PBS Newshour - Poetry
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New Anthology Celebrates 'Ascent' of African-American...
Jeffrey Brown talks with longtime literary editor Charles Henry Rowell about his passion for promoting undiscovered and underappreciated African-American poets and artists. His latest effort is a new anthology called "Angles of Ascent."
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Poet Gerald Stern Looks Back on a Career Spent Reading...
Jeffrey Brown talks with Gerald Stern, one of America's most acclaimed poets. At 87, Stern received the Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry from the Library of Congress for his collection, "Early Collected Poems: 1965-1992." Stern reflects on his working class upbringing and 70 years of writing verse.
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A Writer Reflects on the Japanese Earthquake and...
Poet and writer Gretel Ehrlich shares her reflections on the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in 2011, where she traveled to document the physical and emotional aftermath. Best known for her nature and travel writing, Ehrlich has authored 13 books, including three of poetry.
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Poet David Ferry on Writing Verse, Reading Poems,...
Jeffrey Brown profiles David Ferry, a poet concerned with making connections to classical literature. Ferry was recently honored with the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize as well as the National Book Award for poetry. At age 88, he is currently tackling a translation of Virgil's "Aeneid."
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Inauguration Poet Richard Blanco Hopes to Offer Words of...
Jeffrey Brown talks with Richard Blanco, the poet chosen to read at President Obama's second swearing-in, about what it means to be a part of the festivities. Blanco, a Spanish born Cuban-American, is the first Latino, openly gay, as well as the youngest poet to ever at a presidential inauguration.
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Greek Poets Muse Austerity Measures: 'We'll Hawk the...
We examine the Greek economic crisis from a different angle -- from the perspective of poets, and through the prism of history, modern and ancient. Jeffrey Brown talks to poet and classicist A.E. Stallings, a resident of Athens for more than a decade, and poet Titos Patrikios, who has seen other dark times in Greek history.
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100 Years, 100 Poems: Celebrating the Centennial for...
"Print the best poetry written today, in whatever style, genre or approach." Those were the ambitious words written 100 years ago by Harriet Monroe when she founded Poetry, now the oldest monthly journal devoted to verse. Jeffrey Brown speaks with the magazine's editor, poet Christian Wiman, about a new anniversary collection.
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After Sandy, Poet Describes 'What It Means to Stand in...
Jennifer Fitzgerald's family and friends have been greatly impacted by superstorm Sandy, and though she immediately got involved in relief efforts in her Staten Island community, she felt that her poetry would be another way to reach a much larger audience and explain the physical and emotional impact Sandy had on New York.
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Finding Poetry in the Athleticism and Lingo of the...
Writer and professor Priscila Uppal is serving as "Poet in Residence" for Canadian Athletes Now, a non-profit group supporting Canada's athletes at the 2012 London Olympics. Uppal talks to Jeffrey Brown about her residency and where she's found inspiration, as well as sharing some of her poetry.
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In Anthology, Rita Dove Connects American Poets'...
Former U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove was recently given what may be the biggest honor -- and challenge -- of her career: sorting through poems from the last 100 years to create "The Penguin Anthology of 20th Century American Poetry." Jeffrey Brown and Dove discuss the task that took more than four years.
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Transtromer, Swedish Poet With 'Tinge of Modernism,...
The 2011 Nobel Prize for Literature has gone to Swedish poet Tomas Transtromer, the first poet to win the award since 1996. Judges selected Transtromer because, they wrote, "through his condensed, translucent images, he gives us fresh access to reality."
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Weekly Poem: From 'Fugue'
Elizabeth Alexander was born in Harlem, raised in Washington, D.C., and attended Yale University, where she now teaches African American Studies. She is the author of six books of poems, including most recently, "Crave Radiance: New and Selected Poems 1990-2010."
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National Book Award-Winning Poet Hayes Reads From...
Terrance Hayes, a poet and professor at Carnegie Mellon University, won the National Book Award earlier this week. Here, he reads a poem from his award-winning volume called "Lighthead."
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Weekly Poem: 'From the Start'
W.S. Merwin is the Library of Congress' 17th Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry. He has had a prolific writing career, crafting more than 50 books of verse, translations, memoirs and more.
