weekly poem

When the people meant to protect us become our enemy

By Corinne Segal

Aja Monet's poem examines the "reckoning of power" in an interaction between her brother and the police.

How to write a poem about Ferguson

By Corinne Segal

How does a poet even begin to address what happened to Michael Brown? That’s the question at the center of “Working Title,” a piece by Mahogany Brown.

Poet examines the harsh reality of jealousy

By artsdesk

Poet Lauren Haldeman brings a sharp focus to the feeling of jealousy.

How poetry can empower people living with chronic illness

By Corinne Segal

For Camisha Jones, the managing director of Washington, D.C.-based poetry organization Split This Rock, poetry helped give voice to the experience of living with chronic illness.

Camisha Jones reads ‘Ode to a Chronically Ill Body’

By Corinne Segal

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Poet explores how to ‘undress’ language

By artsdesk

Poet Wang Ping writes at the intersection of gender, sexuality and the Chinese immigrant experience.

Poet Wang Ping reads ‘Syntax’

By Corinne Segal

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How slam ‘breaks the silence’ for marginalized voices

By Corinne Segal

For Janae Johnson, a Boston-based spoken word poet who won the Women of the World Poetry Slam this spring, poetry is a bold act of breaking the silence.

Poet creates first class for transgender poetry

By Corinne Segal

Trace Peterson, a poet at the forefront of the push for transgender representation in poetry, will soon pioneer what she says is the country's first course in transgender poetry.