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Jeff Friedman is the author of four collections of poetry; Black Threads is his newest work. In it he explores the meeting ground of ancient stories he learned in childhood and his own family's history. His poems and translations have appeared in many literary magazines, including American Poetry Review, Poetry, New England Review, Poetry East, Literary Imagination and The New Republic. We'll talk with him about his work and the ways a place unconsciously establishes itself as the basis for meaningful poetry.

Jeff Friedman's Poems:
Notes from the Emperor
Two Salesmen
Hymn to Your Tongue

Later in the show, we'll hear from a group of Maine teenagers who write and perform skits, poems, and letters based on their life experiences. Many of them face a pretty daunting world, and they use their art as a way of dealing with it. This piece comes to us from producer Catie Talarski through the Public Radio Exchange. You can listen to it again and write a review of it by clicking here.

The president of the Service Employees International Union, Andy Stern, joins us in studio to talk about the state of today's unions and their power in the next elections. He's also written a book called "A Country That Works", drawing on his own experiences as a social worker, father, organizer and labor leader to talk about where he sees the need for change in today's global economy.