Live: 2nd Thursday of each month, 2-4 pm on dublab radio.
mellow drama (2020—Present) is a monthly radio show co-hosted by me and Noelle Armstrong. We began in August 2020 on KCIA radio by inviting writers and artists we knew to read to us from their favorite books over the airwaves. In December 2021, we got picked up by dublab radio in LA, and changed formats to a monthly two-hour show that revolves around a word we’ve chosen that feels rich with multiple meanings and sensualities. For seasons 2-4, guest writers and music artists were paired together on each episode based on the words that they’ve expressed interest in during our (very low-key) invitation process. For our 5th season, we invited DJ demifromtheblock in as our DJ-in-residence and shifted our episode structure to be a river-like encounter between me (shania mark twain), noelle (DJ Oh Boy), demi (DJ demifromtheblock) and the poems on our bookshelves.
We treat each episode as a site of intimate gathering: a marking and holding that we do, when we can, to bring together bodies, beings, and languages across time and place. It is our seasonal invitation to slow down, together. The residue of these encounters is a public oral archive of the poets, writers, and musicians who live in the voices and hearts of our community.
SEASON FIVE: HOMOSEXUALITIES
EP 6 | SURRENDER | reading: Dori Midnight, Anne Carson, Jubi Arriola-Headley, Laura Hyunjhee Kim, Tomaž Šalamun & music: Charli XCX, Bella Kaye, Big Thief, Sierra Ferrell, MARO, Silvia Pérez Cruz | May 2026
EP 5 | SECRET | reading: C. P. Cavafy, Robin Coste Lewis, Hélène Cixous, Leslie Feinberg & music set by DJ demifromtheblock: The Pierces, Warpaint, Depeche Mode, Perfume Genius, Madonna, Meshell Ndegeocello, Selena | February 2026
EP 4 | SPELL | guest: Eileen Myles & reading: Eileen Myles, Diane di Prima, Anonymous, Sarah Shin & Rebecca Tamás, Sophia Dahlin, Dorothea Lasky, Kaveh Akbar, Jane Yeh, Nuar Alsadir & music set by DJ demifromtheblock: Alice Smith, Os Mutantes, Los Pasteles Verdes, Holly Golightly | November 2025
EP 3 | GOD | reading: Sor Juana Inés de la Crus, Jesús Hilario-Reyes aka MORENXXX, Taylor Johnson, Kayleb Rae Candrilli, RK Fauth, Noor Khashe Brody, Vi Khi Nao & music set by DJ demifromtheblock: Emily Elbert, Erasure, Massive Attack & Hope Sandoval, Moses Sumney, Sinéad O’Conner, Tori Amos, Aimee Mann, Enya, George Michael, This Mortal Coil | September 2025
EP 2 | FLOWER | reading: Audre Lorde, Vera Blossom, CA Conrad, Emily Dickinson, Fulla Abdul-Jabbar & music set by DJ demifromtheblock: Kainalu, MUNA, Lesbians on Ecstasy, Janelle Monáe, Elena Rose, Miley Cyrus, Sudan Archives, Chzter, El Perro del Mar | July 2025
EP 1 | ELDER | June 2025
SEASON FOUR: CREATURE
EP 8 | CREATURE | reading: Diane Seuss, Blanche Brown & music: Jamila Woods, Willow Smith, Travis Barker, Gina X Performance, Mustafa | March 2025
EP 7 | FOREST | reading: Mary Oliver, Harry Dodge, Victoria Chang, Bhanu Kapil, Hélène Cixous and Susan Sellers & music: The Cure, Strawberry Switchblade, Reyna Tropical, Juaneco Y Su Combo, Son Rompe Pera, Linda Ronstadt, The Byrds, Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash, Emmylou Harris | February 2025
EP 6 | THE SIMS | Last Friday Night in Simlish (Katy Perry) + The Crying Book (Heather Christle) read by Noelle Armstrong + Pumpjack (Rosie Stockton) read by hannah rubin + The Sims 4: Life & Death Expansion Pack Official Reveal Trailer (GameTrailer) + Creatures (Amina Cain) read by hannah rubin + Dyke (geology) (Sabrina Imbler) + Event Factory (Renee Gladman) read by Noelle Armstrong + THE SIMS music set by DJ Expinoza. | October 2024
EP 5 | MAENAD | Bakkhai (Anne Carson) read by Noelle Armstrong + The Passionate Mistakes and Intricate Corruption of One Girl in America (Michelle Tea) + Sexuality Beyond Consent: Risk, Race, Traumatophilia (Avgi Saketopoulou) read by hannah rubin + Veruca Salt (Seether) + The Gits (Second Skin) + Tracy Bonham (Mother Mother) + Gloria Trevi (Pelo Suelto) + Kittie (Charlotte) + Remi Wolf (Sexy Villain) music set by DJ Espinoza | August 2024
