Nov 01 What baseball is, according to this lifetime fan By Mary Jo Brooks Gail Mazur says she’s been obsessed with baseball her whole life, but she resisted the temptation to write any poems about the game because she worried how it would be received by other poets. Continue reading
Oct 24 This poet releases the beasts to discover her humanity By Mary Jo Brooks Werewolves, mermaids, griffons and minotaurs: Donika Kelly’s debut collection of poetry is filled with mythological creatures. But unlike medieval bestiaries that used creatures to teach moral lessons to others, Kelly says her book is an exploration of her humanity. Continue reading
Oct 17 How this son of immigrants reimagined his parents’ homeland By Mary Jo Brooks Chris Santiago is the son of Filipino immigrants. In his first collection of poems, “Tula,” he wrestles with the tension of being both inside and outside the language and the culture of the Philippines. Continue reading
Oct 10 When a hurricane turns a familiar place into ‘familiar debris’ By Mary Jo Brooks Alison Pelegrin, a poet and native of New Orleans, has lived through many hurricanes, but says Katrina forever changed her. "I wear the scars, but I’m able to go on."… Continue reading
Oct 03 If the walls of an immigrant detention center could speak By Mary Jo Brooks Poet Teow Lim Goh imagines the voices of Chinese immigrants who were detained at Angel Island between 1910 and 1940. Continue reading
Sep 26 Seeing a culture of fear, poet explores the immigrant dream By Mary Jo Brooks Poet Tishani Doshi has long reflected on the idea of immigration and creating a new home in new land. But she has become alarmed about the “culture of fear” that has developed toward immigrants in the United Sates and Britain. Continue reading
Sep 19 A Defense Department dictionary helped this poet write in the language of war By Mary Jo Brooks Solmaz Sharif says she has always been obsessed with state-sponsored language. But it wasn’t until 10 years ago when she stumbled onto a Defense Department dictionary that she began to write what would become an entire book of poetry using… Continue reading
Sep 09 What it was like to watch the 9/11 attacks from your classroom window By Mary Jo Brooks On Sept. 11, 2001, Annie Thoms was 25 and just starting her second year teaching English at Stuyvesant High School, which is located just four blocks from Ground Zero. In the months that followed, she worked with her students to… Continue reading
Sep 05 A poet’s ode to the meaning of work By Mary Jo Brooks Philip Levine wrote 20 collections of verse, won a Pulitzer Prize and served as Poet Laureate of the United States. Yet he always considered his main mission was to document and honor the lives of working-class people. Continue reading
Aug 29 Poet explores the explosive potential of the bikini By Mary Jo Brooks Caitlin Doyle tries to use language in a way that prompts readers to let down their guard and enter a poem for the visceral pleasure of the sounds. Continue reading