Writing Poetry

Writing Poetry Useful Links

• Podcasts

  • The Slowdown Podcast The Slowdown podcast hosted by Tracy K. Smith delivers a different way to see the world - through poetry. Click play_circle_filled to listen to an episodecancelplay_circle_filled

    501: Facial Recognition - The Slowdown

    Today's poem is Facial Recognition by Alice Liang.

    1. 501: Facial Recognition 05:00
    2. 500: The Party 05:00
  • Commonplace Conversations with Poets (and Other People) A series of intimate and captivating interviews by Rachel Zucker with poets and artists about quotidian objects, experiences or obsessions, Commonplace conversations explore the recipes, advice, lists, anecdotes, quotes, politics, phobias, spiritual practices, and other non-Literary forms of knowledge that are vital to an artist’s life and work. Click play_circle_filled to listen to an episodecancelplay_circle_filled

    Episode 88: Global Roll Call, Part 3 - Commonplace: Conversations with Poets (and Other People)

    Commonplace guests as they appear in this episode:Molly Peacock is a poet, biographer, essayist, and short fiction writer. Her most recent book is The Analyst: poems.Alicia Jo Rabins is a writer, musician, composer, performer and Torah teacher. She creates multi-genre works of experimental beauty which explore the intersection of ancient wisdom texts with everyday life. Her most recent book is Fruit Geode.D. A. Powell’s books include Cocktails and Chronic, as well as Useless Landscape, or A Guide for Boys. He recently published a chapbook with Rescue Press, called Atlas T; all proceeds from the sale of Atlas T will be donated to Youth Speaks in San Francisco.Rosa Alcalá is the author of three books of poetry: Undocumentaries, The Lust of Unsentimental Waters, and MyOTHER TONGUE. She is a Professor in the Bilingual MFA in Creative Writing Program at the University of Texas at El Paso.Bernadette Mayer is the author of numerous books of poetry and prose, including Midwinter Day and Poetry State Forest.Laynie Browne is the author of numerous collections of poetry and one novel. Her publications include A Forest on Many Stems: Essays on the Poet’s Novel (editor) and The Desires of Mothers to Please Others in Letters.John Biewen directs the audio program at the Center for Documentary Studies, where he teaches and produces/hosts the podcast Scene on Radio.Darcey Steinke has written five novels as well as a memoir, Flash Count Diary: Menopause and the Vindication of Natural Life.Stephanie Burt is a poet, literary critic, and professor. Her most recent book is Don’t Read Poetry: A Book About How to Read Poems.Rita Dove served as Poet Laureate of the United States and Consultant to the Library of Congress from 1993 to 1995 and as Poet Laureate of the Commonwealth of Virginia from 2004 to 2006. Her most recent book is The Darker Face of the Earth.New Books Written by and/or authors/texts recommended/mentioned byMolly Peacock:The Analyst (W.W. Norton, 2017)James Joyce scholar Michael Groden (Molly Peacock’s husband)Cartoon Fundamentals with New Yorker cartoonist Maggie Larsen online at the 92nd St. YAlicia Jo Rabins:Fruit Geode (Augury, 2018)Alicia Jo’s Instagram (where you can find her bathtub poems)Alicia Jo’s weekly Kabbalat Shabat (through Kveller)D. A. Powell:Atlas T (Rescue Press, 2020)Angela Flournoy’s The Turner House (Houghton Mifflin, 2015)Hugh Martin’s In Country (BOA Editions, 2018)A Fast Life: The Collected Poems of Tim Dlugos By Tim Dlugos, David Trinidad (Editor) (Nightboat, 2011)Derrick Austin’s Trouble the Water (BOA Editions, 2016)Akira Kirosowa's DreamsTJ DiFrancesco (manuscript in progress)“Gratitude” by Cornelius Eady“Good Bones” by Maggie Smith“What the End is For” by Jorie GrahamEmily DickinsonJudy GrahnRobert DuncanRosa Alcalá:Darkness Spoken: The Collected Poems of Ingeborg Bachmann (Zephyr, 2006)Bernadette Mayer:Works and Days (New Directions, 2016)Memory (Siglio, 2020)Sonnets (Tender Buttons Press)Lee Ann BrownLaynie Browne:A Forest on Many Stems (Nightboat, 2020)Poetry and Art at the Rail ParkSylvia Townsend Warner’s Lolly Willowes (Penguin Modern Classics, 2020)Lisa Robertson’s The Baudelaire Fractal (Coach House Books, 2020)Collaborator Brent WahlPrageeta SharmaCD WrightHarmony HolidayDivya VictorJohn Biewen:The newest series of Scene on Radio is The Land that Never Has Been YetDarcey Steinke:Flash Count Diary: Menopause and the Vindication of Natural Life (Sarah Crichton Books, 2019)The Last Man by Mary Shelley (Oxford University Press)Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower (Grand Central, 2019)Severance by Ling Ma (Picador, 2019)Cormack McCarthy’s The Road (Vintage, 2007)A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel DefoeSamuel Pepys’ Diary of the PlagueAlison Hagy’s Scribe (Graywolf, 2018)Rachel CarsonFredrick Law OlmsteadWilliam Miller (7th Day Adventist)“Understanding the Book of Revelation” by L. Michael WhiteKristin Prevallet:Flying Rolls of the Golden DawnStephanie Burt:After Callimachus: Poems (Princeton University Press, 2020)Don’t Read Poetry (Basic Books, 2019)Andy Slavitt (Twitter)Jeremy Konyndyk (Twitter)Juliette Kayyem (Twitter)Commonplace Videos are HEREPlease support Commonplace & BECOME A PATRON!A list of bail funds, sorted by city, can be found here.

