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Sean Cole

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For the British tennis player, see Sean Seymour-Cole.
Sean Cole in Lisbon, Portugal. May, 2023

Sean Cole (born November 19, 1971) is an American journalist and poet. He is a producer for the radio show and podcast This American Life.

Early life

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Cole is from the Boston area.[1] He grew up in the Unitarian Church.[2] In episode 660 of This American Life, "Hoaxing Yourself," Cole recounted how he spoke with an affected British accent from ages 14 to 16, a habit that sprang from his fondness for British programs like Doctor Who and Dempsey and Makepeace.[3]

He attended Marlboro College in Vermont, graduating in 1993.[4]

Career

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Cole's career in radio began in 1997 with an internship at the Boston NPR affiliate WBUR.[2] He went on to work there for nine years as a news-writer, engineer, announcer, field-producer, reporter and, finally, a correspondent for the documentary series Inside Out.[5] From 2006 to 2011, he was a contract reporter for American Public Media's Marketplace[6] and, briefly, a senior reporter for Weekend America.[7] He then worked as a staff producer for WNYC’s Radiolab[2] for a year and a half. Cole has also contributed to the NPR programs All Things Considered, Only a Game,[8] and the podcast 99% Invisible among other shows. From mid-2011 through 2013, he was a regular guest host for The Story with Dick Gordon out of WUNC in North Carolina.[9]

Cole became a contributor at This American Life in 1999, and then joined the staff in 2014.[5] He is currently a Supervising Producer for the show and serves as guest host occasionally.[10][11]

In 2021, Cole won the Best Documentary: Gold award in the Third Coast / Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Competition for his story "Time Bandit," which was also nominated for a Peabody Award.[12][13]

Poetry

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In May 2022, Cole released the poetry collection After These Messages on Lunar Chandelier press.[14] He's also the author of the chapbook Itty City (Pressed Wafer, 2003)[15] and other chapbooks. In the anthology, Starting Today: 100 Poems for Obama's First 100 Days, Cole's was day 95.[16] His poem "To Acropolis" was included in a collection of art and writing to benefit victims of the Boston Marathon bombing. In a review, Audrey Mardavich called Cole "a superb thinker: he can be irreverent when it matters most, he is inventive with his images and sounds, he is very funny".[1]

In 2019, Marlboro College awarded Cole an honorary doctorate in humane letters.[17]

Personal life

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Cole became an Internet-ordained clergyman in the Universal Life Church in 2001 and has performed more than 20 weddings for his friends.[2]

Bibliography

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  • Itty City (Pressed Wafer, 2003)
  • The December Project (Boog Literature, 2005)
  • One Train (Dusie, 2012)
  • After These Messages (Lunar Chandelier, 2022)

Selected Poems

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  • "Union Street" and "Gansett Point"[18]
  • "From the February Sonnets"[19]
  • "March 18, 2020" and "March 22, 2020"[20]
  • "Show"[21]
  • "five"—co-written with David Kirschenbaum[22]
  • "From the States Project"—co-written with David Kirschenbaum[23]

References

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  1. ^ a b Mardavich, Audrey (October 13, 2015). "It's All Right: On Sean Cole's "To Acropolis" – stylus". Woodberry Poetry Room. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d Kalish, Jon (October 24, 2016). "Producer Sean Cole relishes the 'beautiful feeling' of performing weddings". Current. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  3. ^ Glass, Ira (November 2, 2018). "Hoaxing Yourself (2018)". This American Life (Podcast).
  4. ^ "Sean Cole '93 to address Marlboro College commencement May 12". Vermont Business Magazine. April 12, 2019. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Sean Cole". This American Life. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  6. ^ "Sean Cole". Marketplace. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  7. ^ "Sean Cole". Weekend America. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  8. ^ "Sean Cole". WNYC Studios. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  9. ^ "List of interviews conducted by Sean Cole for "The Story with Dick Gordon"". WUNC.org.
  10. ^ "Staff". This American Life. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  11. ^ "Archive". This American Life. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  12. ^ "Third Coast International Audio Festival". www.thirdcoastfestival.org. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  13. ^ "This American Life Episode #713: Made to be Broken | Act 1 - Time Bandit". The Peabody Awards. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  14. ^ "After These Messages". www.spdbooks.org. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  15. ^ Cole, Sean (2003). Itty City. Boog Literature. ISBN 0972108998.
  16. ^ "Starting Today | University of Iowa Press". www.uipress.uiowa.edu. April 2012. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  17. ^ "Commencement 2019 | Potash Hill". potash.marlboro.edu. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  18. ^ "Sean Cole in medias res". Don Yorty. May 13, 2017. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  19. ^ "Poetry/ Sean Cole – Boog City". July 29, 2021. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  20. ^ Back?, Can We Have Our Ball. "Sean Cole". Can We Have Our Ball Back?. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  21. ^ "Sean Cole - Show". Modern Poetry. May 31, 2020. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  22. ^ Kirschenbaum, David; Cole, Sean (December 13, 2017). "five". The Brooklyn Rail. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  23. ^ Kirschenbaum, David; Cole, Sean (June 10, 2020). "From The States Project". Pine Hills Review. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
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