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Writers in Danger Offered Safe Haven to Practice Craft...
In Pittsburgh, a special program offers foreign writers whose lives are endangered to get a new start and write freely.
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Texas Poet Twists Newsprint Into Prose
Austin Kleon is a Texas-based poet, writer, cartoonist and designer. He's found a playful way of making poetry from discarded newspapers, as demonstrated in his new book "Newspaper Blackout." Jeffrey Brown reports as part of the NewsHour's poetry series.
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Weekly Poem: 'Ancestors'
Mary Ruefle is the author of, most recently, "Selected Poems" (Wave Books, 2010). She lives in Bennington, Vermont, and teaches in the MFA program at Vermont College.
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Weekly Poem: from 'Doppler Elegies'
Ben Lerner first book, "The Lichtenberg Figures," won the Hayden Carruth Award from Copper Canyon Press and was named one of 2004's best books of poetry by Library Journal. His second book, "Angle of Yaw," was a finalist for the National Book Award. His latest book is "Mean Free Path."
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Weekly Poem: 'The Fight or Flight Response'
Sherman Alexie is a Spokane/Coeur d'Alene Indian born on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, Wash. He is the author of several novels and collections of short fiction and poetry, including "Face" and "War Dances," winner of the 2010 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction.
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Weekly Poem: 'The Picketwire'
David Mason, who appeared on the NewsHour in April, was named Poet Laureate of Colorado earlier this month by Gov. Bill Ritter.
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Poet Benjamin Saenz Considers Uncertainty Along Mexico's...
Latino poet Benjamin Saenz shares his writing from his home near the U.S., Mexico border, a region where violent drug wars have raged in recent years. His latest collection is called "The Book of What Remains."
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Weekly Poem: 'Meditation on Living in the Desert No. 11'
Benjamin Alire Saenz is a Chicano poet, novelist, professor and painter who lives near El Paso, Texas, just across the border from the Mexican town of Juarez. Much of his work addresses the land and people of the area.
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Philip Schultz Finding Success After 'Failure'
The accolades came later in life for New York-based poet Philip Schultz. He was 63 when he won the Pulitzer, already the author of five published books of poems, which never broke into the mainstream.
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Weekly Poem: 'Sick'
Philip Schultz won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 2008 for his book of poems, "Failure." He is the founder and director of the Writers Studio in New York. Schultz's latest book, "The God of Loneliness: Selected and New Poems," came out in April.
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Garden Roots of Emily Dickinson's Poetry
Paul Solman reports on a new show in New York that attempts to recreate the green spaces that inspired the writings of famously-reclusive poet Emily Dickinson.
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Weekly Poem: 'Attention'
Philip Schultz won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 2008 for his book of poems, "Failure." He is the founder and director of the Writers Studio in New York. Schultz's latest book, "The God of Loneliness: Selected and New Poems," came out in April.
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Weeky Poem: 'The Returning Dead'
Wyatt Prunty, who served in the Navy during Vietnam, responds to the NewsHour's broadcast of photos of American soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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Weekly Poem: 'Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night'
Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" is included in the recently republished "Dylan Thomas: Collected Poems" by New Directions, with a new introduction by poet Paul Muldoon. Jeffrey Brown talked to Muldoon last week about Thomas and the collection.
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Poet Behbahani Writes for Peace Amid Iran's Political...
English translator Farzaneh Milani examines the writings of Simin Behbahani, one of Iran's most renowned and prolific female poets, amid the recent political turmoil that has affected her own life.
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Weekly Poem: 'Light'
C.K. Williams has published many books of poetry, including "Repair," which won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize, "The Singing ," which won the 2003 National Book Award, and "Flesh and Blood," winner of the National Book Critics Circle Prize in 1987.
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Conversation: C.K. Williams
This year, C.K. Williams is out with two volumes: "Wait," a collection of new poems, and "On Whitman," an exploration of the work and genius of that great American poet.
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Weekly Poem: 'Reading Stephen Crane's 'War Is Kind' to...
