Today’s guest is the poet, professor, and arts advocate Holly Karapetkova. If you’ve been following anything I do, especially the year-round free programming of 1455, you already know Holly, because she is one of my favorite people and someone to whom I always take the opportunity to speak with: speaking with her on any topic is always enlightening and inspiring, and the primary purpose of today’s conversation is celebrating her forthcoming poetry collection, and comparing notes on the state of higher education. Holly brings informed opinions based on decades of classroom experience, and she has only become more committed to effective teaching. In a profession that breeds burnout and cynicism like few others, Holly is entirely dedicated to reaching each new crop of undergrads, all of whom bring their own personal and cultural baggage, and molding not only better minds, but better human beings.

Holly is Poet Laureate Emerita of Arlington County and the recipient of a 2022 Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship. She is the author of two books of poetry, Words We Might One Day Say, winner of the 2010 Washington Writers’ Publishing House Poetry Award, and Towline, winner of the 2016 Vern Rutsala Poetry Contest from Cloudbank Books. Her third book, Dear Empire, was recently selected as co-winner of the 2024 Barry Spacks Poetry Prize and is forthcoming from Gunpowder Press. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing and a PhD in English and Comparative Literature and teaches at Marymount University in Arlington, VA.

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MORE ABOUT GUEST HOLLY KARAPETKOVA

Learn more about Holly's work at https://www.karapetkova.com

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ABOUT SOME THINGS CONSIDERED

Award-winning author Sean Murphy in conversation with creative thinkers, spanning the literary, music, art, politics, and tech industries. As a cultural critic, professor, founder of a literary non-profit, Sean is always looking to explore and celebrate the ways Story is integral to how we define ourselves, as artists and human beings. This Substack newsletter and weekly podcast peels back the layers of how creativity works, why it matters, how our most brilliant minds achieve mastery. Join us to explore how our most successful and inspired storytellers engage by discussing craft, routines, brand, and mostly through authentic and honest expression.

Tune in and subscribe at seanmurphy.live

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ABOUT HOST SEAN MURPHY

Website: seanmurphy.net

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Twitter: @bullmurph

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