Is poetry political? It seems a silly question to ask, even during National Poetry Month (which is technically not state-sponsored but very much in the spirit of public communion). Plato, in his Republic, called for the censoring and banning of poets. For centuries, in societies as different as Britain and China, court poets explicitly addressed the social and … Continue reading For the Country’s Most Promising Teen Poets, Poetry Is Activism (via Vulture)
Full Title: "Professor creates organization encouraging students of all majors to explore poetry (via Daily Bruin)" Every member of the UCLA community should read or hear a poem sometime between this April and June, said English adjunct assistant professor Reed Wilson. UCLApoem – Wilson’s brainchild – is a new student-run organization that will organize several … Continue reading Professor encourages students to explore poetry (via Daily Bruin)
Just in time for National Poetry Month, the New Yorker Poetry Bot is back! Launched in 2017, to celebrate the magazine’s ninety-second anniversary, the bot offered readers a daily dose of poetry on Twitter and Facebook Messenger, cycling through ninety-two poems that were chosen to represent every decade of our archive. With this reboot, we’ve expanded that selection, adding … Continue reading Celebrate National Poetry Month With the New Yorker Poetry Bot (via The New Yorker)
London poet Raymond Antrobus, who was thought to be dyslexic with severe learning disabilities until his deafness was discovered at the age of six, has won the Ted Hughes Award for new work in Poetry. He has won the £5,000 prize for his debut collection The Perseverance. The poems explore loss and legacy through his … Continue reading Deaf poet Raymond Antrobus wins Ted Hughes award (via BBC News)
Did you hear alliteration in the air? Could you feel brains growing and passion seeping? Was Johnny Cash singing a song written by Shel Silverstein? That was what students who were a part of the Emporia Middle School poetry presentation experienced Wednesday. Five local poets visited with the seventh-grade language arts classes to talk about … Continue reading Local poets present to EMS seventh-graders (via The Emporia Gazette)
Full Title: "Kinsale Hueston ’22 B.A. uses poetry to explore her Native identity (via Yale Daily News)" Her grandmother is a recurring figure in Kinsale Hueston’s poetry. In “squashblossom,” the narrator kisses her departed grandmother’s forehead during the funeral ceremony “to whisper her to sleep.” In “Grandmother,” she struggles to accept her grandmother’s declining health. Hueston, a … Continue reading Kinsale Hueston uses poetry to explore her Native identity (via Yale Daily News)
Full Title: "L.A. Is Lit: The Best Spoken-Word, Readings and Poetry in Town (via L.A. Weekly) Spoken word is more popular than ever these days, with a seemingly endless array of live performances that pop up in a wide variety of formats and settings in the Los Angeles area. But what used to be a mainly … Continue reading The Best Spoken-Word, Readings and Poetry in L.A. (via L.A. Weekly)