Jehanne Dubrow is the author of three poetry collections: "The Hardship Post," "From the Fever-World" and most recently "Stateside," which is an exploration of the long history of military wives waiting for their husbands to return from war.
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Classic Poems Turn Lyrical on Natalie Merchant's New...
Singer and songwriter Natalie Merchant sets poetry to music in her newest studio album, looking at childhood through the works of poets such as E.E. Cummings, Robert Graves and even Mother Goose. Jeffrey Brown reports on the unusual melding of art forms on her new album, "Leave Your Sleep."
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Conversation: Pulitzer Prize Winner in Poetry, Rae...
This year's winner of the Pulitzer Prize for poetry is Rae Armantrout for her book, "Versed."
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Weekly Poem: 'Against War Movies'
Jehanne Dubrow is the author of three poetry collections: "The Hardship Post," "From the Fever-World" and most recently "Stateside," which is an exploration of the long history of military wives waiting for their husbands to return from war.
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Weekly Poem: 'Nonessential Equipment'
Jehanne Dubrow is the author of three poetry collections: "The Hardship Post," "From the Fever-World" and most recently "Stateside," which is an exploration of the long history of military wives waiting for their husbands to return from war.
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A Violent Moment in American Labor History, Captured in...
Colorado poet David Mason shares a look at a dramatic moment in American labor history through his poem about a 1913 mine strike that ended in violence.
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Weekly Poem: From 'Ludlow'
David Mason is a poet, essayist, critic and professor. His most recent collection, "Ludlow," is a novel in verse that tells the story of a handful of immigrants in southern Colorado. He teaches English and creative writing at Colorado College.
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Weekly Poem: 'Achilles'
British Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy wrote "Achilles" after English soccer player David Beckham suffered a season-ending injury last week. Beckham, 34, was headed for what would have likely been his last World Cup this summer.
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Weekly Poem: 'July in Washington'
"July in Washington" is from Robert Lowell "Collected Poems" (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003). Lowell, who died in 1977, is best known for his volume "Life Studies," "but his true greatness as an American poet lies in the astonishing variety of his work."
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Weekly Poem: 'bound isaac'
D.A. Powell is the author of "Chronic" (Graywolf Press), which won the 2010 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. The award, which comes with a $100,000 prize, is given annually by Claremont Graduate University to honor work by a mid-career poet.
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Winter Slams Mongolia's Herding Families
More than 2.7 million livestock have died in what observers are calling the harshest winter Mongolia has faced in nearly a decade. A natural disaster, known locally as a "dzud," has dealt a financial blow to many herding families.
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Weekly Poem: 'scenes from the trip we didn't take to the...
D.A. Powell is the author of "Chronic" (Graywolf Press), which won the 2010 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. The award, which comes with a $100,000 prize, is given annually by Claremont Graduate University to honor work by a mid-career poet.
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Weekly Poem: 'Hole'
"Hole" is from Naomi Ayala's "This Side of Early" (Curbstone Press, 2008). Her first collection, "Wild Animals on the Moon," was published in 1997, and a third is forthcoming. She lives in Washington, D.C., and works as an education consultant, translator and teacher.
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Poet Lucille Clifton Dies After Cancer Battle
Former Maryland poet laureate and National Book Award winner Lucille Clifton died Saturday at age 73 after a long battle with cancer.
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Weekly Poem: 'Those Winter Sundays'
Robert Hayden was the first black poet to be chosen as consultant in poetry to the Library of Congress.
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Understanding Haiti's Disaster Through a Poet's Eyes
Michele Voltaire Marcelin, an artist, poet, spoken word performer and teacher, was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Since the earthquake struck that country last month, she has been struggling to make sense of the destruction.
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Weekly Poem: 'Centuries of Ashes'
Patrick Sylvain is a Haitian-American writer, essayist and poet, and instructor of Haitian language and culture at Brown University's Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies.
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Weekly Poem: 'Ports of Sorrow'
Patrick Sylvain is a Haitian-American writer, essayist and poet, and instructor of Haitian language and culture at Brown University's Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies.
