Poetry

A recovering heroin addict sent me these messages saying he needed help - now he's dead

Leon Silvester Lukins took to writing poems during his time in prison.<p>They are raw, full of emotion and, sometimes, anger. Last week, a few months …

TN BJP targets journalist for referring to poem favouring women’s entry in Sabarimala Temple

BJP National Secretary H Raja has targeted a journalist from Puthiya Thalaimurai, a Tamil regional channel, for referring to a poem that talks about …

The Hart Crane Controversy by William Logan

If you happen to be a critic, it may come as a shock that not all readers share your opinions. Worse, they write letters to the editor demanding that …

Hart Crane

Born on July 21, 1899, in Garrettsville, Ohio, Harold Hart Crane began writing verse in his early teenage years, and though he never attended …

Taylor Swift, James Corden, Jennifer Hudson cast in ‘Cats’

Jennifer Hudson, Taylor Swift, James Corden and Ian McKellen have been cast in Working Title’s upcoming movie version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s smash …

Fountain Pens in the Creative Process

I love fountain pens. Sometimes I think I’m the ambassador for using these pens in life. I’ve introduced them to my friends, to my husband, and to …

Andrew Motion on Stisted: ‘That’s where I first began to care about poems’

“Fair seed-time had my soul,” says Wordsworth in the first book of <i>The Prelude</i>, “And I grew up / Foster’d alike by beauty and by fear.” Quite so. Beauty and fear. The essential, paradoxical ingredients of childhood. One filling us with wonder; the other threatening our hold on the world and hereby …

American Life in Poetry: ‘My Cousin, Milton’

In one of my recent columns, I wrote about the importance to the overall effect of a poem of having a strong ending, and here’s a fine example of …

Sex, Night by Alejandra Pizarnik

Sex, Night<p>By Alejandra Pizarnik<p>Once again, someone falls in their first falling–fall of two bodies, of two eyes, of four green eyes or eight green …

“Where in the body do i begin?” Revisiting Layli Long Soldier’s WHEREAS

In the discourse of law, <i>whereas</i> signals a recitation of pertinent, contextual information in a formal or contractual document. A <i>whereas</i> statement is …

7 facts about Robert Burns, Scotland’s national bard

Famed as Scotland's national bard, Robert Burns (1759–96) penned many famous verses including 'Auld Lang Syne' and 'Address to a Haggis'. A number of …

Rhymin' Wreckers

What if cakes were the last lines in really bad poems?Come, my friends. LET US DREAM TOGETHER. <i>Work anniversary<br>Head of the class<br>A lousy coffee cup??</i> <i></i> …

Jane Miller Reads “Outshines Its Canopy of Intent” by The Poetry Foundation - Listen to music

Listen: Moon Panda - "Rabbit"

Moon Panda is a new project based in Brighton, comprising Californian songwriter Maddy Myers, Danish guitarist Gustav Moltke, Bristol-based synth …

Jason Mraz Officially Comes Out: 'I've Had Experiences With Men'

<b>Jason Mraz</b> raised eyebrows when he took part in Billboard's annual Gay Pride Month initiative, which saw celebrities of all kinds pen personal …

Three Poems, by Aleš Šteger

—Translated from Slovenian, from <i>The Book of Bodies</i> (2010)<p><b>The word waiting</b><p>The word <i>waiting</i><br>Under the harrow.<br>The earth is waiting<br>For the grain<br>To be …

City of words: ‘I am a Town’ project brings poetry to Spokane streets - Thu, 19 Jul 2018 PST

In a dozen spots throughout the city, passers-by can come across fragments from poems about Spokane places, matched to the particular locations to …

Remembering Yi Lei, 1951–2018

Yi Lei astounded readers in China when, in 1986, she published a long poem entitled, “A Single Woman’s Bedroom.” In it, a female speaker unpacks her …

Kootenay Writer Wins Prestigious Poetry Award

Kootenay poet Emily Nilsen recently won the Gerald Lampert Memorial Award honouring a first book of poetry by a Canadian writer. We caught up with …

Here’s Winston’s eviction speech poem he didn’t read on ‘Big Brother 20’

<b>Winston Hines</b> is a poet and he knows it. The third evicted houseguest from “Big Brother 20” said he had written a poem as his eviction speech but …

Elemental haiku

A review of the Periodic Table composed of 119 science haiku, one for each element, plus a closing haiku for element 119 (not yet synthesized). The …

A Kind of Communal History: Nepantla edited by Christopher Soto

<i>Nepantla: An Anthology Dedicated to Queer People of Color</i>, edited by Christopher Soto, is an historical anthology, not only because it is the first …

Jess Williard - The Spoils

The Spoils<p>Winter in Wisconsin. Snowdrifts like the shoulders<br>of ancient and unspeaking creatures. A child wanders<p>among them, in love with the …

Hindi Poet Gopal Das 'Neeraj' to be Cremated in Aligarh

The body, brought from New Delhi, where he passed away at the age of 94 on Thursday night, has been kept at their Saraswatinagar residence where a …

A Bed-Time Beauty

Any parent looking for a book to share with their child at bedtime has more than enough stories from which to choose. The bed-time book is a staple, …

Throwing The Dice

<i>“We may lose and we may win though, We will never be here again, So open up, I’m climbin’ in” Jackson Browne/ Glenn Fry</i><p><i>“Which of you to gain me,</i> …

Teacher In The Oranges Publishes 1st Poetry Book: 'Stand Mute'

"Were it not for literature, I suspect we would hunger even more for honest characterizations of life," the Essex County poet/teacher said.<p>ESSEX …

Roberto Unger elected to the British Academy for the humanities and social sciences - Harvard Law Today

Professor Roberto Unger has been elected to the British Academy for the humanities and social sciences in recognition of his work in the fields of …

An Introduction to Free Verse

Free verse poetry has no rhyme scheme and no fixed metrical pattern. Often echoing the cadences of natural speech, a free verse poem makes artistic …

Cannibal killer, 21, ate lover's brain with glass of blood 'for POETRY inspiration'

A cannibal killer told police he murdered and ate his lover to get inspiration for poetry, a court heard.<p>Olga Budunova, 45, was brutally killed by …