    1. Episode 88: Global Roll Call, Part 3 01:42:02
    2. Episode 87: Global Roll Call, Part 2 01:19:07
  • Interesting People Reading Poetry Podcast A podcast where artists & changemakers read a favorite poem and talk about what it means to them. Click play_circle_filled to listen to an episodecancelplay_circle_filled

    Photographer Alec Soth Reads Wallace Stevens - Interesting People Reading Poetry

    In this episode, Alec Soth reads "Of Modern Poetry" by Wallace Stevens. Soth is a photographer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has published over twenty-five books and has been called a "living legend" and "one of the most important photographers working today" by the Washington Post. Soth's recent photo book, I Know How Furiously Your Heart is Beating, is a stunning collection of portraits and interiors from around the world. Soth has described the collection as an attempt to "strip the [photographic] medium down to it's primary elements." The collection takes its title from an early poem by the American modernist Wallace Stevens, whose meditations on poetry and aesthetics have helped shape Soth's understanding of his own work."Of Modern Poetry" by Wallace Stevens appears in The Collected Poems of Wallace Stevens, published by Vintage. Keep up with Alec Soth on Instagram and at alecsoth.com. His new collaborative book with C. Fausto Cabrera is available here for preorder. We feature one short listener poem at the end of every episode. To submit, call the Haiku Hotline at 612-440-0643 and read your poem after the beep. For the occasional prompt, follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Subscribe on RadioPublic, iTunes, Spotify, or Stitcher. https://radiopublic.com/interesting-people-reading-poetry-60aNDL/s1!49838

    1. Photographer Alec Soth Reads Wallace Stevens 15:16
    2. Counselor Sheryl Paul Reads Walt Whitman 17:33
  • The New Yorker Poetry Podcast Readings and conversation with The New Yorker's poetry editor, Paul Muldoon. Click play_circle_filled to listen to an episodecancelplay_circle_filled

    Joy Harjo Reads Sandra Cisneros - The New Yorker: Poetry

    Joy Harjo joins Kevin Young to read “Still-Life with Potatoes, Pearls, Raw Meat, Rhinestones, Lard, and Horse Hooves,” by Sandra Cisneros, and her own poem “Running.” Harjo is the current Poet Laureate of the United States, as well as a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets. Her many honors include the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize and the Wallace Stevens Award.