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Weekly Poem: 'Root'
Terrance Hayes is is the author of three books of poems: "Muscular Music" (1999)
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Poet Philip Levine Recalls Life at the Factory
Jeffrey Brown profiles Philip Levine, a former auto worker who became a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet.
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Weekly Poem: 'Our Valley'
Philip Levine is the author of numerous books of poetry, most recently "News of the World" (2009). The poem above, "Our Valley," originally appeared in the November 2008 issue of Poetry.
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Weekly Poem: 'New Year's'
Robert Creeley (1926-2005) was one of the most important and influential American poets of the twentieth century.
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Russian Poet Pavlova Celebrates Desire in New Collection
A profile of Russian poet Vera Pavlova, who will release her first collection of poems in English, "If There is Something to Desire," next month.
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Weekly Poem: 'Mount Kearsarge'
Donald Hall is considered one of the major American poets of his generation. He has published 15 books of poetry, beginning with "Exiles and Marriages" in 1955. His latest was "White Apples and the Taste of Stone: Selected Poems" in 2006.
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Weekly Poem: 'From Here to There'
Brad Leithauser is the author of several books of poetry, including most recently, "Curves and Angles" (2006). He has received many awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and a MacArthur Fellowship, and teaches at Johns Hopkins University.
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Weekly Poem: 'TV, Evening News'
Marie Ponsot has published several books of poems, including most recently, "Springing" (2002) and "The Bird Catcher" (1998), which won the National Book Critics Circle Award and was a finalist for the 1999 Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize.
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Weekly Poem: 'Contracted'
Marie Ponsot has published several books of poems, including most recently, "Springing" (2002) and "The Bird Catcher" (1998), which won the National Book Critics Circle Award and was a finalist for the 1999 Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize.
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Weekly Poems: Keith Waldrop, 2009 National Book Award...
Keith Waldrop won the 2009 National Book Award for "Transcendental Studies," a trilogy of collage poems. The two poems below are from "Transcendental Studies."
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Weekly Poem: 'Storm'
Kwame Dawes is director of the South Carolina Poetry Initiative and the University of South Carolina Arts Institute, where he also teaches as distinguished poet in residence.
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Weekly Poems: a Double From the 'Mets Poet'
Frank Messina, also known as the "Mets Poet," is the author of four books of poetry, including "Full Count: The Book of Mets Poetry," released in April, and "Disorderly Conduct," published in 2002.
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Weekly Poem: 'The Golden Window'
Jim Harrison has published more than 30 collections of poetry and prose. "In Search of Small Gods" is his twelfth book of poems.
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Poet Laureate Kay Ryan Pushes Verse for Community...
Kay Ryan came into office as an "unlikely" poet laureate, she has said, living a quiet life in California, working away on her refined, compact verse. Now in her second term as the 16th U.S. poet laureate, she has decided on a project to share with the nation.
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Weekly Poem: 'Ode to Mix Tapes'
Sherman Alexie is a Spokane/Coeur d'Alene Indian born on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, Wash. He is the author of several novels and collections of short fiction and poetry, including "Face" and "War Dances," published this year.
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Weekly Poem: 'Domestique'
Heather McHugh was among the recipients of the so-called "Genius Award" (i.e. the 2009 MacArthur Fellowship).
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Weekly Poem: 'If a Person Visits Someone in a Dream, in...
Jean Valentine has published 11 books of poetry and is also the editor of "The Lighthouse Keeper: Essays on the Poetry of Eleanor Ross Taylor." Last month, she won the 2009 Wallace Stevens Award from the Academy of American Poets.
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Albert Goldbarth, Poet at Play
Albert Goldbarth discusses his writing, his toy collection and his latest book of poetry, "To Be Read in 500 Years."
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Weekly Poem: 'September, Inverness'
Robert Hass served as Poet Laureate of the United States from 1995 to 1997. His books of poetry include "Time and Materials" (2007 Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner).
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Profile of 'Genius Award' Winner Heather McHugh
A profile of Seattle poet Heather McHugh, who was awarded the MacArthur Fellowship on Tuesday.
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MacArthur Winner McHugh Serves Up the Weekly Poem
Among today's recipients of the so-called "Genius Award" (i.e. the MacArthur Fellowship) is poet Heather McHugh.
