What is it about life’s big and little moments that calls for a poem? At weddings. At funerals. On greeting cards. In church. On the radio. At moments of great happiness or deep sadness. At beginnings ...

I write a poem a day (sometimes more) for three reasons. First for finger exercises that wake up both fingers and brain. Second, I use it observationally, and by that, I mean to sharpen my ...

One of my favorite poets is William Carlos Williams, the imagist poet who believed a poem could be like a painting — words that provoke a picture and initiate thought. Here’s his most famous poem: ...

This week’s guest on "Poetry from Daily Life" is Matt Mason, who lives in Omaha, Nebraska. Matt, who was the Nebraska State Poet from 2019-2024, started writing in high school and not long after ...

Joshua Clover begins with hating people and loving cats, quickly adding juxtapositions and surprises. By Joshua Clover Selected by Anne Boyer Joshua Clover’s “My Life in the New Millennium” begins ...

The Academy of American Poets launched National Poetry Month in April 1996 to celebrate the role of poets and poetry in American culture. Since then, it's become one of the largest literary ...

American poet Emily Dickinson. A mystical recluse, she lived all her life in Amherst, Massachusetts. Emily Dickinson was a 19th-century American poet whose name has become synonymous with classic ...

This week’s guest on “Poetry from Daily Life” is Jane Yolen, who divides her time between Hatfield, Massachusetts; Mystic, Connecticut; and Scotland. Jane began writing in 2nd grade and published her ...

Love poems are difficult to write and to read because they can be clichéd. This poem surrounds the topic of love versus sinking in it. In the title, love is “an enchantment,” not “my enchantment,” ...

Maggie Smith’s poem “Good Bones” became a viral sensation when it was published in 2016 the same week as the Pulse Nightclub mass shooting in Orlando. The exposure — rare for a living poet, let alone ...