 375: Anne Carson - The Albertine Workout 42:01

3y ago42:01

42:01

"It is always tricky, the question whether to read an author’s work in light of his life or not." -Anne Carson "If you can drink a beer, you can smell patchouli." - Me LINKS: Check out "The Albertine Workout" by Anne Carson HERE and buy it at your nearest independent bookseller. Listen to Anne Carson reading from "The Albertine Workout" HERE. SMELL…

1
Episode 374: Daniil Kharms - The Things 24:59

3y ago24:59

24:59

"I was most happy when pen and paper were taken from me and I was forbidden from doing anything. I had no anxiety about doing nothing by my own fault, my conscience was clear, and I was happy. This was when I was in prison." - Daniil Kharms "I'm exhausted." - Me LINKS: Buy "Today I Wrote Nothing" HERE (or wherever you buy books except Amazon). Buy …

1
Episode 373: Patrizia Cavalli - My Poems Won't Change the World 22:54

3y ago22:54

22:54

“I think I want, but what is it that I want? Do I want something? I don’t know." - Patrizia Cavalli "Kids tend to think of my violence as funny." - Me LINKS: Buy Patrizia Cavalli's "My Poems Won't Change the World" HERE. Check out my American Movie podcast HERE. Buy a "ME READING STUFF" shirt or sweatshirt HERE. See my drawings in "HELL and the Par…

1
Episode 372: Mary Ruefle - On Beginnings 35:14

3y ago35:14

35:14

"You hear so much talk about risk-taking in poetry. Lying is a form of risk-taking, but no one talks about that." - Mary Ruefle "The End." - Me ______________________________________________ LINKS: Buy Madness, Rack, and Honey at WAVE BOOKS. Buy a "ME READING STUFF" shirt or sweatshirt HERE. See my drawings in "HELL and the Paradisal" HERE. Get fre…

1
Episode 371: Mark Strand - The Mailman 33:54

3y ago33:54

33:54

"We all have reasons for moving. I move to keep things whole." - Mark Strand "Have you guys seen the new squeezable sauerkraut?!?" - Me LINKS: Purchase Mark Strand's "Selected Poems" HERE. Check out my Artforum review! Buy a "ME READING STUFF" shirt or sweatshirt HERE. See my drawings in "HELL and the Paradisal" HERE. Get free shipping on all books…

1
Episode 370: C.K. Williams & Alex Soojung-Kim Pang 36:42

3y ago36:42

36:42

"Such fun waking up though! Such fun too if you don't! Keep dying! Keep writing it down!" - C.K. Williams "Message received." - Me LINKS: Buy "Writers Writing Dying" by C.K. Williams HERE. Buy "Rest" by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang HERE. Sign up for my newsletter HERE. Check out my show at Inman Gallery HERE.…

1
Episode 369: The Workaholics Anonymous Book of Recovery 41:55

3y ago41:55

41:55

"Jeff, roommate: Left my stuff all over the house; left the fridge a mess. Mary, friend: Promised to make her a clock. Made it, but never gave it to her." -Workaholics Anonymous "Monica, Starbucks boss: Pretended I got a "gig" in Hollywood to be killed off in a horror movie. Never returned to job. Peter, Gallery Owner: Lied during a studio visit ab…

1
Episode 368: Robinson Jeffers - The World's Wonders 35:51

3y ago35:51

35:51

"I have also seen doom." -Robinson Jeffers "As you can see, I need to breathe." - Robyn O'Neil LINKS: Buy Robinson Jeffers' Selected Poems Hit up my website www.robynoneil.com

1
Episode 367: Anne Boyer - Garments Against Women (again) 2:08:28

3+ y ago2:08:28

2:08:28

"I think mostly about clothes, sex, food, and seasonal variations. I have done so much to be ordinary and made a record of this: first I was born, next I was a child, then I learned things and did things and loved and had those who loved me and often felt alone. My body was sometimes well, then sometimes unwell. I got nearer to death, as did you." …

1
Episode 366: Elsa Gidlow - Of a Certain Friendship 45:07

3+ y ago45:07

45:07

"I have loved too terribly and too much Ever to have any fear of love." - Elsa Gidlow "Indoor plumbing is my favorite invention." - Me LINKS: Buy Elsa Gidlow books HERE! Poem-a-Day www.robynoneil.com Me on Instagram