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Conversation: Patti Smith Reflects on the Life of Her...
It was Patti Smith who first encouraged Jim Carroll to blend his poetry with rock 'n' roll, bringing him on stage to perform his work with her band. He went on to form the Jim Carroll Band. Jeffrey Brown talks to Smith about her friend, who passed away Friday.
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Rocker, Poet Jim Carroll Dies at Age 60
Jim Carroll, the poet and punk rocker who wrote "The Basketball Diaries," passed away Friday at the age of 60. Our weekly poem is Carroll's "Heroin," which originally appeared in the Paris Review, Issue 48, Fall 1969. The audio was recorded in 2001 and made available by Salon.com.
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Weekly Poem: 'First Thing'
Paul Hunter is a poet, musician and teacher. He produces letterpress books and broadsides under the imprint of Wood Works Press, his poems have appeared many journals, and he's the author of several chapbooks and four books of poetry.
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Weekly Poem: 'Erasers'
Mary Jo Salter is a poet, lyricist, playwright and essayist, whose latest collection of poems, "A Phone Call to the Future: New and Selected Poems," was published in March 2008.
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Weekly Poem: 'Physical Portrait / Retrato fisico'
Cecilia Vicuna's visual work has been exihibited at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, the Whitney Museum of American Art and MoMA. She is also co-editor of the Oxford Book of Latin American Poetry, which was published this month.
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Weekly Poem: 'Beauty Parlor'
Andrea Hollander Budy is the author of three poetry collections: "Woman in the Painting," "The Other Life" and "House Without a Dreamer," which won the Nicholas Roerich Poetry Prize.
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Weekly Poem: 'Too Here'
Albert Goldbarth is the author of more than twenty books of poetry and has won numerous awards, including two National Book Critics Circle Awards. He is a professor of humanities at Wichita State University, where he has taught since 1987.
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Weekly Poem: 'Living Room'
Andrea Hollander Budy is the author of three poetry collections: "Woman in the Painting," "The Other Life" and "House Without a Dreamer." She is also the editor of "When She Named Fire: An Anthology of Contemporary Poetry by American Women."
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Weekly Poem: 'How Simile Works'
Albert Goldbarth is the author of more than twenty books of poetry and has won numerous awards, including two National Book Critics Circle Awards. He is a professor of humanities at Wichita State University, where he has taught since 1987.
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Weekly Poem: 'Barking'
Jim Harrison has published more than 30 collections of poetry and prose. "In Search of Small Gods" is his twelfth book of poems.
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Weekly Poem: 'Like Hearing Your Name Called in a...
C.D. Wright has published 13 collections of poetry and prose. "Like Hearing Your Name Called in a Language You Don't Understand" is taken from "Rising, Falling, Hovering" (Copper Canyon, 2008), which in June won the Griffin Poetry Prize.
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Writer, Poet Jim Harrison Is a Determined 'Outsider'
Most of Jim Harrison's 32 books have been set in the sparsely populated areas he knows well: Northern Michigan, the Sandhills of Nebraska, the Arizona-Mexico border and in the beautiful "Paradise Valley" near Livingston, Mt., where he now lives much of the year. Jeffrey Brown reports.
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Weekly Poem: 'Re: Happiness, in pursuit thereof'
C.D. Wright has published 13 collections of poetry and prose. "Re: Happiness, in pursuit thereof" is taken from her most recent book, "Rising, Falling, Hovering" (Copper Canyon, 2008), which in June won Canada's Griffin Poetry Prize, bestowed by the Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry.
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Weekly Poem: 'Myth'
Natasha Trethewey won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 2007 for her book, "Native Guard," written about her mother and black Civil War soldiers on the Mississippi coast.
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Weekly Poem: 'Graffiti'
Javairia Henry recently graduated from Cardozo High School in Washington, D.C. Her poem, "Graffiti," is taken from 'The Way We See It: Complete Coverage of the Nation's Capital From the Inside Out,' presented by the Capitol Letters Writing Center.
