Apr 20 Watch 6:35 This poet’s guide dog helped him discover a new world Born with a condition that left him legally blind and in a family that kept his disability hidden, it wasn’t until poet and professor Stephen Kuusisto was in his late 30s that he decided to train with a guide dog. Continue watching
Apr 16 In a Florida prison, a poet grapples with power and oppression By Corinne Segal In poet Eduardo Martinez's work, power is a trap; being ruled by it is a trap, and wielding it is, too, a dynamic that he said he confronts every day in prison. Continue reading
Apr 11 A poet’s field notes, ‘ending in a deportation’ By Jennifer Hijazi In his new collection, poet Marcelo Hernandez Castillo’s imagery and dream-like phrases allow him to speak of his immigration status in a way he hadn’t been able to before. Continue reading
Apr 02 A poem for Flint, four years after the water crisis began By Jennifer Hijazi Tarfia Faizullah's poem “I Told the Water” brings water to life and unpacks its role in our lives -- as mirror, life-giver and sometimes a villain. Continue reading
Mar 28 Poetry and music empowers this Tucson art collective to embrace their identity By Jennifer Hijazi After Mexican-American studies was banned at their school, these young people formed a collective to educate themselves and others. Continue reading
Mar 19 Parkland students pour their feelings into poetry By Jennifer Hijazi A 14-year-old student who was killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School wrote about life's "ups and downs" soon before his death. After the shooting, a classmate writes that "nothing about this feels normal."… Continue reading
Mar 16 Watch 5:06 To Arizona’s first poet laureate, ‘the border is what joins us’ By PBS News Hour Across his life, Alberto Rios has seen enormous changes throughout the U.S.-Mexico border region, and its culture and language have shaped him as a writer. Now as Arizona's first poet laureate, Rios has a platform for his "poems of public… Continue watching
Mar 12 The homeland left behind, captured in a poem By Jennifer Hijazi For Shauna Barbosa and other poets of the Cape Verdean diaspora, the longing for a far-away home is an important theme. Continue reading
Mar 08 Watch 3:20 This poet wants brown girls to know they’re worthy of being the hero and the author By PBS News Hour For girls who didn't grow up seeing themselves as the main characters of books, award-winning poet Elizabeth Acevedo wants them to know that their stories are just as important as any other. Acevedo shares her Brief but Spectacular take on… Continue watching
Mar 06 This poet wants you to rethink what it means to be vulnerable By Jennifer Hijazi Poet Analicia Sotelo penned her latest collection to upend tropes of the helpless damsel, inspired by an Italian painter's dream-like depiction of womanly strength in the throes of vulnerability. Continue reading