##### Here are some texts you could choose for one of the [[assignments for poetry]] (or to read just for your own enjoyment). (Also check out the [[videos about poetry]] and [[forms of poetry]]!) [“Pœtry” by Marianne Moore](https://poets.org/poem/poetry) > “Born in 1887, Marianne Moore wrote with the freedom characteristic of the other Modernist poets, often incorporating quotes from other sources into the text, yet her use of language was always extraordinarily condensed and precise.” [“Introduction to Pœtry” by Billy Collins](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46712/introduction-to-poetry) > “Dubbed ‘the most popular poet in America’ by Bruce Weber in the New York Times, Billy Collins is famous for conversational, witty poems that welcome readers with humor but often slip into quirky, tender, or profound observation on the everyday, reading and writing, and [[poetry]] itself. Collins was born in 1941 in New York City. He earned a BA from the College of the Holy Cross, and both an MA and PhD from the University of California-Riverside. In 1975 he cofounded the Mid-Atlantic Review with Michael Shannon.” “POEM OF THE DAY” collections > Spin the wheel, roll the dice; start your day with a poem you’ve probably never read before! - [Poem-a-day by Poets.org](https://poets.org/poem-a-day) - [Poem of the Day from Pœtry Foundation](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/poem-of-the-day) - [Today’s Poem from Pœtry Daily](https://poems.com/todays-poem/) (you should be able to close the annoying “Subscribe” pop-up thingy) A selection of [Shakespeare’s Sonnets from the Folger Shakespeare Library](https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/shakespeares-sonnets/) > “Few collections of poems—indeed, few literary works in general—intrigue, challenge, tantalize, and reward as do Shakespeare’s Sonnets. Almost all of them love poems, the Sonnets philosophize, celebrate, attack, plead, and express pain, longing, and despair, all in a tone of voice that rarely rises above a reflective murmur, all spoken as if in an inner monologue or dialogue, and all within the tight structure of the English sonnet form.” [“Making a Fist” by Naomi Shihab Nye](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/54308/making-a-fist) > “Naomi Shihab Nye was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Her father was a Palestinian refugee and her mother an American of German and Swiss descent, and Nye spent her adolescence in both Jerusalem and San Antonio, Texas.” Here’s “Making a Fist,” beautifully direct and indirect at the same time. Check out this excerpt from a preface by a Henry Pancoast, in an 1899 collection! > [page 1](https://drive.google.com/file/d/19yXYVNjNdZCOfChaCX92i3DjIGsvYRFF/view?usp=sharing); [page 2](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FvdFSLf0o7P07vrBEQtVE8bx_sebGoPa/view?usp=sharing); [page 3](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1L1TmRjExBbR13nO6xndS-3C-UKHm7Grn/view?usp=sharing) “There is a prevalent impression that if we do not 'like poetry,' nothing can be done; and that, on the other hand, if we do 'like' it, nothing further is required." “[Home Thoughts](https://poets.org/poem/home-thoughts)” > Great example of a “where I’m from” type of poem!. Wikipedia says, "Born in Jamaica, McKay first traveled to the United States to attend college, and encountered [W.E.B. Du Bois](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._E._B._Du_Bois)'s *[The Souls of Black Folk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Souls_of_Black_Folk)* which stimulated McKay's interest in political involvement. He moved to New York City in 1914 and in 1919 wrote '[If We Must Die](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/If_We_Must_Die)', one of his best known works, a widely reprinted sonnet responding to the wave of white-on-black race riots and lynchings following the conclusion of the First World War." [Day 29 (2020)](https://poets.org/poem/day-29-2020) > Wow! Some powerful imagery from a more contemporary poet, Jamila Woods, a poet and singer from Chicago, Illinois. [Poem from Pastoral; or, the Inquisition of Memories (Memories walk around dressed as old men.)](https://poets.org/poem/poem-pastoral-or-inquisition-memories-memories-walk-around-dressed-old-men) > Very interesting! There must be something about memory poems that lends itself to list-making. This prose poem by Giannina Braschi has a great rhythm to it, even though it's not broken into lines like a "normal" poem. Poets.org says, "The Library of Congress describes Braschi as 'cutting-edge, influential and even revolutionary,' noting that there are 'elements of art, culture, philosophy, and politics in all of her literary works,' which include the Postmodern classic *Empire of Dreams* and *Yo-Yo Boing!*, credited with being the first novel to be written in Spanglish. Her latest novel, *United States of Banana* has been described as experimental, revolutionary and profoundly philosophical. It is to be read as The Wasteland of the 21st century." [“Abandoned Farmhouse” by Ted Kooser](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/52935/abandoned-farmhouse) > "[Ted Kooser](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/ted-kooser) is known for his poetry and essays that celebrate the quotidian and capture a vanishing way of life. Poet and critic Brad Leithauser wrote in the New York Times Book Review that, "Whether or not he originally set out to...[Kooser's] become, perforce, an elegist." Populated by farmers, family ancestors, and heirlooms, Kooser's poems reflect his abiding interest in the past while offering clear-eyed appraisal of its hardships." > I love how *things say things* in this poem! [Antonio Machado](https://poetrydispatch.wordpress.com/tag/antonio-machado/) > “Machado poems illuminate both darkness and day. I don’t know how else to describe his work except once you have found him and he has found you, his poems will broaden your spirit, put you in a place you want to be. The kind of feeling one experiences walking out of an ancient church into a starlit night.”  [Robert Bly reading something that references Machado](https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Le443B3nifplpNfEXtdh5FspYNq1JiRC&authuser=mschulte%40waukesha.k12.wi.us&usp=drive_fs) > Robert Bly reading "poems of Antonio Machado and himself, meditating on his father and the task of originality in art, including Machado's immortal line, ‘You say nothing is created new? Don't worry about it, with the mud of the earth, make a cup from which your brother can drink.’ That is my favorite line in all of poetry. ([original YouTube link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAaYoC40AdQ))