Have you chosen your favorite poet for Take Your Poet to Work Day? W. B. Yeats joins our growing collection of ready-for-work poets today.
Anna Akhmatova and the Poetry of Resilience
Russian poet Anna Akhmatova experienced personal tragedy, war, revolution, civil war, and Stalinist repression, and still wrote haunting poetry.
Poets and Poems: Thomas Merton and “In the Dark Before Dawn”
Thomas Merton continues to exert a significant pull on the imagination, the intellect, and the conscience.
Maya Angelou: The Poetry and Life of Reinvention
Maya Angelou was an unlikely candidate for literary success. But she reinvented herself, more than once.
Poets and Poems: Ron Padgett and “Collected Poems”
“Collected Poems” by Ron Padgett covers more than 50 years of work, summing up a life lived in the creation of poetry.
Poets and Poems: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and “Prussian Nights”
“Prussian Nights” by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn reminds us that victory in war doesn’t automatically mean moral superiority over an enemy.
Poets and Poems: Robert Frost, Wendell Berry, and the Woods
Comparing two poems – one by Robert Frost and one by Wendell Berry – allows insights into the minds of both poets we might not have otherwise.
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.”
Poets and Poems: Robert Frost and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”
“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost helped define poetry for millions of American Baby Boomers. It is still influential today.
Interview with Poet Patty Paine (Part 1): Write Fearlessly
“[H]aving a routine is necessary. There’s a difference between committing to a set period of time to write and needing the universe to align in order to write.” ~ Patty Paine
Poets and Poems: J.P. Dancing Bear’s “The Abandoned Eye”
The poems in J.P. Dancing Bear’s “The Abandoned Eye” cut like razor blades, removing what we use to hide and obscure.
Eating and Drinking Poems: William Stafford’s ‘Blackberries Are Back’
To accompany the sudden rush of spring, Kathryn Neel pairs a recipe for blackberry cobbler with William Stafford’s poem “Blackberries Are Back”
Poets and Poems: “Caribou” by Charles Wright
“Caribou, ” the new collection of poems by Charles Wright, is about memory, what has passed, and what is gone, and the realizations that come only with age.
Eating and Drinking Poems: Philip Levine’s ‘The Simple Truth’
In this Eating and Drinking Poems post, a poet pairs her Polish grandmother’s recipe for perogies with Philip Levine’s poem ‘The Simple Truth’
Eating and Drinking Poems: Lucille Clifton’s ‘Cutting Greens’
In this Eating and Drinking Poems post, Kathryn Neel pairs ‘cutting greens’ by Lucille Clifton with a southern recipe for collard greens.
National Poetry Month Highlights: Tomas Tranströmer
Tomas Transtromer has been writing for a long time. It shows. Join us in celebrating his poetry and life this National Poetry Month!
Poets and Poems: Nicholas Samaras’ “American Psalm World Psalm”
Poets and Poems considers a new collection of 150 poems by Nicholas Samaras, each in the form of a psalm. “American Psalm, World Psalm” speaks to the heart.
Eating and Drinking Poems: Rumi’s ‘Any Soul That Drank the Nectar’
In the latest Eating and Drinking Poems post, Megan D. Willome shares her Christmas tradition of eating enchiladas and drinking Topo Chico mineral water.
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.
Eating and Drinking Poems: Mary Oliver’s “The Mango”
In her latest Eating and Drinking Poems post, Monica Sharman discusses her nostalgia for the mango and shares a recipe for mango mousse.