1 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:06,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:09,360 --> 00:00:14,240 Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 3 00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:18,400 Speaker 1: Today's tip is to build a reading habit by tackling 4 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:22,639 Speaker 1: a poem a day. Poems tend to be short, but 5 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:26,079 Speaker 1: can take you to amazing places, and so can help 6 00:00:26,079 --> 00:00:28,720 Speaker 1: you find space and life for a little bit of beauty. 7 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:32,760 Speaker 1: As I've talked to people about their schedules over the years, 8 00:00:33,080 --> 00:00:35,760 Speaker 1: I've learned that many people want to find more time 9 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:40,680 Speaker 1: to read along with volunteering and exercising. Reading is something 10 00:00:40,720 --> 00:00:43,720 Speaker 1: that we know would improve our lives, but when life 11 00:00:43,720 --> 00:00:47,240 Speaker 1: gets busy, it's easy to let it go, and once 12 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:50,199 Speaker 1: you let it go, getting back in the habit can 13 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:54,200 Speaker 1: seem intimidating. Most books demand at least a few hours 14 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:56,600 Speaker 1: of time, and reading in little bits might not be 15 00:00:56,760 --> 00:01:02,440 Speaker 1: very satisfying. Hence the beauty of poems. Unless you're reading T. S. 16 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:06,640 Speaker 1: Eliott's The Waste Land, most poems are relatively short. You 17 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:09,560 Speaker 1: can easily borrow e books of poetry from your library 18 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:12,080 Speaker 1: through an app like Libby, and then read through them 19 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:14,480 Speaker 1: on the Kindle app, or you can go to a 20 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:17,600 Speaker 1: website such as poets dot org or Poetry Foundation dot 21 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:21,679 Speaker 1: org and find poems selected by their editors. In any case, 22 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:25,560 Speaker 1: you can get free poems on your phone quickly, and 23 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:29,479 Speaker 1: I am guessing that you always have your phone nearby 24 00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:32,399 Speaker 1: and for the cause of building a poetry reading habit, 25 00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:36,000 Speaker 1: this is actually a good thing. Notice when you pick 26 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:40,119 Speaker 1: up your phone, what do you do? Many people check 27 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:43,280 Speaker 1: texts or emails first and then look at social media apps. 28 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:47,400 Speaker 1: As you find yourself doing this, consciously click to the 29 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:51,840 Speaker 1: poetry website or your e reader instead. In about three minutes, 30 00:01:52,360 --> 00:01:56,280 Speaker 1: you can read a poem, a whole poem, which will 31 00:01:56,320 --> 00:02:00,240 Speaker 1: give you at least some feeling of accomplishment whatever else 32 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:03,720 Speaker 1: you did or didn't do during the day. You are 33 00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:07,920 Speaker 1: the sort of person who reads poetry. Now, of course, 34 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:11,200 Speaker 1: some poems are better than others. I've read through volumes 35 00:02:11,200 --> 00:02:13,800 Speaker 1: from some of my favorite poets like Mary Oliver or 36 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:17,320 Speaker 1: Billy Collins, or classic poets such as Emily Dickinson, and 37 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:21,200 Speaker 1: sometimes stuff is awesome, and sometimes even with the vasters, 38 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:24,520 Speaker 1: it doesn't always speak to us. But poems do have 39 00:02:24,639 --> 00:02:27,760 Speaker 1: a way of going places that pros can't always follow. 40 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:31,640 Speaker 1: Done well, a poem can conjure up an image and 41 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:35,280 Speaker 1: a feeling. You can ponder that image and feeling as 42 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:38,280 Speaker 1: you go about your day. That image and feeling can 43 00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:40,960 Speaker 1: take you outside your life for a few minutes and 44 00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:45,360 Speaker 1: elevate your experience, putting a little beauty into the moment. 45 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:49,360 Speaker 1: Not bad for three minutes, right, And as you find 46 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:52,320 Speaker 1: yourself finding three minutes here and there, you'll start to 47 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:54,640 Speaker 1: see that you do, in fact have time to read. 48 00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:58,280 Speaker 1: You just have to choose to do so. And so 49 00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:02,040 Speaker 1: poetry can become a gateway to literature of all kinds. 50 00:03:03,240 --> 00:03:07,560 Speaker 1: So today, find some poetry, put it where you can 51 00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:10,919 Speaker 1: read it, and if nothing else, you'll end the day 52 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:14,520 Speaker 1: feeling like you've put something a little special into your life. 53 00:03:15,720 --> 00:03:19,920 Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and 54 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:29,120 Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, 55 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:31,480 Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me 56 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:35,160 Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with 57 00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:39,560 Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod 58 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:44,720 Speaker 1: that's b E the number four then breakfast p o D. 59 00:03:45,440 --> 00:03:48,320 Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast 60 00:03:48,360 --> 00:03:51,760 Speaker 1: Podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast 61 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:54,520 Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much, 62 00:03:54,680 --> 00:04:02,800 Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is 63 00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:06,000 Speaker 1: a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from 64 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:10,040 Speaker 1: i heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 65 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:12,160 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.