Oct 23 Watch 5:11 Why this poet couldn't avoid writing about the opioid crisis By PBS News Hour The opioid crisis has plagued poet William Brewer’s hometown in West Virginia. His vivid poems tell the story of the opioid epidemic from different voices and depict the sense of bewilderment people find themselves in as addiction creeps into their… Continue watching
Sep 29 Mapping Seattle, poem by poem By Lorna Baldwin Seattle's "Poetic Grid" captures the rapidly changing city by asking people to write about locations that have meaning to them. Continue reading
Jul 24 This poet's obsession with death led her to write about how to live By Elizabeth Flock Nicole Sealey's new poetry collection asks us if, like the Greek figure of Sisyphus, we can find contentment even when life is difficult and absurd… Continue reading
Jul 17 The rage and rebellion of the Detroit riots, captured in one poem By Elizabeth Flock Fifty years ago this month, a protest in Detroit turned into a riot, which turned into five days of violence that left dozens dead, thousands arrested and a city engulfed in flames. The poem "They Feed They Lion" chronicles the… Continue reading
Jun 23 4 poets you need to read, from new poet laureate Tracy K. Smith By Elizabeth Flock Last week, the Library of Congress selected Tracy K. Smith as the new U.S. Poet Laureate. Here, Smith shares the poetry she recommends reading right now. Continue reading
Mar 13 Watch poet Susan Howe read this Dickinson poem on life and death By Elizabeth Flock Leading contemporary poet and Dickinson scholar Susan Howe breaks down "There's a certain Slant of light," one of Emily Dickinson's most-beloved poems. Continue reading
Jan 16 As 'writers resist' Trump, an interview with a poet in protest By Elizabeth Flock On Sunday, writers and artists rallied across the country in defense of freedom of speech and to protest the political discourse of President-elect Donald Trump. The Writers Resist events took place in Tuscaloosa, Fresno, Helena Denver, Chicago, Baltimore,and Washington D.C.,… Continue reading
Jan 09 The all-American essence of Kansas, Camaros and 'Jennifer' By Elizabeth Flock “[This poem] looks at the emptiness of American Exceptionalism and concepts of our ‘greatness’ but by talking about the name Jennifer… a quintessentially American name,” said Adair-Hodges, who said the poem came out of “thinking about names as signifiers” --… Continue reading
Dec 16 Watch 5:27 A poetry publisher on the math of rejection By PBS News Hour Every year, Jeff Shotts, executive editor of Graywolf Press, sorts through thousands of poetry submissions -- and rejects about 99 percent of them. It’s not a success rate poets like to hear, he says, but it’s the reality in the… Continue watching
Jan 18 Watch 4:32 News Wrap: Security forces search for Americans missing in Iraq By PBS News Hour In our news wrap Monday, security forces searched Baghdad for three Americans who disappeared over the weekend. An Iraqi lawmaker said they worked for a private company. Also, a pair of Iranian poets have escaped to another country after having… Continue watching