How best to write tragedy? Poet David K. Wheeler suggests the soft sorrow of the pantoum.
Grief, a Leaf, and Haibun Magic
Through a time of grief, Michelle Ortega discovered the haibun, and its interplay with haiku and prose poem forms, offered a place of reflection and healing.
Poets and Poems: Shanna Powlus Wheeler and “Evensong for Shadows”
Shanna Powlus Wheeler’s first full poetry collection, “Evensong for Shadows,” suggests the omnipresence of grief — a measure of the loss of love or happiness or relationship, and very much a part of life.
Novel, Poetry, Both? Max Porter and “Grief Is the Thing with Feathers”
“Grief Is the Thing with Feathers” by British author Max Porter is officially a novel, but it could also be poetry, or something else. And it’s wonderful.
Poets and Poems: Simon Armitage Translates “Pearl”
British poet Simon Armitage has translated the late Middle English poem “Pearl,” a beautiful poem about a father’s grief and how he resolves it.
Poets and Poems: Denise Riley and “Say Something Back”
“Say Something Back” by British poet Denise Riley considers the ways we do and don’t communicate, almost a plea to listen and hear each other.
Poets and Poems: John Sibley Williams and “Disinheritance”
“Disinheritance” by John Sibley Williams is a beautiful, moving collection of poems dealing with grief, both real and imagined.
Poetic Voices: Chelsea Rathburn and Kristina Marie Darling
Two recent collections by Chelsea Rathburn and Kristina Marie Darling both deal with grief, but it is a grief different from that over physical death.
The Poetry of World War I
Tim Kendall’s anthology “Poetry of the First World War” explains how poetry came to be so connected with “the war to end all wars.”
Poem Analysis: Matthew Arnold’s Dover Beach
An evocative poem analysis focusing on the imagery in Dover Beach. Insightful and intriguing, from student writer Sara Barkat.
Interview with Poet Patty Paine (Part 2): Poetry Can Save You
Poet Patty Paine confides that “poetry, the reading and the writing of it, has saved my life.”
The Poetry of Walking, History and Houses
A stroll, even in familiar neighborhoods, can prompt reflection, imagination, discovery, and insight. Perhaps it could be called the poetry of walking.
Coming Home to Scotland and Scottish Poetry
Surprised by Scotland, a writer finds herself taken by her past, her present with Scottish poets, and maybe (who knows) her future.
Poetry at Work: The Poetry of Regime Change
There is poetry at work in the most convulsive of organizational upheavals, often called regime change. Charles Bukowski’s poem helps understanding.
Poets and Poems: Grace Schulman’s “Without a Claim”
Grace Schulman’s new collection of poems “Without a Claim” creates quiet repose in the face of discontinuity. Can poets and poems make sense of this?
Night Poetry: Darkness and Villanelle Poems
Try your hand at a night poem that easily captures the ambiguity of darkness, simply by virtue of its form.
Poets and Poems: R.S. Thomas’s “Poems to Elsi”
Poets and Poems looks at “Poems to Elsi” by R.S. Thomas, which provides insight into the Thomas marriage of more than 50 years.
Poets and Poems: Jean Sprackland’s “Sleeping Keys”
Jean Sprackland’s “Sleeping Keys” quietly underscores the importance of what lies unrecognized and forgotten—a thoughtful selection for Poets and Poems.
Ghazal Poetry: Sing the Old Songs
Ghazal poetry was traditionally a sung form, invoking other traditional symbols like the gazelle. Invoke an old song image for your own?
Tattoo Poetry: Inked with an Author Prompt
Get inked with your author; give us a poem that tells the tale.