Jun 12 Charles Wright named U.S. Poet Laureate By Mike Melia Charles Wright, a master of capturing landscape and meditation in verse, has been named the next Poet Laureate of the United States by the Library of Congress. It is the latest in a long list of honors and awards for… Continue reading
Jun 11 Watch Seasons serve as backdrop to Charles Wright's Pulitzer Prize-winning collection By PBS News Hour Charles Wright, professor of English at the University of Virginia, discusses his Pulitzer Prize-winning collection of poetry, "Black Zodiac."… Continue watching
Jun 09 Weekly Poem: Pulitzer winner Vijay Seshadri reads 'Memoir' By Frank Carlson Vijay Seshadri opens his poem "Memoir" by paraphrasing George Orwell, writing that "no one ever writes the real story of their life. The real story of a life is the story of its humiliations."… Continue reading
Jun 02 Weekly Poem: Mark Ford evokes memory through poetic form By Victoria Fleischer Born in Nairobi, Kenya, Ford only lived there until the age of 4, but the move from Kenya to England stuck with him. From his memories of that time in his life, the poet crafted a pantoum, "which recreates that… Continue reading
May 28 Watch Remembering Maya Angelou's iconic voice By PBS News Hour Drawing on a childhood of abuse and segregation, writer and author Maya Angelou moved the nation. Works such as her 1978 poem, “And Still I Rise,” explored the effects of racism and sexism on personal identity, with a voice that… Continue watching
May 28 Watch From rough beginnings, respected writer and activist Maya Angelou made a remarkable journey By PBS News Hour Maya Angelou, one of the most respected cultural figures of her generation, has died at the age of 86. Her debut memoir, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” made her one of the first bestselling African-American female authors. Jeffrey… Continue watching
May 28 Maya Angelou, renaissance woman, dies at 86 By Ellen Rolfes Renaissance woman and civil rights activist Maya Angelou has died at the age of 86. Continue reading
May 26 Weekly Poem: Dan Chiasson and his poetry time machine By Victoria Fleischer Poet Dan Chiasson started working on his book “Bicentennial” after the death of his father, who left when Chiasson was 7 months old. While the two never really knew each other, that event prompted Chiasson to revisit his childhood in… Continue reading
May 20 Watch Graduate students encourage poetry through community service By PBS News Hour Master of Fine Arts students at Antioch University in Los Angeles are required to do community service to enhance the “writing life” of others. As part of our series Where Poetry Lives, poet laureate Natasha Trethewey joins Jeffrey Brown to… Continue watching