1
Episode 365: Alex Soojung-Kim Pang - Rest 1:10:17

3+ y ago1:10:17

1:10:17

boketto - to stare vacantly without doing anything friend - a person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection perfectionist - a person who refuses to accept any standard short of perfection LINKS: Buy Rest : Why You Get More Done When You Work Less Info on my show AMERICAN ANIMALS Online Viewing Room for AMERICAN ANIMALS Cata…

1
Episode 364: Patricia Highsmith - Her Diaries and Notebooks (and a conversation with Damien Jurado!) 50:03

3+ y ago50:03

50:03

“My imagination functions much better when I don't have to speak to people.” - Patricia Highsmith "Honestly, same." - Me LINKS: Buy Patricia Highsmith - Her Diaries and Notebooks Info on my show AMERICAN ANIMALS Online Viewing Room for AMERICAN ANIMALS Catalogue for AMERICAN ANIMALS www.robynoneil.com Me on Instagram…

1
Episode 363: Chika Sagawa - Composition in Three Primary Colors 21:45

3+ y ago21:45

21:45

"The post office is a mile away." -Chika Sagawa "Forgive yourself, forgive others, buy those refried beans." - Me LINKS: Buy The Collected Poems of Chika Sagawa here: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780593230015 Info on my show AMERICAN ANIMALS here: https://www.inglettgallery.com/exhibitions/191-robyn-o-neil-american-animals-april-28-2022-june-4/…

1
Episode 362: Kevin Prufer - Black Woods (and Bill Callahan lyrics) 26:39

3+ y ago26:39

26:39

"Bury me in wood / And I will splinter / Bury me in stone / And I will quake / Bury me in water / And I will geyser / Bury me in fire / And I'm gonna phoenix" - Bill Callahan "My favorite website is whodatedwho.com" - Me LINKS: Kevin Prufer's website: https://www.kevinprufer.com Info on my show AMERICAN ANIMALS here: https://www.inglettgallery.com/…

1
Episode 361: Yosef Ibn Zabara - My Ex - Look at These People - The Physician 26:40

3+ y ago26:40

26:40

"Take pleasure today in the friend at your side; tomorrow he'll leave, and the joy will die." - Avraham Ibn Ezra LINKS: Buy "The Dream of the Poem" here: https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691121956/the-dream-of-the-poem Info on my show AMERICAN ANIMALS here: https://www.inglettgallery.com/exhibitions/191-robyn-o-neil-american-animals-…

1
Episode 359: The New Directions Anthology of Classical Chinese Poetry, Edited by Eliot Weinberger 47:19

3+ y ago47:19

47:19

"I've listened to rain all my life. My hair's white now, and I still don't know night rain on a spring river." - Lu Yu LINKS: More on this book and where to purchase it here: https://www.ndbooks.com/book/the-new-directions-anthology-of-classical-chinese-poetry/?source=search My upcoming show at Susan Inglett Gallery: https://www.inglettgallery.com …

1
Episode 358: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - "A Starling" 37:03

3+ y ago37:03

37:03

“Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius.” - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart "Be my coworker. I'd love a bag." - Me LINKS: Check out my source for this week's reading, Christopher Burn's "Poetry Changes Lives": https://www.poetrychangeslives.com/mozart…

1
Episode 357: Mark Strand & Vladimir Nabokov 57:18

4y ago57:18

57:18

“The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities of darkness." - Vladimir Nabokov "If every head of state and every government official spent an hour a day reading poetry we'd live in a much more humane and decent world." - Mark Strand "If you get a stye, you'll know…

1
Episode 356: Choi Seungja - Phone Bells Keep Ringing for Me 37:03

4y ago37:03

37:03

"That I am alive is no more than an endless rumor." - Choi Seungja "You don't want an ombre hairstyle on your teeth." - Me p.s. I have an ombre hairstyle on my teeth LINKS: More on Choi Seungja and "Phone Bells Keep Ringing for Me" here: https://actionbooks.org/choi-seungja-phone-bells/ More on Stephanie Goehring here: https://hostpublications.com/…

