Bill Moyers died on June 26, 2025 at the age of 91 after a distinguished career in politics, journalism, and literature.  Raised in Texas, as a young man he developed a relationship with LBJ which resulted in his filling a number of critical roles for the President from press secretary to Chief of Staff to his role in creating and funding of the Peace Corps.

Following his stint in politics he became the publisher of the Long Island newspaper, Newsday, which won two Pulitzers under his leadership before he moved to CBS as the primary commentator on the Evening News with Dan Rather.  From 1971 until 2015, he was a major presence at Public Broadcasting with Frontline and The Bill Moyers Journal while also creating more than 70 documentaries, interviews, or limited series in addition to his regular programming. In 1995, he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame and the same year, he also won the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism. When he received the 2006 Lifetime Emmy Award, the official announcement noted that “Bill Moyers has devoted his lifetime to the exploration of the major issues and ideas of our time and our country, giving television viewers an informed perspective on political and societal concerns.”  The scope and quality of his broadcasts have been honored time and again. He received twenty-six Emmy nominations, thirteen wins, and virtually every other major television journalism prize.

Moyers also had an abiding interest and passion for poetry which he focused on the Geraldine R. Dodge poetry festival which began in 1986 as a four day celebration of poets and their work. The Poetry Festival was extensively featured in four PBS television series which he produced and narrated. His acclaimed eight-part “The Language of Life” series was filmed at the 1994 Festival providing a look at the overall activities of the Festival and in-depth conversations with the featured poets, and “Fooling withWords” was based on the eponymous PBS series which offered television audiences a front-row seat at the 1998 Festival.

The title came from a remark by Coleman Barks, one of the 11 poets whose interviews and poetry comprise the book.  The interviews provide meaningful and often delightful insights into the work of poets Stanley Kunitz (who read to large crowds in 1998 at the age of 95!), Coleman Barks who is the primary translator of the 13th C. Persian poet, Rumi, Lorna Dee Cervantes, Mark Doty, Deborah Garrison, Jane Hirshfield, Kurtis Lamkin, Shirley Geok-Lin Lim, Paul Muldoon, Marge Piercy, and Robert Pinsky.  There are several wonderful poems by each of these poets, in addition to their musings about their craft in response to questions from Moyers.  All in all, it’s a terrific  volume full of great insights and fine poems.  My favorite comment was made by Hirshfield whose writings are steeped in her Zen training when she said,“All things are connected; all things change; pay attention.”

I’ve chosen several of the poems from this volume for the Poetry Tree on the Charles in this month’s update.  You can find them there.