poetry

The Greatest Minor American Poet of the 20th Century

Hannah Zeavin / N+1 Dec 14, 2022 Bernadette Mayer’s work opened up the subject of poetry so that friendship, as much as romantic love or sex, might be central to its content. Dig deeper ( 13 Min. Read )

The Danger of Poeticizing Horror While Bearing Witness

By Helen Mackreath / Los Angeles Review of Books Jun 21, 2019 Carolyn Forché grapples with what constitutes “poetry of witness” in a memoir about El Salvador on the brink of civil war in the late 1970s. Dig deeper ( 7 Min. Read )

Native American Named U.S. Poet Laureate for First Time

HILLEL ITALIE / The Associated Press Jun 19, 2019 Joy Harjo has been ready for her new role for a long time. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

What Europe Needs Is a New Revolution

By Jason Barker / Los Angeles Review of Books May 10, 2019 Decrying neoliberal capitalism’s “slow cancellation of the future” in his new book, Srećko Horvat advocates “hope without optimism.” Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

The Hypocrisy of ‘Living Happily’ Through All Our Wars

Will Brewbaker / Los Angeles Review of Books Mar 27, 2019 While reading "Deaf Republic," we would be wise to join poet Ilya Kaminsky in owning our failures—political, personal or otherwise. Dig deeper ( 8 Min. Read )

Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Robert Scheer on the Importance of Not Selling Out (Video)

Stephen French Mar 25, 2019 The Truthdig Editor in Chief talks with his lifelong friend, the legendary poet who just turned a 100 years old. Dig deeper ( 19 Min. Read )

Lawrence Ferlinghetti Is Still Revolutionary at Age 100

Natasha Hakimi Zapata and Robert Scheer / Truthdig Mar 24, 2019 The legendary poet, who is now 100 years old, can be described by nearly enough epithets for every year he's been alive. Dig deeper ( 8 Min. Read )

Putting Trump to Shame Without Ever Saying His Name

Natasha Hakimi Zapata / Truthdig Feb 15, 2019 Written after the 45th president was inaugurated, Terrance Hayes’ sonnets have an urgency that will leave readers’ heads spinning. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

In Hawaii, an End of Innocence

Gregory Glover / Truthdig Jul 18, 2018 In her poem "Sweet Leilani," Sara Simone Wagner speaks for many residents of Hawaii's Big Island who are adjusting to the reality of an ongoing volcanic disaster. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Palestinian Poet Convicted of Incitement

Emily Wells / Truthdig May 3, 2018 Her arrest after she posted her work on social media was condemned by more than 150 high-profile writers. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

The Land Between Two Rivers

Elaine Margolin / Truthdig Mar 2, 2018 Tom Sleigh travels to war zones and refugee camps, yet views intervention on his part as transgression. When does passivity become complicity? Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

The Reluctant Rebel

Ron Charles Dec 15, 2017 Jonathan Swift, we need you now—when one constantly sees true stories prefaced with "Not from The Onion!"—more than ever. Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )