Dec 18 This poet gives voice to the violence along the U.S.-Mexico border By Jennifer Hijazi Poet Sasha Pimentel says she writes to give voice to violence “so unseeable, so irreconcilable it hurts so much to say.”… Continue reading
Dec 11 This Palestinian poem on Jerusalem is finding new life By Jennifer Hijazi The work of Mahmoud Darwish -- who died in 2008 and is widely considered the preeminent modern Palestinian poet -- has found new resonance since President Donald Trump’s announcement that the U.S. will move its embassy to Jerusalem, officially recognizing… Continue reading
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
Sep 25 How the irreverent poetry of the '60s helped spawn punk music By Elizabeth Flock A new book traces how innovators of punk music interacted with New York School poets such as Ted Berrigan and Anne Waldman. 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
Jun 26 This writer is erasing 'Infinite Jest' to find the poetry left behind By Elizabeth Flock Page by page, Jenni B. Baker makes poems out of David Foster Wallace's novel "Infinite Jest" by erasing much of the text, and creating a new piece of writing from what's left behind. Continue reading
Apr 03 This poetry uses Mary Magdalene to explore troubles that bedevil modern life By Elizabeth Flock "Magdalene," a new book of poems from former New York Poet Laureate Marie Howe, who was raised Catholic, seeks to reenvision Mary Magdalene for the modern age -- and tackles some of our modern-day problems in the process. Continue reading
Feb 06 A poet's quest to find the 'flavor of unity' in divisive times By Elizabeth Flock "I think my practice as a writer has become a search for how to be a good citizen in a troubled country," Kim Stafford said. "What I’m really trying to do with my poetry these days is search for common… 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 26 'What this year will be' By Mary Jo Brooks Shelley Girdner's recently published debut collection is called “You Were That White Bird” and is filled with poems that capture the details in the natural world around her and the small miracles of her life. Continue reading