Poetry & Spoken Word

How Homeboy Industries Helps People Make Positive Choices and Rebuild Their Lives (Multimedia)

Staff / Truthdig Mar 23, 2016 How do we create a community of mutual kinship, love and respect? That is the goal of a gang-prevention program in Los Angeles. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

‘Homeboy Creative’ Showcases Poetry by At-Risk Youths and Former Gang Members (Multimedia)

Staff / Truthdig Mar 22, 2016 The nonprofit organization in Los Angeles provides hope for at-risk youths, former gang members and previously incarcerated men and women. Truthdig will be featuring writers from Homeboy Industries in a series called “Homeboy Creative.” Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

AUDIO: ‘Rigour’: A Poem Digs Beneath ‘Third World’ Tropes in the Media

Staff / Truthdig Mar 2, 2016 Khairani Barokka's poignant poem highlights how Western reports of casualties in the developing world, even when the dead in question are children, are often recorded with indifference toward the human lives lost. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

AUDIO: ‘Asterisk: A Glyph’: A Forceful Poem About Why ‘Forsaken People … Turn Athletes Into Gods’

Staff / Truthdig Feb 17, 2016 Hakim Bellamy, Albuquerque's first poet laureate, writes a series of questions about reactions to the tennis star Serena Williams that will echo in your mind for days on end. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

AUDIO: ‘Juggling Excess and Imbalance in a Time of Drones’: The Unequal Equations of Our Time

Amy Uyematsu / Truthdig Feb 3, 2016 Amy Uyematsu's poem, inspired by Juan Felipe Herrera's “Fuzzy Equations," is a powerful litany of expressions that get to the heart of our modern age. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

A Rare Victory for Freedom of Speech in Turkey, as Pianist Is Allowed to Quote Omar Khayyam

Juan Cole / Truthdig Dec 29, 2015 In a win for freedom of speech in Turkey, the country’s Supreme Court of Appeals has completely overturned a lower court ruling that sentenced world-famous pianist Fazil Say to a suspended sentence of 10 months in prison. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

The Best Truthdig Poetry of 2015

Staff / Truthdig Dec 21, 2015 Here are the 10 poems that readers liked best from our very own original political poetry series, inaugurated this year. Here are the 10 poems that readers liked best from our very own original political poetry series, inaugurated this year. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

In Dark Times, Poetry Can Enlighten Us

By Shatha Almutawa / OtherWords Dec 17, 2015 Artists are coming together to commemorate victims of violence and create bridges between America and the Middle East. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Gov. Jerry Brown Names Dana Gioia, Former Chairman of the NEA, California Poet Laureate

Staff / Truthdig Dec 14, 2015 The California governor announced earlier this month that Dana Gioia would take over the Golden State post, replacing Juan Felipe Herrera, who recently became U.S. poet laureate. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

AUDIO: ‘What War Is Good For’: A Painful Indictment of What Has Now Become the American Way

Staff / Truthdig Nov 25, 2015 Jay Sizemore's poem ponders why the U.S. is involved in war after war, a question that becomes increasingly relevant as the country continues interfering in the Middle East. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

AUDIO: ‘Where There Is Rust’: A Timely Poem About Knowledge in an Age of Deceptive Discourse

Staff / Truthdig Nov 11, 2015 "Let this inform you how/ to be informed" begin Peter Burzynski's scathing couplets on critical thinking at a time when misinformation floods our daily lives. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

AUDIO: ‘Thin Ice’: A Poem About Motherhood in the Age of Climate Change

Staff / Truthdig Oct 28, 2015 Penelope Moffet's poem, based on a Los Angeles Times article that narrates the story of a polar bear who loses her infant cub as she swims hundreds of miles to reach the nearest ice floe in an ever-melting Arctic sea, beautifully illustrates the effects of the man-made destruction of the natural world. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )