Tracking Traditions, Discovering the Joy of Poetry

Tracking Traditions (3:18) Did you realize you are fostering traditions every day? According to folklorists, we fashion traditions with our words, hands, actions, and, beliefs. A classic example of where this happens might be around the holidays or even just our daily experiences. Professional folklorist, Jill Rudy, visits with Rachel Wadham on “Worlds Awaiting,” about our remarkable capacity as humans to establish and preserve what folklorists call “texts”—what you and I normally call traditions. Professor Rudy, of the BYU English Department, researches the history of American folklore scholarship, folk narratives, fairy tales in the media, family folklore, and foodways. Janet Wong on Discovering the Joy of Poetry (13:48) Next, Rachel visits with poet Janet Wong, co-compiler of “The Poetry Friday Anthology.” She shares how she discovered the true joys of poetry somewhat later in her career, when she heard the work of a poet read in a children’s literature class. Janet Wong, who started as a lawyer, is now an award-winning children’s book author. She’s related the story of her dramatic career change on The Oprah Winfrey Show, CNN’s Paula Zahn Show, and Radical Sabbatical. Janet Wong is the author of 30 books for children and teens on a wide variety of subjects. The Little Reader Who Could (25:58) We finish up the show today with a story about a boy who was never able to get through books but eventually became an avid reader in spite of physical and mental challenges.