my favorite poem
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This rules! Can it be mostly the two of you forever but with other guests sometimes? You work so well together. And yes, I had heard and loved the Mary Oliver poem before, but that Dickey one is new to me and viscerally powerful
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IThank you! Will’s going to be a semi-regular guest for sure. I’ve got other writers and game developers lined up so we can get a diverse range of perspectives— which includes stepping away from my own preferences and biases, since the guests I’ve lined up have suggested games and associated poems that I would never have imagined— which proves (to me) the versatility of the approach.
But I’m super happy to hear you liked it! Dickey’s style is powerful and has been foundational to my own work, so I recommend his poems highly.
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if you are soliciting episode pitches from this thread i’d love to talk about mallarmé’s a throw of the dice never will abolish chance with ikaruga
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good to see you here james! i’m excited to see new analytical work from you!!
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Just listened to this, very good stuff! I know nothing about poetry so it’s also educational for me
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Yeah, this was a fun listen. I haven’t honestly engaged with poetry since high school so this is a nice bridge back into it.
Do you feel this podcast is suited to particular types of games more than others? Do games that have more interpretive and abstract elements lend themselves to better or more interesting discussions with poetry than the more realistic, narrative focused games?
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finally got to listen… I love it! Your structured mind and critical process lends itself well to podcasting, which most of the time feel haphazard and lazy, but it also contrasts nicely with the poetic imagination you want to evoke.
that Dickey poem… literally made me cry out of nowhere while driving home. it made me want to a) read more poetry and b) play Tokyo Jungle. so, mission accomplished.
I am very much looking forward to further episodes, and especially excited to learn what other games you’ll be discussing.
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So I finally have had time to edit the second episode, which I recorded back in late January. Here’s one where we talk about Bloodborne through the lens of poems about dreamspace, memory, and the horrors of marriage— which means, of course, Borges and Sylvia Plath.
It’s a good time, and definitely the a different conversation about Bloodborne than I’ve heard anywhere else.
The url (without embedding a player in the post body) is http://deltahead.libsyn.com. It’s on iTunes podcasts too.
Oh also also also— I’m streaming in a more regular capacity now, with modern fixin’s like on-screen presence. That happens over at twitch.tv/deltaheadmedia on Tuesday and Saturday nights. First stream was Tokyo Jungle— gonna keep pace with the podcast and do Bloodborne next.
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excited to listen! been watching my housemate play through bloodborne again for the 1000000th time. will try and catch streams too 
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Awesome! I’ve been finally getting around to finishing Bloodborne’s nooks and crannies myself— mainly because I wanted to reflect on the ideas in the podcast after we discussed them, and it had been years since I had a really deep playthrough of the game. Finishing up the Chalice Dungeons, finally getting that coveted +10 Hunter’s Torch, etc.
This has weirdly given me a very very different appreciation of Plath that makes me want to re-read her more widely.
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i revisted the bell jar at the end of the year, so the timing is good for that too. i need to dig back into her poetry, which i always preferred.
listened to the episode while walking around the empty city centre today, very tonally fitting. another great episode.
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A hunter is never alone.
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Finally listened to this, it was really good! I really like this as an “intro to poetry interpretation” as well, since I’ve never really had anything like that in my life.
I couldn’t remember the name of the podcast and somehow invented the phrase “Dream Meridian” instead when trying to find this thread.
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This thing still exists! I talked about Contra III with game dev and poet Shonté Daniels through the lens of poems about failure-as-willful-habit and complex love.
IIRC Apol really liked Contra III? It’s been forever, but here this is!
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ooh the first one i’ve actually played, will listen when i get a chance
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You made this, just for me
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THIS STILL EXISTS. (And so do I!)
I got to talk with critic and narrative designer Michael Lutz about Gone Home! It’s an excellent episode.
EDIT: Reading the last episode’s posting, apparently “This still exists” will be the motto for each episode, as often as I’m able to get around to releasing them.
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love to hear about the continued existence of Adi
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I too look forward to reports from the front.
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