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Weekly Poem: From 'Fundamentals of Esperanto'
"Fundamentals of Esperanto" is from "Facts for Visitors" by Srikanth Reddy, an assistant professor of English at the University of Chicago. "Fundamentals of Esperanto" is also included in the Poetry Foundation's Chicago Poetry Tour.
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Weekly Poem: 'Luminous Great Mass'
"Luminous Great Mass" is from Peter O'Leary's collection, "Watchfulness" (Spuyten Duyvil, 2001). The poems is also included in the Poetry Foundation's Chicago Poetry Tour, a multimedia tour of poetry written in and about Chicago.
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Poetry of Rumi Spans Across Centuries, Cultures
Afghan-born 13th century Sufi mystic poet Jalaluddin Rumi is the national poet of Afghanistan, as well as a much-loved poet in America. Jeffrey Brown reports on what's behind the popularity of Rumi's poems.
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Weekly Poem: 'Composition'
John Ashbery is the author of more than 30 volumes of poetry, criticism and essays. He has won nearly every major American award for poetry, and his body of work has led many to consider him one of the nation's most important writers of the last half century.
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Weekly Poem: 'White Song'
J. Michael Martinez's collection "Heredities" was selected for the Academy of American Poets' Walt Whitman Award and will be published by Louisiana State University Press. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Literature at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
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Weekly Poem: 'J. Begins by Saying The World's Not as It...
Jeffrey Schultz's poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Great River Review, Northwest Review, Poetry, Poetry Northwest, Willow Springs and elsewhere. He teaches at Pepperdine University.
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Weekly Poem: 'Reasons to Consider Setting Ourselves on...
In March, Jynne Dilling Martin was one of four winners of the 92nd Street Y "Discovery" Poetry Contest, which since 1951 has recognized the achievements of poets who have not yet published a first book. This year's winners were chosen from among 900 poets.
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Conversation: Russell L. Goings
To sit down and talk with Russell Goings, you would never guess he came to poetry later in life. Stories rich with allusions drawn from the gods of antiquity to the pioneers of the African-American journey pour out of Goings in a rhythm that reveals his connection to the blues and gospel, Homer and Shakespeare.
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Weekly Poem: An Excerpt from 'The Children of Children...
Russell Goings studied writing at Fairfield University and the 92nd Street Y. Before he took up writing 15 years ago, he was a professional football player, the first African-American brokerage manager for a New York Stock Exchange Member firm and founder and chairman for Essence magazine.
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Poet Hicok Reflects on Economic Hardships in Mich.
Bob Hicok was born and raised in Michigan, worked in factories and once owned an automotive die design business there before becoming a professor at Virginia Tech. His poetry reflects on the economic hardships suffered in his home state.
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Conversation: Poet Carl Phillips
To read Carl Phillips is to enter a world of finely-wrought poems that explore mind and body, history and intimacy. Phillips is a professor of English and African-American Studies at Washington University in St. Louis and a much praised and honored poet. His 10th volume of verse has just been released. It's called "Speak Low."
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Weekly Poem: 'To Drown in Honey'
Carl Phillips is the author of 10 books of poems, including most recently, "Speak Low." He is Professor of English and African-American Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, where he also teaches in the Creative Writing Program.
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Conversation: Adina Hoffman, Author of Biography of Taha...
Several years ago Jeffrey Brown had the opportunity to travel through Israel and the West Bank to talk to Palestinian and Israeli poets. Among the remarkable writers I met there and the one who made the greatest impression on viewers was Taha Muhammad Ali.
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Conversation: Mark Nowak and April Daras Discuss 'Coal...
Mark Nowak's recently published poetry collection "Coal Mountain Elementary" explores the perils and at times personal tragedies of the coal mining industry. "Coal Mountain Elementary" is also being staged as a play by Davis & Elkins College.
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Weekly Poem: 'Since Nine--'
Constantine Cavafy never published a complete book of his poems during his lifetime. For more than 10 years, the writer, critic and translator, Daniel Mendelsohn, has immersed himself in Cavafy's work. The result: "C.P. Cavafy: Collected Poems" and "C.P. Cavafy: The Unfinished Poems."
