Born in Connecticut in 1935, poet, playwright, and visual artist, Russell Edson is the father of the prose poem in America. Of Edson, former Poet Laureate Charles Simic has written, "If it's funny, then, obviously it can't be serious, people will tell you. I disagree. [Comedy says as much about the world as tragedy. In fact, if you seek true seriousness, you must make room for both comic and tragic vision.] Still, almost everybody prefers to be pitied than to be laughed at. For every million poems lamenting the cruel fate of a much-misunderstood and endlessly suffering soul, we get one funny Russell Edson poem."

On this edition of The Poets Weave, prose poems by Russell Edson from his recent book See Jack, published in 2009 by University of Pittsburgh Press.  We'll hear "The Hunger," "Dear Self," "The Transfigurations," and "Space Journey."