Mary KarrEvery podcast appearance, updated as new ones drop

City Lights in conjunction with the Middle Eastern Children’s Alliance and The Markaz Review present Mosab Abu Toha in conversation with Mary Karr, celebrating the publication of "Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear: Poems from Gaza," published by City Lights Books. This event was originally broadcast live via Zoom and hosted by Peter Maravelis. You can purchase copies of "Things You May Find in My Ear" directly from City Lights at a 30% discount here: https://citylights.com/general-poetry/things-you-may-find-hidden-in-my-ear/ Mosab Abu Toha is a Palestinian poet, scholar, and librarian who was born in Gaza and has spent his life there. A graduate in English language teaching and literature, he taught English at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) schools in Gaza from 2016 until 2019, and is the founder of the Edward Said Library, Gaza’s first English-language library. In 2019-2020, Abu Toha was a Visiting Poet in the Department of Comparative Literature at Harvard University; a Visiting Librarian at Harvard’s Houghton Library; and a Religion, Conflict, and Peace Initiative Fellow in the Harvard Divinity School. In 2020, Abu Toha gave talks and readings at the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, and the University of Arizona. He also spoke at the American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter Meeting held in Philadelphia in January 2020. In October 2021, University of Notre Dame’s Literatures, Annihilation, Exile, and Resistance lecture series hosted Abu Toha to speak about his poetry and work in Gaza. Abu Toha is a columnist for Arrowsmith Press, and his writings from Gaza have appeared in The Nation, Arrowsmith Press, and Literary Hub. His poems have been published on the Poetry Foundation’s website, in Poetry Magazine, Banipal, Solstice, The Markaz Review, The New Arab, Peripheries, and other journals. Mary Karr is an award-winning poet and best-selling memoirist. She is the author of the critically-acclaimed and New York Times best-selling memoirs "The Liars’ Club," "Cherry," and "Lit," as well as "The Art of Memoir," and five poetry collections, most recently "Tropic of Squalor." Karr is also a songwriter, having collaborated with Rodney Crowell, Norah Jones, Lucinda Williams and others on a country album called KIN. The Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA) works to protect the rights and improve the lives of children in the Middle East through aid, empowerment and education. In the Middle East, MECA provides humanitarian aid, partners with community organizations to run projects for children, and supports income-generation projects. In the US and internationally, MECA raises awareness about the lives of children in the region and encourages meaningful action. Since 1988, MECA has delivered $29 million in aid to Palestine, Iraq and Lebanon. The Markaz Review is a literary arts publication and cultural institution that curates content and programs on the greater Middle East and our communities in diaspora. The Markaz signifies “the center” in Arabic, as well as Persian, Turkish, Hebrew and Urdu. Visit https://themarkaz.org/ This event was made possible by support from the City Lights Foundation: citylights.com/foundation

Motherhood with Celeste Ng and Mary Karr by Symphony Space

Our next A+ August mash-up features two of Brooke’s absolute favorites—Mary Karr and Elizabeth Gilbert. Mary’s episode, In Defense of Memoir, is a deep dive into memoir writing, while Liz’s, Following the Thread of Your Inspiration. Both guests have been so influential to this genre, and this wide-ranging conversation will leave any aspiring writer motivated to get writing—and don’t forget to go back and listen to the full interviews in our archives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

“Any way I tell this story is a lie.” Mary Karr opens her memoir “Lit” with a warning about the inevitable unreliability of memory. But don’t be fooled. Mary Karr delivers many truths that you need to hear. Mary Karr is an award-winning poet and New York Times best-selling author. Her poems have been published in the New Yorker, the Atlantic and the Paris Review. Her trilogy of memoirs, The Liars Club, Cherry and Lit, chronicle her traumatic childhood in southeast Texas, her turbulent coming of age as a woman and poet, her marriage and motherhood, alcoholism and recovery and conversion to the Catholic faith. We were grateful to chat with Mary about all of this and more during our live event at America’s headquarters in New York City, sponsored by the Catholic Travel Centre . Before we delve into the live recording, we’re reunited with Olga (who missed the live event, succumbing to a nasty fever) to discuss the week’s top Catholic news: A surprise parish visit from a Catholic NBA all-star; Pope Francis gives out free gelato on his name day to Rome’s needy and appoints three women to consult the Vatican’s oldest congregation; a nun is being deported for living out the Gospel in the Philippines; and we discuss an alarming trend of the killing of priests in Mexico. As always, check us out on Twitter @jesuiticalshow , and send us some feedback (or just say hi! We love that too.) by emailing jesuitical@americamedia.org . You can support the show (and get exclusive swag and bonus content!) by joining our Patreon community . Links from the show Trust the prayers: Embiid surprises churchgoers near Philly Pope Francis offers free gelato to Rome’s poor and homeless to mark his feast day Be fruitful and multiply: Threatened trees planted in Vatican Gardens Pope Francis appoints three women as consultants to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Philippines to deport 71-year old Australian nun who advocates for farmers Lay down your weapons, say Mexican bishops after second priest murdered What’s on tap? Sugar Hill Golden Ale, courtesy of Harlem Brewing Company Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“A dysfunctional family is any family with more than one person in it.” Mary Karr has a captivating ability to give voice to what is funny in life’s most heartbreaking moments. She is beloved for her salty memoirs in which she traces her harrowing childhood in southeast Texas — with a mother who once tried to kill her with a butcher’s knife and her own adult struggles with alcoholism and breakdown. Mary Karr embodies this wryness and wildness in her lesser-known spiritual practice as a devout Catholic — an unexpected move she made in mid-life. This interview is edited and produced with music and other features in the On Being episode “Mary Karr — Astonished by the Human Comedy.” Find more at onbeing.org.

Noted author of “Lit,” “Cherry” and “The Liars’ Club” Mary Karr reveals her approach to writing these sometimes humorous, sometimes blistering and always candid best-selling memoirs in this interview with journalist Dean Nelson as part of the 2011 Writer’s Symposium by the Sea sponsored by Point Loma Nazarene University. Series: "Writer's Symposium By The Sea" [Humanities] [Show ID: 20666]