The Poetics of Mass Murder
Poems responding to past gun violence, mass murders, and school shootings.
The Poet and the Riot
Shortly after Martin Luther King's assassination in 1968, Gwendolyn Brooks wrote a poem about the power of riots.
What Jimmy Taught Me – PoetryNow
Harmony Holiday meditates on her biracial heritage and the legacy of her parents.
The Demon – PoetryNow
Jennifer Firestone recounts the state of dementia in a loved one.
Picking up Your Spilled Pills off the Floor Is Briefly Humbling – PoetryNow
Ben Fama meditates on the loss of a job and the world view of corporate America.
The Lamp of Mutual Aid
Joshua Edwards meditates on the nature of work and communal living. Produced by Katie Klocksin.
Natalie Shapero Reads “Sunshower”
The editors discuss Natalie Shapero’s poem “Sunshower” from the November 2017 issue of Poetry.
Anne Sexton’s Sensual Love Poem “Song for a Lady,” in an Animation Inspired by Oliver Sacks
“So many doors open when you are present with an angle.”
Herman Melville: From obscurity to immortality
When he died at age 72, on September 28, 1891, Herman Melville was so obscure that those who even remembered his literary output presumed that he had passed away many…