Sep 25 Kwame Dawes Reads ‘The Weaver Bird’ by Kofi Awoonor Poet Kwame Dawes' uncle, the Ghanaian poet Kofi Awoonor, was killed in the terrorist attack at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya. Dawes read one of his uncle's most famous works, "The Weaver Bird."… Continue reading
Sep 23 Grace Schulman Reads ‘Without a Claim’ By News Desk In "Without a Claim," poet Grace Schulman is inspired by the things she loves. Raised in New York City, "like a houseplant in a windowsill, Schulman describes the majesty of the American landscape. In this instance it's Montauk, at the… Continue reading
Sep 19 Lucie Brock-Broido Reads ‘Of Tookie Williams’ By Margaret Myers Lucie Brock-Broido is the author of four collections of poetry, including her latest "Stay, Illusion." She is the Director of Poetry in the School of the Arts at Columbia University in New York. Her poem "Of Tookie Williams" is about… Continue reading
Sep 18 Jennifer Michael Hecht Reads ‘Split’ By Margaret Myers Jennifer Michael Hecht is a poet, historian, philosopher and author. She has written several books of nonfiction including "Doubt: A History" and "The Happiness Myth." Her latest collection of poetry is titled "Who Said." She teaches at The New School… Continue reading
Sep 17 Mary Jo Salter’s ‘Nothing By Design’ a Mixture of Darkness and Whimsy By Margaret Myers "Nothing By Design," the new collection from poet Mary Jo Salter, is a mix of light and dark. In it, Salter explores the end of a marriage, the loss of friends, having fun with MFA programs and responding to "The… Continue reading
Sep 16 Meena Alexander Reads Her Poem, ‘Experimental Geography’ By Margaret Myers Meena Alexander's latest collection of poems, "Birthplace with Buried Stones," will be published Sept. 30, 2013. Alexander is an English professor at the City University of New York and teaches at Hunter College and the Graduate Center, City University of… Continue reading
Sep 12 Poetry Project Helps Dementia Patients Live in the Moment By Margaret Myers In our new series, "Where Poetry Lives," Natasha Trethewey, poet laureate of the United States, and Jeffrey Brown spends time at the Alzheimer's Poetry Project in Brooklyn. The international program works with people with dementia to try to trigger memory… Continue reading
Sep 12 Poet’s Notebook: Beginning the Journey by Remembering the Past By Natasha Trethewey U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey kicks off the "Where Poetry Lives" tour with NewsHour's Jeffrey Brown in New York. Photos by Anne Davenport Editor's Note: PBS NewsHour kicks off a special poetry series with U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey. Continue reading
Aug 30 Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney Dies at 74 World-renowned poet and Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney died at age 74 in his native Ireland after a brief illness. Jeffrey Brown looks back on an interview he did with the poet two years ago, when Heaney reflected on his life… Continue reading
Jul 11 Liao Yiwu Liao Yiwu was in his early 30s when he was arrested for writing and performing a poem about the brutality of the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989. His poem -- simply called "Massacre" -- was an angry, howling rant against… Continue reading