poetry

Ira Lightman at a poetry reading in Manchester, UK, at an event organized by Poets and Players. Lightman moonlights as a poetry plagiarism detective. 

This poetry detective tracks down word thieves. But are they all plagiarists?

Ira Lightman is a hero to some in the literary world, a villain to others.

This poetry detective tracks down word thieves. But are they all plagiarists?
Eve Ewing

Eve Ewing, creative queen of Chicago

Eve Ewing, creative queen of Chicago
A 1923 studio portrait of the In zikh ("Introspectivist") poetry group.

Jennifer Kronovet studied Yiddish so she could communicate with the dead

Jennifer Kronovet studied Yiddish so she could communicate with the dead
Claudia Rankine

Claudia Rankine’s 'Citizen' shows what racism really feels like

Claudia Rankine’s 'Citizen' shows what racism really feels like

Best of 2016: Kurt’s Favorite Conversations

Best of 2016: Kurt’s Favorite Conversations

Marianne Moore's Odes to Animals

Marianne Moore loved learning about animals, and she crammed scientific detail into her poems.

Marianne Moore's Odes to Animals

American Icons: "Spoon River Anthology"

A landmark in American poetry, Edgar Lee Masters’ “Spoon River Anthology” shocked readers when it came out in 1915 by tackling subjects like suicide and sex.

American Icons: "Spoon River Anthology"

Is Kobe Bryant's 'Dear Basketball' a Reimagining of Shakespeare's Final Soliloquy?

Kobe and Prospero, from "The Tempest," say goodbye to their powers in remarkably similar terms. Coincidence?

Is Kobe Bryant's 'Dear Basketball' a Reimagining of Shakespeare's Final Soliloquy?

Best American Fakery

The inclusion of a white poet writing under a Chinese name in “Best American Poetry” set the internet ablaze. Jenny Zhang explains why so many people were so upset.

Best American Fakery
poetry

How a white Indiana poet used a Chinese pseudonym to get published

Recently, the poetry world became embroiled in a scandal when it was discovered that one of the selections for this year's Best of American Poetry, written by Yi-Fen Chou, was actually from a white guy named Michael Derrick Hudson who used the Yi-Fen Chou pen name.

How a white Indiana poet used a Chinese pseudonym to get published
Cuban-American poet Richard Blanco's memoir is The Prince of Los Cocuyos: A Miami Childhood.

A Cuban American poet sees a brighter future for dissident artists on the island

A Cuban American poet accompanying Secretary of State John Kerry tells dissident artists in Havana to "hang in there."

A Cuban American poet sees a brighter future for dissident artists on the island

Mary Jo Bang: Time Is Almost Up

Mary Jo Bang has developed a reputation as a poet’s poet by facing the hardest truths about human beings. Maybe that’s why she had so much fun translating Dante’s “Inferno.”

Mary Jo Bang: Time Is Almost Up

Composing Poetry with Predictive Text

The iPhone's latest texting feature is inadvertently becoming an art form for the digital age. 

Composing Poetry with Predictive Text

American Icons: “Spoon River Anthology”

A landmark in American poetry, Edgar Lee Masters’ “Spoon River Anthology” shocked readers when it came out in 1915 by tackling subjects like suicide and sex.

American Icons: “Spoon River Anthology”

Poet Terrance Hayes: Anything but Invisible

Terrance Hayes may be the only poet to win a MacArthur “genius” grant, a National Book Award, and a spot on "People’s" Sexiest Man Alive list.

Poet Terrance Hayes: Anything but Invisible