EP 4 | BANSHEE |“The Bean Nighe” as told by ScotClans + “Candor” (Anne Carson) + States of the Body Produced by Love (Nisha Ramayya) + Suspended in Gaffa (Kate Bush) + “On Secrets: Eight Beginnings, Two Ends” (Mary Ruefle) + La Llorona (Chavela Vargas) + Muse & Drudge (Harryyette Mullen) + “there is religious tattooing” (Fred Moten) + Break Down and Let It All Out (Nina Simone) + No Machine (Adrianne Lenker) + Zapata se Queda (Lila Downs) + Troy (Sinéad O’Conner) + All The Flowers Kneeling (Paul Tran) | May 2024
EP 3 | OCTOPUS. guests: T.C. Tolbert, Solomon Dorsey | November 2023
EP 2 | DESIRE. Crush (Richard Silken) read by lydon frank lettuce + The Case Against Being A Good Person (Jamieson Webster) + The Book of Frank (CA Conrad) + Permanent Volta (Rosie Stockton) + Nocturn (Kate Bush) read by hannah rubin + Holy Sonnets: batter my heart, three person’d God (John Donne) recited by Penny Vieregge + DESIRE music set by Sheila Govindarajan.| September 2023
EP 1 | MOTHER. The Feminist Curse (Kim Ye) read by Kim Ye + Mother Reader (Sylvia Plath) read by Noelle Armstrong + MOTHER music set by DJ Espinoza. | August 2023
CREATURE FOOTNOTES (MINI SEASON)
EP 4 | I LOVE LA | January 2025
EP 3 | No Poetry In This | reading: Mohammed El-Kurd and Clarissa Bitar, Kazim Ali, Jamaica Kincaid & music: Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and Florence Welch, Adrienne Lenker | April 2024
EP 2 | I’m Very Into You | reading: Kathy Acker and McKenzie Wark, Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Paul B. Preciado & music: Sulah Jordan, Sunkissed Child, Julies Hiero and Been Mow, Tara Lily and Theo Croker, Nubya Garcia | February 2024
EP 1 | We Let Our Grieving Overtake Us | reading: Kaveh Akbar, Muriel Rukeyser, |Noor Hindi, Danez Smith, Tom Haviv, Bhanu Kapil, Mosab Abu Toha, Naomi Shihab Nye, Disha Ravi, Fariha Róisín, Viva & music: Francis Beby, Sylvan Esso, Batya Levine, Roberto Musci, Kitty Gallagher, Sweet Honey in the Rock | January 2024
SEASON THREE
EP 8 | BIRDS | Salt (by Nayyirah Waheed) read by Sheila Govindarajan + archival clip of Sholeh Wolpé reading from her book of translations of Forugh Farrokhzad, Sin: Selected Poems of Forugh Farrokhzad, at a poetry reading at SFSU on December 3, 2020 + a music set by DJ V. Episode aired Saturday, April 15 at 4 pm PT.
EP 7 | DREAM | My Jewel Box (by Ursula Andkjær Olsen, translated by Katrine Øgaard Jensen) read by DJ Oh Boy + Songs of Enchantment (by Ben Okri) read by AKHG + archival recording of Lucía Berlin reading from Phantom Pain on February 12, 1984 + archival recording of Gabrielle Daniels reading from Something Else Again on April 30, 2022 + music set by B. Episode aired Saturday, March 18 at 4 pm PT.
EP 6 | KIN | Be Holding (Ross Gay) read by Karly Stark + Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals (alexis pauline gumbs) read by hannah rubin + archival clip of giovanni singleton reading from her book Ascension at SFSU Poetry Center on December 4, 2014 + music set by DJ Denali G.
EP 5 | BABY | Detransition Baby (Torrey Peters) read by Bobuq Sayed + “The Baby” (Eileen Myles) & “Baby” (Justin Bieber) & “My Baby First Birthday” (Jenny Zhang) & “The Sitter” (Shel Silverstein) & “Baby Alive Feeding Guidelines” (Hasbro) read by Max Seto and Mim Shafer + an archival clip of Juliàn Delgado Lopera performing Assigned Sad at Birth at SFSU Poetry Center on April 27, 2019 + music set by DJ V.
EP 4 | LABOR | EXTRATRANSMISSION (Andrea Abi-Karam) read by Eli Tareq El Bechelany-Lynch + Garments for Women (Anne Boyer) read by hannah rubin + an excerpt of James Baldwin speaking during his 1965 debate with William F. Buckley at Cambridge University + an archival clip of Roberto Tejada reading from Explosion Rocks Springfield on January 16, 2016 + music set by DJ Espinoza.
EP 3 | DISGUISE | A Rainbow for the Christian West (René Depestre) read by Gabrielle Civil + The Faggots & their Friends Between Revolutions (Larry Mitchell and Ned Asta) read by Jess Arndt + an archival recording of Brontez Purnell reading from 100 Boyfriends and Johnny Would You Love Me If My Dick Were Bigger at SFSU Poetry Center on September 13, 2018 + music set by DJ Hoffman.
EP 2 | MEAT | I Love Artists (Mei-mei Berssenbrugge) read by Teo Rivera Dundas + The Cow (Ariana Reines) read by hannah rubin + an archival recording of Pat Parker reading from Jonestown & other madness at SFSU Poetry Center on February 7, 1986 + music set by DJ Espinoza.
