Shame, Loneliness, and the Uncertainty Principle: Rae Armantrout on 'Safe Rooms'

DURATIONS Festival 2027: https://dice.fm/event/yodw72-durations-acid-horizon-presents-civilization-is-over-with-emma-stamm-stuart-kendall-essentialsalts-12th-nov-public-records-new-york-tickets?lng=en-US Free Courses and more on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acidhorizonpodcast/posts/free-courses-and-174664050?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link Buy the book: https://www.weslpress.org/9780819502568/safe-rooms/ Acclaimed author Rae Armantrout's remarkable new collection Safe Rooms, explores the undercurrents of modern life with an unflinching eye on human nature, social malaise, and the unsettling ways in which we attempt to protect ourselves from a world that continually undermines our sense of safety. As the title poem says: "your thoughts /roar and echo//around you—originating/god knows where.// You try to plug your ears/but you are an ear/ that can't stop listening." Through poems that examine our darker impulses—our tendencies to self-destruct, to grapple with envy, and to navigate the intricate web of family dynamics—Armantrout captures the complex, often contradictory ways in which we search for meaning and connection. Her work holds a mirror to the forces shaping us, both intimate and vast, showing that the so-called "safe rooms" we construct are fragile, temporary shelters, not havens from the chaos that surrounds us. Support the show AHRC Current classes at Acid Horizon Research Commons (AHRC): acidhorizonresearchcommons.com AHRC Course Archive: https://www.acidhorizonpodcast.com/ahrc-course-archives Submit your course proposal: [email protected] More Links Website: https://www.acidhorizonpodcast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/acidhorizon Acid Horizon on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acidhorizonpodcast Boycott Watkins Media: https://xenogothic.com/2025/03/17/boycott-watkins-statement/ Subscribe to us on your favorite podcast: https://pod.link/1512615438 Merch: http://www.crit-drip.com Subscribe to us on your favorite podcast platform: https://pod.link/1512615438 LEPHT HAND: https://www.patreon.com/LEPHTHAND Happy Hour at Hippel's (Adam’s blog): https://happyhourathippels.wordpress.com ​Split Infinities (Craig’s Substack): https://splitinfinities.substack.com/ ​Music: https://sereptie.bandcamp.com/ and https://thecominginsurrection.bandcamp.com/