Some of the most exciting and necessary poetry collections published late last year and forthcoming throughout 2021 that will leave you at a loss for words
Tag: Poetry
Q&A: How Intersectional Poetry Can Inspire Young Girls To Be Themselves
Ms. writer Shanta Lee Gander recently talked with Diana Whitney about the ways her poetry anthology “You Don’t Have to Be Everything” encourages non-binary, trans and cis-gendered girls to bravely and boldly be themselves.
“Poetry is having a moment right now, and I hope it’s not just a moment. We turn to poetry in times of emotional need, and in times of collective crisis.”
Poet and Literary Activist Marisa Crawford Is Taking Girls Seriously
“I think taking girls’ lives and stories and experiences seriously is a feminist act,” feminist writer Marisa Crawford told Ms.
Exceptionalizing Amanda Gorman: Who Gets Left Behind?
Amanda Gorman is “exceptional”—but she shouldn’t be. While it may give us hope to elevate one impressive woman to take the stage and applaud ourselves in the name of progress, let’s get to the business of examining our own biases and systems that make us surprised that a young Black woman would excel.
“The Hill We Climb”: Inaugural Poet Amanda Gorman Makes Her Mark
In her poem, titled “The Hill We Climb,” Amanda Gorman struck a chord of unity, bridging pain of the past with hope for a better future.
Ms. Muse: Marisol Baca on Writing the Stories that Raised Her, Feminism and Surviving 2020
Poet Laureate of Fresno, Calif., since 2019, Marisol Baca is the first woman, the first woman of color, and the first Chicano/Latinx poet to hold this appointment.
Descended from lifetimes of being forced to forget, Chicana/Latinx poet Marisol Baca works to remember what was lost long ago, writing stories that she grew up hearing from the women in her family.
Five Women Poets on Writing the Body
With a sublime mastery of language and artistry, five women poets— Rachel Eliza Griffiths, Patricia Smith, Ellen Bass, Toi Derricotte, Tina Chang—ask us to consider bodies facing attacks both physical and psychological. They write in defense, in awe and awareness of the body, pointing again and again to our shared humanity.
Poetry for the Moment: Healing, Resistance and Possibility
As protests against police violence have bloomed across the country, many have turned to sharing art, and poetry in particular, as a source of comfort and inspiration. In a time when the news can be a source of pain and violence, poetry can be a source of healing and joy. Here are some poems that deal with relevant themes during this revolutionary moment: healing, resistance and possibility.
Unanswered Questions from Black Women Protestors Against Police Violence
Posing questions instead of making statements, black women protestors invite us into their world and challenge us to reflect on how police violence shapes their lives. Not wanting to leave their questions unanswered, I wrote poems to say: “I see you in the crowds and I stand with you in seeking answers to questions that no one should ever have to ask.”
Sappho’s Series of Lesbian Poets: Charlotte Mew’s Rebellious Music
“I try to imagine being with Charlotte Mew on March 24, 1928, the day she killed herself. Let me befriend her. Let me do and say things to ease her pain and save her.
“I’m a lesbian poet from the year 2020, Charlotte, who adores your poems, how they transform your torment into art.
“If I couldn’t save Mew on that day in 1928, perhaps I could save her poems.”