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Conversation: Daniel Mendelsohn Discusses Two New...
Constantine Cavafy, the greatest Greek poet since antiquity, never published a complete book of his poems during his lifetime. Cavafy believed that poems remained works in progress and could be altered over time.
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Weekly Poem: 'Weebles wobble but they don't fall down'
Bob Hicok is the author of five books of poems and has won Pushcart Prizes and fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. He once worked in the automotive die industry and is currently an associate professor of English at Virginia Tech.
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Weekly Poem: 'Evening Walk'
Charles Simic was born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, in 1938 and moved to the United States in 1954. He was Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2007-2008. Simic, whose work is known for its surrealism, dark humor and irony, is the author of 20 books of poetry.
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Kay Ryan Reflects on Role as Nation's Poet Laureate
Known for compact writing and for leading a quiet life, Kay Ryan has taken on a very public role as the nation's poet laureate. For more than 30 years, she has taught remedial English in Marin County, Calif. Her poems are often praised for their wit and wisdom.
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Weekly Poem: 'Handymen'
Cornelius Eady is the director of the Creative Writing Program at the University of Notre Dame and is the co-founder and vice president of Cave Canem a national organization for African American poetry.
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Weekly Poem: 'Brokenmusic'
Nathalie Handal is the author of two books of poetry, "The NeverField" and "The Lives of Rain," and is also the editor of "The Poetry of Arab Women: A Contemporary Anthology" and co-editor of "Language for a New Century: Contemporary Poetry from the Middle East, Asia & Beyond."
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Conversation and Reading With Poet Laureate Kay Ryan
Known for short, compact writing and for living a very quiet life, Kay Ryan has taken on a big and very public role as the nation's Poet Laureate. For more than thirty years, Ryan has lived and taught remedial English in Marin County, Calif. Her poems are often praised for their wit, wisdom and brevity.
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Weekly Poem: 'Salvage'
Poet Laureate Kay Ryan reads "Salvage," a poem from her book, "The Niagara River."
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From Lebanon's Marcel Khalife, Songs of Strife and Love
In another in our series about the Kennedy Center's Arabesque art festival, Jeffrey Brown profiles Lebanese folk singer Marcel Khalife, who for nearly 40 years has been rousing audiences with songs about love and strife, politics and injustice.
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Weekly Poem: 'Advertisement for the Mountain'
Christina Davis is the author of "Forth A Raven" (Alice James Books, 2006). She is Curator at the Woodberry Poetry Room, Harvard University, and the poetry editor of Nightboat Books. In February, Poet Laureate Kay Ryan chose Davis and Mary Szybist for the 2009 Witter Bynner Fellowships.
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Transcript of Lincoln Inspires Poem for 16th President
Poet and journalist Cynthia Zarin often writes poems inspired by news articles. In 1989, she came across a story about a handwritten transcript found in a shoebox. It recorded a case in which then-lawyer Abraham Lincoln successfully defended a man on trial for murder. The article inspired her to write "Of Lincoln."
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Weekly Poem: 'Apology'
Mary Szybist is the author of "Granted" (2003), which was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. She is an Assistant Professor of English at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Ore. In February, Poet Laureate Kay Ryan chose Szybist and Christina Davis for the 2009 Witter Bynner Fellowships.
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Weekly Poem: 'Pittsburgh'
In honor of the Steelers' Super Bowl victory, we've gone into the Poetry Series archive for "Pittsburgh" by Terrance Hayes.
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Acclaimed American Author John Updike Dies at Age 76
John Updike, one of the most prolific and popular American authors of his generation who chronicled the drama of everyday suburban life, died Tuesday, his publisher said. Writer Nicholas Delbanco, a former student of Updike's, remembers his friend and mentor.
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'People's Poet' Robert Burns Turns 250
The image of poetry fans gathered in a pub enjoying bagpipes, haggis, drinks and verse is a very Scottish one, but Scotland's national poet Robert Burns has fans worldwide who know there's no better way to honor the man and his writing.
