Jun 05 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. Continue reading
May 29 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. Continue reading
May 22 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. Continue reading
May 15 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. Continue reading
May 08 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… Continue reading
May 02 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. Continue reading
Apr 24 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. Continue reading
Apr 17 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. Continue reading
Apr 10 What does it mean to have no homeland? This haunting poetry searches for answers By Elizabeth Flock By the measure of a year, Mai Der Vang was not born in a refugee camp, as her sister was. But she’s always felt pulled between different worlds. In 1981, when Vang was born in Fresno, California, her parents had… Continue reading
Apr 03 This poetry uses Mary Magdalene to explore troubles that bedevil modern life By Elizabeth Flock "Magdalene," a new book of poems from former New York Poet Laureate Marie Howe, who was raised Catholic, seeks to reenvision Mary Magdalene for the modern age -- and tackles some of our modern-day problems in the process. Continue reading