How does a poet even begin to address what happened to Michael Brown? That’s the question at the center of “Working Title,” a piece by Mahogany Brown. Continue reading →

Poet Lauren Haldeman brings a sharp focus to the feeling of jealousy. Continue reading →

For Camisha Jones, the managing director of Washington, D.C.-based poetry organization Split This Rock, poetry helped give voice to the experience of living with chronic illness. Continue reading →

Poet Wang Ping writes at the intersection of gender, sexuality and the Chinese immigrant experience. Continue reading →

For Janae Johnson, a Boston-based spoken word poet who won the Women of the World Poetry Slam this spring, poetry is a bold act of breaking the silence. Continue reading →

Trace Peterson, a poet at the forefront of the push for transgender representation in poetry, will soon pioneer what she says is the country’s first course in transgender poetry. Continue reading →

Eric Garner’s last words, “I can’t breathe,” are the backdrop for “A Small Needful Fact,” a poem by Indiana University professor and poet Ross Gay. Continue reading →

Watch Gregory Pardlo read his poem “Written by Himself” from his Pulitzer Prize-winning collection “Digest.” Continue reading →

In her poem, “I’m Sorry I’m Not a Hugger,” teen poet Madeleine LeCesne writes about loss and growth and “the struggle of being a physical being.” LeCesne is the Southwest National Student Poet, the nation’s highest honor for teen poets presenting original work. We caught up with her at the Association of Writers & Writing Programs conference in Minneapolis in April. Continue reading →

Dan Chelotti is the author of “x” (McSweeney’s). He is an Associate Professor of English at Elms College, and he lives in Massachusetts. Continue reading →