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Poet Elizabeth Alexander Reflects on Inaugural Reading
Only a few poets have participated in the swearing-in ceremony for our nation's highest office, and on Jan. 20, Elizabeth Alexander will become just the fourth to hold that honor when she will recite an original poem at President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration.
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Weekly Poem: 'Rose Hips'
Sean Norton is the author of the book of poems, "Bad With Faces," from Red Morning Press. He lives in Ann Arbor, Mich., where he is the Assistant Director of the University of Michigan's Graduate Creative Writing Program.
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Weekly Poem: 'American Sublime'
Elizabeth Alexander was born in Harlem, raised in Washington, D.C., and attended Yale University, where she teaches African American Studies. She is the author of four books of poetry, including her most recent, "American Sublime," which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.
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Weekly Poem: 'Rain Light'
W.S. Merwin is one of the nation's greatest living poets and is the author of more than 50 books. For more than 30 years, he has lived with his wife in a house he built on the island of Maui. There he cultivates his other life long passion: gardening.
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Weekly Poem: 'Your Art History'
Jason Gray is the author of "Photographing Eden," winner of the 2008 Hollis Summers Prize, as well as two chapbooks, "How to Paint the Savior Dead" and "Adam & Eve Go to the Zoo." He co-edits the online journal, Unsplendid and reviews poetry on his blog, Line Art.
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N.M. Spoken World Club Explores Indian Identity, History
Through verse, members of the Spoken Word Club at the Santa Fe Indian School articulate identities both modern and traditional, and maintain links to the past through native language and culture.
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The Electorate Process Inspires 'Election Day' Poem
In the week that Americans cast their ballots and elected Sen. Barack Obama to the presidency, J.D. McClatchy, a professor, poet and critic, reads "Election Day," a poem about voting.
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Dawes, Pulitzer Center Take On HIV/AIDs in Jamaica
Poet Kwame Dawes teamed up with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting to create a multimedia Web site called "HOPE: Living and Loving with HIV in Jamaica." The interactive site pairs his poetry with music, essays and video from people living with the disease and their caretakers.
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Oregon Poet Laureate Inada Reflects on Internment
Along with more than 100,000 other Japanese-Americans, Lawson Inada was sent to internment camps for the duration of World War II. He was one of the youngest to live in the camps, and much of his writing addresses that childhood experience.
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Poet Ricardo Pau-Llosa Reflects on Influences, Art
Ricardo Pau-Llosa, a prolific Miami-based poet and critic of Latin American art, remembers the colors, tastes and memories that shaped his youth and his writing, taking him back to his native Cuba.
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Poetry Program Gives Prisoners Unexpected Voice
For more than 30 years, poet and professor Richard Shelton has traveled to a high security prison in Arizona to run a program that encourages prisoners to write and read poetry.
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Frances Richey's Poetry Speaks to Son's Role as Soldier
"The Warrior" by Frances Richey is composed of 28 poems written by the poet to her son, Ben, a Green Beret who has served two tours of duty in Iraq. Jeffrey Brown speaks with Richey and her son about the collection and their unique perspectives on the war.
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Robert Hass Discusses His Pulitzer Prize-Winning Poetry
"Time and Materials" by Robert Hass won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for poetry, becoming the first book of poetry since 1983 to win both the Pulitzer and the National Book Award. Hass talks about the collection.
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For Hayes, Pittsburgh and Poetry Are No Strangers
Terrance Hayes is the author of three books of poetry and is a professor of Creative Writing at Carnegie Mellon University. He discusses life as a poet in Pittsburgh, "where no one is a stranger," and shares some of his work.
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Poetry of Li-Young Lee Is 'Descended from Dreamers'
Li-Young Lee was born in Jakarta, Indonesia, to Chinese parents who had been exiled from China. After fleeing the regime of Indonesian President Sukarno in 1959 through Hong Kong, Macau and Japan, his family settled in the United States in 1964. He shares two poems from his recent collection.
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Elizabeth Bishop's Writings Honored by Library of America
The Library of America is publishing the collected works and letters of celebrated poet Elizabeth Bishop -- marking the first time it has done so for a woman poet. Two of Bishop's friends discuss and read her work.
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- Poetry, Books & Literature
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- English
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