Poetry Jul 03 Watch 5:46 Kevin Young intertwines personal and public history in ‘Brown’ As a writer, editor and archivist, Kevin Young is a poet actively engaged with the world. In his new collection, "Brown," Young draws heavily on his boyhood in Topeka, Kansas, tying it in large and small ways to the wider…
Poetry Oct 16 This poem shows what sexual abuse looks like “From One / who says, ‘Don’t cry. You’ll like it after a while,’” she writes. “And Two who tells you thank you / after the fact and can’t look at your face.”… By Elizabeth Flock
Poetry Sep 18 Why U.S. Virgin Islanders feel there’s no place they belong Hurricane Irma devastated the U.S. Virgin Islands, leveling homes, knocking out power, and turning the landscape into a “battered wasteland” where some say media coverage was minimal and help was late to arrive. Now, the islands are under… By Elizabeth Flock
Poetry Jul 03 This poem grapples with America’s complicated identity "I think of the U.S. as an adolescent country. It's not the old, wise European country, or very young either, it's somewhere in the middle," poet Dorianne Laux says. By Elizabeth Flock
Jun 19 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. Continue reading
Jun 14 Watch 7:24 For newly named U.S. poet laureate, the power of poetry is opening ourselves to others By PBS NewsHour Tracy K. Smith, a writer and teacher, is taking on a very public role as the nation's poet laureate. Jeffrey Brown sits down with Smith to discuss how language can be a tool of revelation, her reflections on race in… Continue watching
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 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