1
Episode 355: Robert Creeley - A Day Book 24:55

4y ago24:55

24:55

"For love - I would split open your head and put a candle in behind the eyes." - Robert Creeley "I will not use my mid-stream urine; I will go to the drug store." - Me LINKS: Robert Creeley's "A Day Book: Tuesday, November 19, 1968": https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/a-day-book_robert-creeley/1408332/item/2488639/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAuP-OBhDqARIsAD4XHpdlixwl…

1
Episode 354: Kassia St. Clair - Acid Yellow 34:31

4y ago34:31

34:31

"Pueblo, Concrete, Maniac" - Me LINKS: Buy The Secret Lives of Color by Kassia St. Clair here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/552503/the-secret-lives-of-color-by-kassia-st-clair/ Purchase the new 10" single "Take Your Time" by Damien Jurado here: https://damienjurado.bigcartel.com/product/take-your-time-limited-edition-10-single Me on Ins…

1
Episode 353: Jameson O'Hara Laurens - Spell for a Drowning Man 47:45

4y ago47:45

47:45

"Dear Everyone, Let me disappoint you." - Sort of Jameson O'Hara Laurents, sort of me. LINKS: Buy Medaeum by James O'Hara Laurens here: https://henrymiller.org/2016/11/01/announcing-the-publication-of-medaeum-by-jameson-ohara-laurens/ Listen to "Once Upon a Time at Bennington College": http://www.lilianolik.com/once-upon-a-time-at-bennington-colleg…

1
Episode 352: Graham Burnam - The Thing That Got My Fun 1:14:48

4y ago1:14:48

1:14:48

"I like ancient Chinese poetry." - Graham Burnam "I'd like to publish a Graham Burnam book of poetry." - Me LINKS: D.W. Burnam's work: https://www.instagram.com/d.w._burnam/ Dawn Cerny's work: https://www.instagram.com/cerny_studio/ Everyman's Pocket LIbrary's Solitude: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781400044238 Buy my Lion shirt at Inman Galler…

1
Episode 351: Marlene Dietrich - Daily Rituals 19:28

4y ago19:28

19:28

"Without tenderness, a man is uninteresting." - Marlene Dietrich "If there is a supreme being, he's crazy." - Marlene Dietrich LINKS: Buy Mason Currey's "Daily Rituals: Women at Work" here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/604080/daily-rituals-women-at-work-by-mason-currey/9781524732950?ref=PRHB7BD76FBDB&aid=14813&linkid=PRHB7BD76FBDB Buy m…

1
Episode 350: David Markson - This is Not a Novel 34:19

4y ago34:19

34:19

“Tennessee Williams choked to death on the plastic cap of a nasal spray.” - David Markson "I didn't breathe well today. You could hear me breathing too much." - Me LINKS: Buy "This is Not a Novel" at your local independent bookstore: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781619027145 Buy my Lion shirt at Inman Gallery here: https://inman-gallery.square.…

1
Episode 349: Sebastián de Covarrubias Horozco - Treasure of the Castilian or Spanish Language (Selected & Translated by Janet Hendrickson) 20:47

4y ago20:47

20:47

"What I've aimed for as a translator is transparency, but in pieces, like high small windows in a tall room that let in only moving fragments of the picture of the sky." - Janet Hendrickson "Uhhhhh Sebastián, lions ARE cool." - Me LINKS: Buy Treasure of the Castilian or Spanish Language here: https://bookshop.org/books/treasure-of-the-castilian-or-…

1
Episode 348: Wislawa Szymborska - Nonreading 20:14

4y ago20:14

20:14

"Perhaps two in a thousand people like poetry." - Wislawa Szymborska “There’s a lot to think about isn’t there?” -Mr Rogers LINKS: Buy Wislawa Szymborska's "Here" here: https://bookshop.org/books/here-9780547592091/9780547592091 Buy "The Every" by Dave Eggers with my drawings on the cover here: https://electric-works.myshopify.com/collections/front…

1
Episode 347: Charles Simic - Dime-Store Alchemy 24:59

4y ago24:59

24:59

“He who cannot howl will not find his pack.” - Charles Simic "...unusual feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment, unexpected and more abiding than usual." - Joseph Cornell LINKS: Buy Charles Simic's Dime-Store Alchemy here: https://www.nyrb.com/products/dime-store-alchemy-1?variant=1094929469 Order my 2021 Headstone Greeting Cards here: https://…