June 2, 2026 - Patti Smith, a new translation of "The Odyssey," and three-time U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky

June 2, 2026 - Patti Smith, a new translation of "The Odyssey," and three-time U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky

From The Culture Show Podcast by GBH News

June 2, 2026 · 56 min

About this episode

Patti Smith discusses her memoir 'Bread of Angels', Daniel Mendelsohn talks about his translation of 'The Odyssey', and Robert Pinsky reflects on his retirement from Boston University.

Patti Smith, National Book Award–winning author of “Just Kids,” joins The Culture Show to discuss her latest memoir, “Bread of Angels.” The book traces her imaginative postwar childhood, her life with Fred “Sonic” Smith, and the years of loss and renewal that shaped her return to writing and performance. Daniel Mendelsohn—Charles Ranlett Flint Professor of Humanities at Bard College, and frequent contributor of essays to The New Yorker and The New York Review of Books where he is Editor-at-Large—discusses his new translation of Homer's “The Odyssey.” Three-time U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky joins The Culture Show to talk about retiring from Boston University where he has been a professor since 1989.

People in this episode

Guests: Patti Smith, Daniel Mendelsohn, Robert Pinsky

Topics covered

  • memoir
  • translation
  • poetry
  • literature
  • childhood
  • loss and renewal

Keywords

  • Patti Smith
  • memoir
  • The Odyssey
  • Robert Pinsky
  • Daniel Mendelsohn
  • poetry
  • literature

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Boston University

Books & works: Bread of Angels, The Odyssey

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