Bettissima: An Exhibition of the Life and Letters of Elizabeth Kray
A look at the institutions built and friendships forged by Elizabeth Kray, who shaped the landscape of American poetry from the mid–20th century to the present day.
A Propulsive Thread
By Asiya Wadud
Posted Dec 5, 2018
With three visual arts examples and a writing prompt, poet Asiya Wadud paves the way to creating stillness and propulsion in poetry.
Transforming Nature with James Schuyler
By Carl Phillips
Posted Dec 3, 2018
Carl Phillips explores James Schuyler’s poem “The Bluet,” revealing “a thanksgiving of sorts, for friendship itself, for human company.”
Writing and Teaching in a Time of Crisis: Lessons from June Jordan
By Donna Masini
Posted Nov 29, 2018
Inspired by June Jordan, Donna Masini calls for the integration of writing with activism, personal life, and the “moral imagination.”
Charles Waters: Rising Star of Children’s Poetry
By Suzanne Wise, Staff Writer
Posted Nov 28, 2018
Children’s poet and actor Charles Waters on teaching, messing up, and his award-winning book Can I Touch Your Hair?.
Transforming Nature with John Clare
By Carl Phillips
Posted Nov 26, 2018
Carl Phillips examines how a poem by John Clare conveys “sensitivity to wilderness and the human ability to reason about it.”
Quiz: Medicinal Herb or Literary Magazine?
By Amanda Glassman, Librarian and Archivist
Posted Nov 21, 2018
Do you know your Sow’s Ear from your Lady’s Mantle? Quiz yourself on lit mags that belong on a witch’s shopping list.
Transforming Nature with Charlotte Smith
By Carl Phillips
Posted Nov 19, 2018
Carl Phillips looks at a 1797 sonnet by Charlotte Smith that explores the desire to escape “a civilization of reason’s making.”
Hangers, Cardboard, and Type: Handmade and Unusual Books from the Poets House Showcase
By Amanda Glassman, Librarian and Archivist
Posted Nov 14, 2018
A look at artists’ books and unusual poetic objects from some of the many innovative presses featured in the 2018 Poets House Showcase.
(Feeling) at Home in America with Sterling A. Brown
By Camille T. Dungy
Posted Nov 12, 2018
A close look at a poem by Sterling A. Brown that asks us “What happens when hope comes home?” Part 5 of 5 on the theme of home.