Finding “Refusing Heaven” by Jack Gilbert in a Chicago-area bookstore leads to a consideration of what matters in these lives we live.
The Floodgate Poetry Series: Three Chapbooks
The Floodgate Poetry Series brings together three poetry chapbooks that demonstrate some of the beautiful poetry being written today.
Poets and Poems: Clive James and “Injury Time”
Once told he had only months to live, Clive James wrote a book of poetry. The months became years, and now he’s written another, “Injury Time.”
Poets and Poems: Matt Duggan and “One Million Tiny Cuts”
“One Million Tiny Cuts” by poet Matt Duggan is a bold, angry collection of poems, full of vivid images and metaphors, and a kind of fist raised at society.
The T.S. Eliot Prize: “Night Sky with Exit Wounds” by Ocean Vuong
“Night Sky with Exit Wounds” by Ocean Vuong has won the 2017 T.S. Eliot Prize. It is a stunning, haunting, and disquieting collection.
Poets and Poems: Michael Pedersen and “Oyster”
“Oyster” by Scottish poet Michael Pedersen is a jarring, irreverent poetry collection that wallops you with unexpected tenderness.
Poets and Poems: Jennifer Wallace and “Almost Entirely”
“Almost Entirely” by Jennifer Wallace contains 73 poems that look deeply at what makes us human, and what is within us that keeps reaching for the divine.
Poets and Poems: Tania Runyan and “What Will Soon Take Place”
The 54 poems of “What Will Soon Take Place” by Tania Runyan are inspired by an unexpected source — the Book of Revelation in the Bible.
Poets and Poems: Sinead Morrissey and “On Balance”
“On Balance,” the new poetry collection by Sinead Morrissey, reminds us that technology brings both the good and the tradeoff.
Poets and Poems: Nikita Gill and “Wild Embers”
“Wild Embers” by Nikita Gill, comprising 113 relatively short poems, is a snapshot of a poet’s popularity on social media.
Poets and Poems: Caroline Bird and “In These Days of Prohibition”
“In These Days of Prohibition” by poet Caroline Bird forces us to see the meaning of ourselves and the life around us in different and unexpected ways.
Poets and Poems: Simon Armitage Translates “Pearl”
British poet Simon Armitage has translated the late Middle English poem “Pearl,” a beautiful poem about a father’s grief and how he resolves it.
Poets and Poems: Tara Skurtu and “The Amoeba Game”
In “The Amoeba Game,” poet Tara Skurtu explores her American and Romanian roots and writes about life, childhood, self-discovery, and identity.
Poets and Poems: Luke Kennard and “Cain”
In “Cain: Poems,” British poet Luke Kennard has brought the biblical character of Cain into contemporary life, with funny and poignant results.
Poets and Poems: Michelle Menting and “Leaves Surface Like Skin”
The poems of ‘Leaves Surface Like Skin” by Michelle Menting use the images and metaphors of nature to explore and explain the human condition.
The Lenore Marshall Prize: “Brooklyn Antediluvian” by Patrick Rosal
The Academy of American Poets has awarded the Lenore Marshall Prize to “Brooklyn Antediluvian,” an arresting and innovative collection by Patrick Rosal.
The Mythic and Heroic: “The Song of Hiawatha” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“The Song of Hiawatha” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is a beautiful story about a heroic leader who loses what he holds most dear.
Poets and Poems: John Latham and “From Professor Murasaki’s Notebooks”
The poems of “From Professor Murasaki’s Notebooks” by John Latham linger in the mind, and in the heart, long after the reading is done.
The First Poetry for Children: “Divine Emblems” by John Bunyan
In 1686, the English Puritan minister and writer John Bunyan published what we know today as “Divine Emblems,” the first book of poetry for children.
Honoring Gwendolyn Brooks: The Golden Shovel Anthology
“The Golden Shovel Anthology” has been published by the University of Arkansas Press to honor poet Gwendolyn Brooks, with a new poetic form.