Pádraig Ó Tuama and Marilyn Nelson are beloved teachers to many; to bring them together was a delight and a balm. Nelson is a poet and professor and contemplative, an excavator of stories that would rather stay hidden yet lead us into new life. Ó Tuama is a poet, theologian, conflict mediator, and the host of our new podcast, Poetry Unbound. Together, they venture unexpectedly into the hospitable — and intriguingly universal — form of poetry that is prayer.

Marilyn Nelson is professor emerita of English at the University of Connecticut. She is the recipient of the Poetry Society of America’s Frost Medal “for distinguished lifetime achievement” and the 2019 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize. Her most recent books include Mrs. Nelson’s Classroom and The Meeting House.

Pádraig Ó Tuama is a poet, theologian, and conflict mediator, and was leader of the Corrymeela community until 2019. He is also the inaugural poet laureate of The On Being Project and hosts the Poetry Unbound podcast. His books include a prayer book, Daily Prayer with the Corrymeela Community, a book of poetry, Sorry for Your Troubles, and a memoir, In the Shelter: Finding a Home in the World.

This interview is edited and produced with music and other features in the On Being episode “Pádraig Ó Tuama and Marilyn Nelson — A New Imagination of Prayer.” Find more at onbeing.org.