Poet Mary Oliver showed us how to employ nature to come to terms with where we come from, and to point to where we might be going.
By Heart: “I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud” + New Poetry Challenge
Join author Megan Willome as she learns Wordsworth’s “I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud” By Heart and considers authorship.
Walking in the Dark: A Path Into Poetry
Walking (especially in the dark) is author Megan Willome’s path to poetry. Her steps begin in early morning moonlight and sometimes trace past a windmill.
Poets and Poems: Chris Dombrowski and “Ragged Anthem”
The 52 poems of “Ragged Anthem” by Chris Dombrowski describe the fragility and impermanence of life, in spite of an individual’s resilience.
Poets and Poems: Mike Bond and “The Drum That Beats Within Us”
“The Drum That Beats Within Us” by Mike Bond is a collection by a warrior poet, a warrior prepared to fight to the death with the soul of a poet.
Reader, Come Home: “Little Rhymes for Lowly Plants”
Join us for deep reading with author Megan Willome as we discuss a poetry collection about plants for Poetic Earth Month. And share your March pages for our Reader, Come Home column.
Ocean as Metaphor: “The Crossing Over” by Jen Karetnick
“The Crossing Over,” the new poetry collection by Jen Karetnick, uses the ocean as metaphor, offering its bounty but demanding its sacrifices.
Tweetspeak Poetry Party, Part 2: Skywoman Braids Sweetgrass
“Braiding Sweetgrass” by Robin Wall Kimmerer provided the prompts for Tweetspeak Poetry’s recent poetry party on Twitter. These are the final five poems.
Tweetspeak Poetry Party: Skywoman Braids Sweetgrass
Tweetspeak Poetry’s recent poetry party on Twitter resulted in ten poems about Skywoman, braiding sweetgrass, trees, and a gift.
Children’s Book Club: “Toasting Marshmallows: Camping Poems”
S’more time! Join us for a Children’s Book Club discussion of a collection of camping poems called ‘Toasting Marshmallows’ by Kristine O’Connell George.
Paul Kingsnorth: The Poetry of the Future Landscape
The poetry of Paul Kingsnorth is continually looking at the landscape, the landscape of the future superimposed on the landscape of the past.
Poets and Poems: David Whyte and “The Bell and the Blackbird”
“The Bell and the Blackbird,” the new poetry collection by David Whyte, is full of surprises but retains Whyte’s trademark simplicity and depth.
Poets and Poems: Mark Burrows and “The Chance for Home”
To read “The Chance for Home” by Mark Burrows is to immerse oneself in the quiet beauty of memory, experience, reflection, and, ultimately, hope.
Poets and Poems: Athena Kildegaard and “Course”
The poems of “Course” by Athena Kildegaard provide a kind of natural sanctuary, where one comes to watch and to listen to what the landscape has to say.
Birthdays & Birthstones Poetry Prompt: A Rossetti List Poem
Come write poetry inspired by Christina Rossetti’s list poem “The Months” and see if you like how she describes your birthday month.
Poetry for Life Scholarship Winner: Maria A. Esguerra
We announce the winner of this year’s Poetry for Life Scholarship, Maria A. Esguerra.
Regional Tour: Of Alligators and Everglades
Sandra Heska King has all the adventure—and alligators—she could ever want right in her own backyard, in the Everglades.
Holidays by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow—And Happy Ones, to You!
We send our best wishes to you for the season and the year to come with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “Holidays.”
Poets and Poems: Michelle Menting and “Leaves Surface Like Skin”
The poems of ‘Leaves Surface Like Skin” by Michelle Menting use the images and metaphors of nature to explore and explain the human condition.
The First Poetry for Children: “Divine Emblems” by John Bunyan
In 1686, the English Puritan minister and writer John Bunyan published what we know today as “Divine Emblems,” the first book of poetry for children.