Poems on the Writing Life start with life—whether real or imagined. Take a walk with author Callie Feyen and find your “writing life” poems!
On Finishing a Poem & the Top of Your Head
Emily Dickinson and a group of young divers help Callie Feyen by the side of the pool as she ponders how to go about finishing a poem.
A Blessing for Writers
What does the writer need in order to go forward? So many things. This “blessing for writers” wishes them for you, beginning with a silken string…
Marjorie Maddox Writes Poems about Reading and Writing Poems
In “Inside Out,” Marjorie Maddox has assembled a series of poems about reading and writing poems. The poems show rather than tell, and it’s great fun.
Ship, Sail, Boat: Build a Boat of Poetry
This week, we explore a poem by T.S. Eliot prize-winner, Philip Gross, “The Boat Made of Poems.” Gather your tools & craft a boat of your poetry with us.
Poets and Poems: Brian Felsen and “Female Figure (Possibly Venus)”
“Female Figure (Possibly Venus)” by Brian Felsen is a collection of twenty-two poems that explores love, relationships and the artistic imagination.
Poets and Poems: Dave Malone’s “O: Love Poems from the Ozarks”
These love poems by Dave Malone are part of the geography of the Ozarks, and the interior geography of a profound, passionate love.
September Beat: The Beat Poets
The Beat poets – Kerouac, Ginsberg, O’Hara, others – were unconventional in their writing and lives, and had a major impact on American culture.
Haiku in English: The First Hundred Years
One of the best resources for Haiku in English, this is a helpful book. Check out the wonderful sample haiku and maybe go haiku hunting in Emily Dickinson.
Launching Love, Etc.
A day spent celebrating love—to launch Love, Etc. Sharing quotes, a live reading, chocolates. What’s not to love?
Poem Analysis: Adrienne Rich’s ‘Diving into the Wreck’
Adrienne Rich’s “Diving into the Wreck.” An intriguing poem analysis that includes the whole poem, theme, tone and more. Let’s dive in!
Twitter Party: The Poetry Home Repair Manual
Tweetspeak Poetry’s recent poetry jam on Twitter used Ted Kooser’s “The Poetry Home Repair Manual” for prompts — with some surprising results.
Thanksgiving Poems: A Poet’s Thanks
A poet offers a word of thanks: “Something which says, you didn’t need to make room for this—the onions, the beets, the linen closet, the river and the copper…”
Ordinary Genius: Rhythm, Rhyme and the Sonnet
Kim Addonizio says writing form poetry can teach you economy and structure and take you unexpected places. But what if you have no sense of rhythm? Can you still write a sonnet? LW Lindquist wraps up our Ordinary Genius book club this week with enough iambic pentameter to make you scream.
Speak Like Rain
1. “Mama, ” my five-year-old calls from the back of the minivan, “can you make up a poem?” “A poem?” I ask. “Yes. A poem about words. A poem that rhymes.” I look out the window. Well, crap. A rhyming poem about words? “It might take me awhile, ” I say. “That’s okay, Mama. Whenever […]
A Sonnet’s Unlikely Resolution: John Milton On His Blindness
One of the greatest poets who ever lived worries that his poetry is not good enough.
What is Poetry: Falling in Love, 2
What is poetry? Any effort to define Poetry (with a capital “P”) in an exhaustive way is doomed to fall short. So why not offer a poet’s heresy.
Coming of Age: The Stolen Child
Can you see how the poem “The Stolen Child” embodies a struggle to grow up?
Slip into the Prada of Poems?
While I think it’s important to discipline myself to try on the shoes of various poem forms, I understand that personality and brain-wiring somehow play a part.
Drawing Poetry by the Lake
A good poem does that—offers multiple gifts upon multiple readings.