Poetry

Have we been taught poetry all wrong?

By Elizabeth Flock

Poet Matthew Zapruder say that we are too often asked to find the "hidden meanings" in poems, as if a poem is a riddle.

Why this poet is posting meaningless verse on Instagram

By Elizabeth Flock

Thom Young, a Pushcart Prize-nominated poet, launched an experiment to show how easy it is to become a social media star.

Watch this 7th grader use slam poetry to tell girls: 'You are good enough'

By Elizabeth Flock

Olivia Vella wanted to tell girls her age that they were talented, smart and beautiful -- no matter how often they were told otherwise.

How to savor a perfect summer day, in verse

By Elizabeth Flock

Dungy's new collection of poetry asks us, in spite of the pain or difficulty of being human today, to find joy and vibrancy in our experiences.

What these humble one-liners can teach us about the times we live in

By Elizabeth Flock

Yahia Lababidi said the 140 character age of Twitter has turned many of us into aspiring aphorists. And he believes the form is more important than ever.

In 'Scranton Lace,' nostalgia for a time and place that no longer exist

By Elizabeth Flock

While Margot Douaihy's new book is a love letter to Scranton, she said it also acknowledges the Rust Belt's limits.

From Trayvon Martin to Sandra Bland, these poems use court documents to honor black lives cut short

By Elizabeth Flock

The Black Lives Matter movement asks us to say the names of the black men and women who have died in encounters with police. Poet and educator Simone John wants us to also understand their stories, through her debut collection…

Returning home, these West Virginians are rewriting the poetry of Appalachia

By Elizabeth Flock

The poetry community is growing in West Virginia. Many are poets who left and have come back home.

This poet explores the high-flying realms of space -- but also the earthly problems of growing up poor

By Elizabeth Flock

In his new books "Map to the Stars," Adrian Matejka writes about his childhood fixation on space, which offered a distraction from living in poverty.

This Earth Day, remembering America's vanishing farms

By Elizabeth Flock

In the United States, the small American family farm has been in decline since the 1930s. These poems celebrate and remember those disappearing communities.