2017’s Poetry at Work Day left a few blanks to fill in, but also offered asteroid-mission limericks and a neurological rage against the dying of the light.
It’s Poetry at Work Day 2017! Join with Us to Celebrate!
It’s Poetry at Work Day 2017! Join Tweetspeak Poetry in celebrating how poetry infuses our work and our workplaces, whatever and wherever they are.
Reading Together: Rita Dove’s ‘Thomas and Beulah’
Megan Willome’s reading of Rita Dove’s Thomas and Beulah is a reminder that sometimes the moments that change us most aren’t the ones that make the news.
Book Club Announcement: Dark Times Filled with Light, by Juan Gelman
We announce our upcoming book club, reading together the poems of Juan Gelman’s Dark Times Filled With Light, taking to heart his encouragement to “find room in one another, humans.”
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.
Twitter Party: The Odyssey and The Wooded Isle, Part 2
Part 2 of Tweetspeak’s recent poetry party on Twitter was guided by prompts from “The Odyssey” by Homer, and 10 would-be Homers produced some epic poems.
Poets and Poems: Matt Duggan and “Dystopia 38.10”
In “Dystopia 38.10, ” poet Matthew Duggan takes the post-apocalyptic idea of dystopia and vividly applies it to contemporary society.
Poetic Asides: Norman Nicholson and Frank Stanford
Reading poetry can lead to the discovery of other poets and their poetry, such as what happened when other poets led to Norman Nicholson and Frank Stanford.
A Window into Poetry and Change with Jane Hirshfield
In times of great change – political, social, economic – we turn to poetry to make sense of what seems nonsensical, to comfort, to explain, says poet Jane Hirshfield.
Forward Prize for Best First Collection: “Wife” by Tiphanie Yanique
“Wife, ” winner of the Forward Prize for best first collection, challenges our notions of what marriage mean, but ends up reaffirming the idea of commitment.
Thank You Notes: Potatoes, Parsnips, and Other Root Vegetables
Thank You Notes is a monthly prompt that focuses on expressing our thanks to a particular person, place, or thing. This month, we’re crafting thank-you’s to potatoes, parsnips, and other root vegetables.
Forward Prize: “Measures of Expatriation” by Vahni Capildeo
Forward Prize winner Vahni Capildeo and her “Measures of Expatriation” challenge our notions of what a poetry collection is and can be.
Confessions of Poetry
Charity Singleton Craig goes out with a plan to spread poetry around her community and is thwarted by 20 scurrying chipmunks.
William Wordsworth: “The Prelude” and the Poetry of Revision
Some 24 manuscripts, dated from 1798 to 1839, exist for “The Prelude, ” the autobiographical poem by William Wordsworth; they show the poetry of revision.
Committing Prufrock: A New Poetry Dare
Sandra Heska King gets nabbed while under cover in the poet’s protection program and agrees to commit Prufrock in the latest Poetry Dare scheme.
William Wordsworth and the Language of the Common Man
Influenced by the American and French revolutions, William Wordsworth wrote poetry that used common language and spoke to feelings and imagination.
Why Read a Poem at a Time Like This?
Why read a poem? It can tell the truth slant with “superb surprise” and dazzle us, gradually or with swift and sudden force, into insight and action.
Don Paterson: Poet of Light and Dark in Life and in Ourselves
Don Paterson is an important voice in British poetry and letters. He writes of both the light and the dark in life and in ourselves.
Poets and Poems: Frank Stanford and “The Light the Dead See”
Frank Stanford (1948-1978) embodied William Wordsworth’s “The Child is father of the Man” in both his life and his poetry.
Poets and Poems: Mohja Kahf and “Hagar Poems”
In “Hagar Poems, ” poet Mohja Kahf tells and retells the biblical story of Hagar, Abraham, and Sarah, weaving threads between ancient and contemporary times.