This very special episode of the Switchyard podcast was recorded live in the “big room” of Leon Russell’s historic Church Studio in Tulsa.
The program leads off with a performance by Casii Stephan of “These Hard Days,” her song about working through the challenges of COVID lockdown but it is also a bout the big themes of loneliness and how we weather difficult times.
Next, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Carl Phillips reads a few shorter poems and then delivers the entirety of his essay, "The Fog Lifted," from the special Food Issue of Switchyard magazine. It's also a meditation on COVID lockdown, the respite he found in being in the kitchen and the sense of connection he discovered by sharing his cooking routine on Instagram.
Many people who knew him only as a poet saw a new side of Carl, a private side full of joy and hope in the midst of uncertainty and fear. And yet, the real pleasure of cooking is one of sharing family and home, creating community and a place around a literal table, something that no social media platform could provide.
After a brief Q&A between Phillips and Switchyard editor Ted Genoways, Stephan returns to the piano for a performance of Leon Russell's "A Song for You." Listen now!