John Tessitore
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jtessitore.bsky.social
John Tessitore
@jtessitore.bsky.social
Writer
Podcast: Be True
Co-Editor Across the Pond for
The Wee Sparrow Poetry Press
www.johntessitore.com
https://linktr.ee/jtessitorewriter
Thanks to @rawheadjournal.bsky.social for publishing this one. You can find Be True wherever you find your podcasts or visit linktr.ee/jtessitorewr....

#betrue #poetrypodcast #poetry #johntessitore #scholarship #research #goodandbad #humanism #ihavefriendseverywhere
September 28, 2025 at 12:46 PM
September 21, 2025 at 12:37 PM
In this one I read “Chicago,” a poem by Carl Sandburg. I also discuss the changing fashions of American literature, and the dangers of cynicism, and celebrate the complicated diversity of American cities. linktr.ee/jtessitorewr...
September 14, 2025 at 11:40 AM
September 12, 2025 at 8:22 PM
In this episode of my podcast Be True, I read "There's a certain slant of light," a poem by Emily Dickinson. I also discuss the joy of experiencing poetry rather than explaining poetry, and (bonus!) I do a bad Bob Dylan impression.

linktr.ee/jtessitorewr...
September 7, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Be True, Episode 108: Restless Wanderers on the Earth

In this one I read the poem “Thy Brother’s Blood” by Jones Very. I also discuss the poetry of transcendence, voices of outcasts, the tradition of American messiahs, and the future of American weirdness.

linktr.ee/jtessitorewr...
August 31, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Quick, Americans. Name that document!
August 27, 2025 at 5:12 PM
This episode is important to me. In it, I read Queen Hecuba’s speech of mourning from The Trojan Women, a play by Euripides. I also discuss the fear that drives violence, power’s war on children, and why protest is always too late.

Available on most podcasts or linktr.ee/jtessitorewr....
August 24, 2025 at 12:50 PM
In Episode 106 of my podcast Be True, I read my poem "Salvator Mundi,” originally published in The Paradox. I also discuss the challenges of faith and authenticity, the world's most expensive painting, the legacy of Leonardo da Vinci, and the mystery of being human.
linktr.ee/jtessitorewr...
August 17, 2025 at 12:45 PM
In Episode 105 of Be True, “People Trying to Stay Alive,” I read “Returning, We Hear the Larks,” a poem by Isaac Rosenberg, written during World War I. I also discuss the heroism of immigrants, the challenges of “identity,” and surviving a war zone.

linktr.ee/jtessitorewr...
August 10, 2025 at 12:47 PM
An extraordinary surprise today. Two of my poems published by The Paradox. “Secatogue” is about place and home, among other things. “Salvador Mundi” is about faith and the world’s most expensive painting, among other things. Check them out at theparadoxmagazine.com.
August 6, 2025 at 3:53 PM
August 5, 2025 at 3:06 PM
In this episode of my podcast Be True, I read two poems by Langston Hughes, “Summer Night” and “Poem for Youth.” I also discuss marginalization, the silent invisibility of the powerless, and the human yearning for freedom and joy.
linktr.ee/jtessitorewr...
August 3, 2025 at 12:57 PM
Episode 103 of Be True, “How it started, how it’s going.” Wherever you get your podcasts.
linktr.ee/jtessitorewr...
July 27, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Brand new…https://linktr.ee/jtessitorewriter
July 15, 2025 at 3:37 PM
This one’s about social media and my first chapbook-length poem, and my country.
linktr.ee/jtessitorewr...
July 13, 2025 at 12:44 PM
July 6, 2025 at 12:32 PM
In this ghastly episode, I rediscover and read Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, “The Sphinx,” a Gothic tale of paranoia, privilege, and pandemic. Sound familiar?
linktr.ee/jtessitorewr...
June 29, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Stay cool.
June 24, 2025 at 7:23 PM
It’s a good episode in a dark time. linktr.ee/jtessitorewr...
June 22, 2025 at 12:50 PM
More from my chapbook My City of Yesterday, set against one of the gorgeous interior pictures by @peacockpete.bsky.social.
Visit johntessitore.com for more.
June 20, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Great job Boston.
June 14, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Visit johntessitore.com for more.
June 13, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Posted a couple of days early wherever you get your podcasts.
linktr.ee/jtessitorewr...
June 13, 2025 at 12:23 PM
I love L.A.
June 9, 2025 at 3:06 PM