Iron John author Robert Bly talks about his poetry and music

Robert Bly, author of more than 40 books of poetry and nonfiction, speaks with host Cornelius Eady, a poet and creative writing teacher. Eady says Bly’s poems seem to come from his “delight in the world.“ Bly talks about his book “The Light Around the Body“, which speaks passionately about the Vietnam War. He recites the poem “Counting Small Boned Bodies.“ The two discuss the separation and unity of the personal and the political in poetry. Bly learned from ancient civilizations to use music to “help the note into the heart.“ Bly plays an Arabic lute and recites “Why We don’t Die,“ from his book “Morning Poems.“ Bly also reads an excerpt from “It’s As If Someone Else Is with Me,“ and “Ode to My Socks“ as an homage to Neruda and his humor and compassion. For more information about “The Writing Life“ and HoCoPoLitSo (the Howard County Poetry and Literature Society), visit .