EP 1 | MYTHOS | Weather (Lisa Robertson) read by Kim Upstill + The Wet Hex (Sun Yung Shin) read by Noelle Armstrong + an archival recording of Tongo Eisen-Martin performing “Faceless to Faceless” and “Wave At The People Walking Upside Down” at the SFSU Poetry Center on September 8, 2016 + music set by DJ V.
SEASON TWO
EP 8 | BATHING | Baby, I Don’t Care (Chelsey Minnis) read by Pia Sazani + Event Factory (Renee Gladman) read by hannah rubin + music set by DJ V.
EP 7 | FRIENDSHIP | Glitter in My Wounds (CA Conrad) & Us Two (A.A. Milne) & All My Friends are Sad & Bright (Cameron Awkward-Rich) & Cento Between the Ending and the End (Cameron Awkward-Rich) all read by hannah rubin + The Hurting Kind (Ada Limón) & Zami: A New Spelling of My Name (Audre Lorde) + Father of Noise (Anthony McCann) all read by Noelle Armstrong + a recording of Frank O’Hara reading Having a Coke With You in his apartment in 1966.
EP 6 | ACHES | All my friends are dead (Avery Monsen and Jory John) & three untitled poems by Joshua Beckman & The Dead (Billy Collins) all read by Emmy P.P. + Dream of the Divided Field (Yanyi) read by Hannah Bonner + Time is a Mother (Ocean Vuong) read by Noelle Armstrong.
EP 5 | CEREMONY | Voyage of the Sable Venus and Other Poems (Robin Coste Lewis) read by Kate Dunn + My Poems Won’t Change The World (Patrizia Cavalli) read by Claudia Grigg-Edo + an archival recording of Bayo Akomolafe reading his essay “When You Meet the Monster, Annoint Its Feet” for Emergence Magazine in 2018.
EP 4 | WEAVING | Diving into the Wreck (Adrienne Rich) read by Azadeh Ahmadi + Scale: The Universal Laws of Growth, Innovation, Sustainability, and the Pace of Life in Organisms, Cities, Economies, and Companies (Geoffrey West) read by Lucinda Trask + an archival recording of Cecilia Vicuña performing “The Origin of Weaving” at the Poetry Foundation in 2015.
EP 3 | THIRST | Inheritence (Taylor Johnson) read by Sanam Sheriff + Rifqa (Mohammed El-Kurd) read by Meital Yaniv + an archival recording of Natalie Diaz reading from Postcolonial Love Poem at the Vocarium Reading Series in 2020.
EP 2 | FRUITS | The Crumple and The Scrape: Two Archi-Textures in the Mode of Queer Gender (Lucas Crawford) read by Lindsay Mulcahy + Women Poems Love Poems (Susan Sherman) read by Sarah Sophia Yanni + many Sappho fragments read by hannah rubin and Michael Daitz.
EP 1 | FIASCOS | The Ants (Sawako Nakayasu) read by Maggie Lange + The Women Who Hate Me (Dorothy Allison) read by Demi Espinoza + an archival recording of Alice Notley reading from Iphigenia and Haryette Mullen reading from Sleeping With the Dictionary at a poetry reading at Naropa’s Summer Writing Program in 2015.
SEASON ONE
EP 8 | Department of Speculation (Jenny Offill) read by DJ V + A Wave (John Ashberry) read by Lucy Blagg + a CA Conrad poem read by both hannah rubin and Noelle Armstrong.
EP 7 | style/estilo (Dolores Dorantes) read by Noelle Armstrong + States of the Body Produced by Love (Nisha Ramayya) read by Jhani Randhawa.
EP 6 | On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous (Ocean Vuong) read by Brian Chamberlayne + An Old Story (Tracy K. Smith) read by Noelle Armstrong + Don’t Let Me Be Lonely (Claudia Rankine) read by hannah rubin + recording of “Listen to the Rhythm” sung by Sweet Honey & The Rock.
EP 5 | Disobedience (Alice Notley) read by Ana Cecilia Alvarez + A Sand Book (Ariana Reines) read by hannah rubin + an archival recording of Eileen Myles reading “Your House” + an archival recording of CA Conrad reading “It’s Too Late for Careful.”
EP 4 | My Baby First Birthday (Jenny Zhang) read by Noelle Armstrong + Be Recorder (Carmen Giménez Smith) read by Sarah Yanni.
EP 3 | It (Inger Christenson) read by hannah rubin + The Book of Delights (Ross Gay) read by Noelle Armstrong + an archival recording of Fred Moten reading “I Lay With Francis In The Margin.”
EP 2 | Dunce (Mary Ruefle) read by Noelle Armstrong + Viability (Sarah Vapp) read by K Vahitova + Miley Cyrus, We Can’t Stop (Brandon Brown) read by hannah rubin + an archival recording of CA Conrad reading “I Hope I’m Loud When I’m Dead.”
EP 1 | some animal (Eli Shipley) read by hannah rubin + Money City Sick As Fuck (Anne Boyer) read by Claudia Grigg Edo + Frog and Toad Go For A Swim (Arnold Lobel) read by Noelle Armstrong.