Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem “Paul Revere’s Ride” was written at a perilous time in American history, when Civil War threatened.
Relearning Civil War History to Write a Novel
To write the historical novel “Brookhaven,” I had to relearn the subject I thought I knew all about — the history of the Civil War.
Poets and Poems: John Balaban and “Empires”
“Empires” by poet John Balaban mines both human and personal history poetically to ask what creates the idea of the common good.
The Poetry of the Visiting Card: Miss Jennie Todt meets Catherina Gerhard
A visiting card in an 1899 edition of “Longfellow’s Complete Poems” leads to stories of German immigrants, St. Louis history, and even beer.
Childhood, Poetry, and History: “The Courtship of Miles Standish”
Reading “The Courtship of Miles Standish” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow brings memories of childhood, poetry, and history.
The Pulitzer Prize for Poetry: “Olio” by Tyehimba Jess
The Pulitzer Prize-winning poetry collection “Olio” by Tyehimba Jess bends poetry our of its familiar groove to tell a story few Americans know.
Literary Tour: International Quilt Study Center & Museum, Lincoln, NE
Discover the way a quilt can speak to the identity of a person and a community in this tour of the International Quilt Study Center & Museum in Lincoln, NE.
The World War I Poets in the War
Max Egremont’s “Some Desperate Glory” combines history, biography and poetry to describe the World War I that the war poets experienced.