Home away from Home, Poets House
Young People’s Poet Laureate Naomi Shihab Nye reflects on her myriad experiences at Poets House over the years.
Category: Essays
Tracing Black Speculative Poetics: Afrofuturism, the Supernatural & Afrosurrealism
By Isabella Vento
Posted Feb 27, 2020
Investigate the future, the supernatural, and the absurdities of “right now” as envisioned by Black poets, artists and scholars.
Thoughts on Bookmaking by Claire Van Vliet of The Janus Press
By Claire Van Vliet
Posted Oct 10, 2019
Claire Van Vliet, MacArthur Award–winning book artist and publisher of works by James Schuyler, Kwame Dawes & others, describes her creative process.
Field Work: Aligning Poetry and Science in Milwaukee
By Alison Hawthorne Deming
Posted Jun 24, 2019
Alison Hawthorne Deming discusses her work as Milwaukee Poet-in-Residence for Poets House’s Field Work project, exploring intersections of poetry & science.
The Poetic Language of Scots
By Sarah Stewart, Poets House Doctoral Intern
Posted May 23, 2019
Poet Sarah Stewart explains “shoogle” and shines a light on Scottish poetry collections that use native dialects.
Writing and Teaching in a Time of Crisis with Kay Ulanday Barrett
By Kay Ulanday Barrett
Posted May 10, 2019
Kay Ulanday Barrett describes June Jordan’s legacy and their mission as “a transgender brown poet and educator to imagine beyond hazardous constraints of binaries.”
Remembering Betty Kray, Champion of Poets
By Margo Viscusi, Poets House Board President Emerita
Posted Apr 29, 2019
Poets House Board President Emerita Margo Viscusi remembers Betty Kray, co-founder of Poets House and a behind-the-scenes powerhouse in American poetry.
Field Work: Aligning Poetry and Science in Salt Lake City
By Katharine Coles
Posted Apr 4, 2019
Katharine Coles discusses her work as Salt Lake City Poet-in-Residence for Poets House’s Field Work project, exploring poetry & science via programs at museums & public libraries.
Writing and Teaching in a Time of Crisis: Lessons from June Jordan with Bill Zavatsky
By Bill Zavatsky
Posted Mar 28, 2019
Writer and educator Bill Zavatsky discusses June Jordan’s “For the Sake of People’s Poetry: Walt Whitman and the Rest of Us” and the legacy of both poets.
Writing & Teaching in a Time of Crisis: Lessons from June Jordan with Taiyo Na
By Taiyo Na
Posted Mar 15, 2019
Poet, musician & educator Taiyo Na explores June Jordan’s legacy, touching on basketball, activist songwriting & teaching as “an act of creating sanctuary.”