The Latest

University of Arizona English Professor Susan Briante is the winner of the 2021 Pegasus Award for Poetry Criticism from the Poetry Foundation.The award, which includes a $7,500 prize, honors the best book-length works of criticism published in the prior calendar year; the award recognizes biographies, essay collections, and critical editions that consider the subject of poetry or poets.Briante received the award … Continue reading UArizona Professor Susan Briante Receives Prestigious Poetry Award (via U of Arizona) →

Safia Elhillo was a freshman in high school when she started keeping a diary to record her heartbreaks. All of her entries were poems, so if her parent ever found them, she could hide behind the metaphors and pretend she wasn’t dating.Younger poets of color now look up to Elhillo as a trailblazer. Her latest … Continue reading New to poetry? These poets will help you get started (via LA Times) →

When Cin the Poet looks at her years to come as a rapper, writer and spoken word artist, she sees no limits. She even has speeches prepared for an eventual Grammy, and one for a Nobel Peace Prize. "It's limitless," she said. "I can go as far as I put the work into it."A major chunk of … Continue reading A life of Cin has no limits for Birmingham rapper and spoken word artist (via Montgomery Advertiser) →

As the sun slipped behind the Himalayas, the poet picked his way down to the rocky riverbed. He looked left and right to make sure nobody was watching. Then, to the burbling water, he began to read:Each word spoken here meets censors and checksYesterday the ones sermonizing on dignityHave today rude daggers kissing their necks.All … Continue reading As Kashmir Crackdown Endures, Poets Stifle Their Verses (via NY Times) →

If there's one theme that permeates Emily Cooper’s debut poetry collection Glass, writes James Patterson, it’s the question of ownership. Who owns what and to what extent are we are allowed to take ownership of the different narratives and identities that shape our lives?By beginning on this premise, Cooper is able to weave between big ideas … Continue reading Heart of Glass: Emily Cooper on her debut poetry collection (via RTE) →