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The Rest of Us with Dana Tenille Weekes
The Rest of Us podcast explores rest as self-liberation for advocates and professionals who are losing themselves to the demands of work, loved ones, friends, strangers, and this dizzying world. The Rest of Us cultivates a community through honest reflections, conversations, and laughter for people willing to embrace rest differently.
The Rest of Us with Dana Tenille Weekes
Poetic Interlude - Kira Tucker reading "Off on Holiday"
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What happens when our rest is tied up in someone else’s oppression? In this Poetic Interlude, Kira Tucker shares her poem “Off on Holiday” and a reflection prompt on rest.
Creative expression is a portal to rest as liberation. Creatives, including poets, show us how to embrace our humanity and act on our truths. We in The Rest of Us community view this as a deep connection to one’s own agency — our definition of rest.
Settle into the work of Kira Tucker and even explore your own creativity, which we define as liberatory rest.
ABOUT KIRA TUCKER
KIRA TUCKER is a Memphis, Tennessee native and winner of the 2025 National Poetry Series, selected by Siwar Masannat. She earned an MFA in Creative Writing and an MA in English from Northwestern University, where she was the 2024-2025 Artist in Residence.
Her work has been published by Poetry, The Academy of American Poets, The Iowa Review, and more. A former managing editor of TriQuarterly, Kira was a finalist for a 2024 Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowship.
Pre-order Kira's debut poetry collection, WILDEST (Akashic Books, 2026).
Visit Kira at lnk.bio/kiratucker.
Say “hello” to Kira on Instagram @_shedreamsin_technicolor.
You can also visit therestofuspodcast.com to read Kira's poem and reflection prompt, along with other featured poets in the Poetic Interlude community.
Note: "Off on Holiday" was first published in Poetry.
PODCAST TEAM
Host, Dana Tenille Weekes
Producer, Annabelle Oh
Editor, Sagheer Muhammad
Content Manager, Annabelle Oh
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Until next time, rest, my friends.
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Welcome to the Poetic Interlude as part of the Rest of Us podcast. Each poetic interlude holds space to remind us that creative expression is a portal to rest as liberation. Creatives, including poets, show us how to embrace our humanity and act on our truth, not fear, in this present moment, which we in the Rest of Us community view as a deep connection to one's agency. Our definition of rest. Let's settle in. Kira Tucker is a monthist native and winner of the 2025 National Poetry Series. She earned an MSA in creative writing and an MA in English from Northwestern University, where she was the 2024-2025 Artist in Residence. Her work has been published by Poetry Magazine, the Academy of American Poets, the Iowa Review, and more. Wildest, I'm so excited, is Kira's debut collection published by Akashic Books, which is now available for pre-order at Akashic Books. That is AKA S H I C Books.com forward slash catalog forward slash wildest. Want to read more of Kira's work? Visit link.bio, that is lnk.bio forward slash kira tucker and say hello to kira on Instagram at underscore she dreams in underscore technocolor. You can also visit the restofuspodcast.com to read kira's polon and reflection prompt along with others in the poetic interlude community. Let's settle in.
SPEAKER_01Hi, my name is Kira Tucker and I will read my poem Off on Holiday. Off on Holiday. Wild for once, we drenched and drugged and flung our sun-starved bodies into brunching and clubbing and stuffing our uncovered stomachs until Monday. Whole in the pause of corporate time, alive in the rare convergence of miles, the dancers glisten with sequins and steam from Miami's forty sixth Martin Luther King Day parade. Bands are brandishing brass and batons while just like in King's Dream, I am here and not quite here. The rest file down forty fifth as I opt for elsewhere this final seaside morning, the breadcrumb sand erasing a layer of me. I wander ocean drives frozen low rider motorcade and watch gulls dive for anything worth the work. Descended from humans who couldn't choose to vacate any duty, I'm silently enjoying my government holiday, two bridges removed of Liberty City's collective remembrance brigade. Craving a single day without need for unrest, I protest. Would King recognize that quiet act amid my carbon cascade of commercial flights? Awe at a commodified art decal mirage, libationary bloat in the gut, or this so long sisterhood toasting our own unlost lives? Would he honor this day? I've decided to relish my civil right to dig a place for myself in the sand and blacken my skin in the sun. The embrace of any shade is transient, the way palms cast shadows on the bleach washed shiplap of an empty tower. The bronze-backed man who waits there, guarding lives, is not on duty today. As you receive this poem, settle into this reflection. You can think in silence, free write, draw, or even craft a poem. While in Miami for Martin Luther King Day weekend, I chose to rest on what many deem a day of action. My friend group of remarkable black women had reunited to celebrate our recent achievements. But this seaside vacation implicated us as tourists in a city notorious for black dispossession. What happens when our rest is tied up in someone else's oppression, and by extension, our own? Can this rest still be a kind of protest?
SPEAKER_00Thank you for listening to this poetic interlude. Remember, we are all creatives, whether we believe it or not. And creativity itself is a source for what we in the Rest of Us community call liberatory rest. Want to listen to more poetic interludes? Visit therestofuspodcast.com or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Until next time, rest, my friends.