Todd's podcast turns strangers' most intimate stories into poetry.
Combining Todd's love of collaboration with his 15-year practice of writing on private commission, There's a Poem in That is a first-of-its-kind call-in show that closes each episode with the reveal of an original poem written for each caller.
Launched March 1, 2023, TAPIT now has a thousand downloads and more than 30 five-star reviews across platforms. It's available wherever you get your podcasts.
Co-produced by Hila Plitmann and Bronwen Clark, with original music by Esh Whitacre, Pedro Osuna, and Nir Yaniv, the project currently has seven episodes in production, featuring special guest poets Sasha LaPointe and Richard Blanco, thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign.
The podcast is now looking for production partners and sponsors.
It's fresh, saucy, and convention-defying.
— U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky
Beyond a general audience interested in personal transformation, storytelling, and the creative process, TAPIT is designed to inspire conversation among poetry practitioners about the role of poetry in society and its therapeutic, collaborative, communal powers.
Anyone can be a guest by leaving a voicemail pitch at (808) 300-0449. Guests commit to as many as 3 one-hour phone calls, and can expect a poem within 3 months.
The podcast straddles Todd's interests in both literary and public art, while responding to his instinct for social activism. It aligns with Todd's motto: "Wake to the wonder of the world."
Todd Boss gave voice to my life.
— Joan, guest, Episode 1
The answer to a prayer.
— Holly, guest, Episode 4
Fascinating. I don’t know anybody else who’s doing what [Todd’s] doing.
So often poetry falls under the umbrella of academia. If you have the dream
of being a poet, you’ll try to get a book published, and then you’ll
try to get a teaching post. Nobody ever thinks of soliciting clients.
That’s pretty inventive.
— poet Spencer Reece
Todd has long written poems on private commission — to celebrate a friendship, save a marriage, manage a crisis of faith, or mark a milestone. Fees have historically ranged from $1,000 - $1,500, but the podcast promises free access, offset by the podcast's sponsors. Anyone who thinks there's a poem in their story can call TAPIT's Haiku, Hawaii, guest line, (808) 300-0449 and leave a pitch message.
Todd's goal is to "call-laborate" with guests to create poems that stand alone as great works of art in their own right. Early examples of pre-podcast commissioned poems are here and here. Commissioned poems sometimes land in Todd's published poetry collections. Clients give them as gifts or preserve them as letterpress broadsides and heirlooms.
More at the official project website here.
Writing poems for others has long been one of the most rewarding elements of my writing practice. It's like a sacred trust, this intimate sharing of poetic feeling, and I'm grateful to be allowed into strangers' stories in such a big-hearted way.