    1. Joy Harjo Reads Sandra Cisneros 34:39
    2. Radical Imagination: Tracy K. Smith, Marilyn Nelson, and Terrance Hayes on Poetry in Our Times 45:35
  • Poetry Foundation The Poetry Magazine Podcast The editors go inside the pages of Poetry, talking to poets and critics, debating the issues, and sharing their poem selections with listeners. Click play_circle_filled to listen to an episodecancelplay_circle_filled

    A Conversation with Oli Rodriguez and Xandria Phillips - The Poetry Magazine Podcast

    Oli Rodriguez and Xandria Phillips on queer familia, ephemeral cruising spots, McDonald’s polaroid film, and much more. Rodriguez’s “Papi, Papi, Papi” appears in the October 2020 issue of Poetry.

    1. A Conversation with Oli Rodriguez and Xandria Phillips 35:49
    2. A Conversation with Kit Fan and Alice Oswald 35:46
  • Poetry Foundation Poetry Off the Shelf Producer Helena de Groot explores the diverse world of contemporary poetry with readings by poets, interviews with critics, and short poetry documentaries. Nothing is off-limits, and nobody is taken too seriously. Click play_circle_filled to listen to an episodecancelplay_circle_filled

    A Practice of Care - Poetry Off the Shelf

    EJ Koh on distance, broken English, and writing poems that forgive.

    1. A Practice of Care 48:38
    2. Better Broken Than Whole 01:02:31
  • Poetry Foundation VS The VS podcast is a bi-weekly series where poets confront the ideas that move them. Hosted by poets Danez Smith and Franny Choi, produced by Daniel Kisslinger, and presented by the Poetry Foundation and Postloudness. Click play_circle_filled to listen to an episodecancelplay_circle_filled

    Carl Phillips vs. the Erotic - VS

    Carl Phillips swings by the zoodio (zoom studio) for a ticklish and insightful convo on this episode. The poet and professor talks about the power of interiority, how his relationship to the erotic has changed as he’s grown older, and much more.  NOTE: Make sure you rate us on Apple Podcasts and write us a review!

    1. Carl Phillips vs. the Erotic 01:10:11
    2. Ross Gay vs. Entanglement 01:07:09
  • Poetry Foundation Poem Talk Kelly Writers House impresario Al Filreis leads a lively roundtable discussion of a single poem with a series of rotating guests including Tracie Morris, Rachel Blau DuPlessis, Erica Kaufman, Charles Bernstein, Sawako Nakayasu, Simone White, and others. Click play_circle_filled to listen to an episodecancelplay_circle_filled

    Rousing Earth to Excel: A discussion of “Arriving” by Daphne Marlatt - Poem Talk

    Hosted by Al Filreis and featuring Fred Wah, Meredith Quartermain, and Daphne Marlatt.

    1. Rousing Earth to Excel: A discussion of “Arriving” by Daphne Marlatt 55:38
    2. Word for Word: A discussion of “The Poem That Took the Place of a Mountain” by Wallace Stevens. 50:26
  • Poetry Foundation PoetryNow PoetryNow is a weekly four-minute radio series featuring some of today’s most accomplished and innovative poets who offer an acoustically rich and reflective look into a single poem. Click play_circle_filled to listen to an episodecancelplay_circle_filled

    I Thought a Tree Dying - PoetryNow

    Sandra Doller meditates on aging and motherhood. Produced by Katie Klocksin.

    1. I Thought a Tree Dying 04:00
    2. I Saw This Day Coming 04:00
  • Poetry Foundation Essential American Poets Listen to Donald Hall's selection of classic American poets reading from their work. These recordings are being made available as the result of a collaboration between US and UK poet laureates Donald Hall and Andrew Motion. Click play_circle_filled to listen to an episodecancelplay_circle_filled

    Lorine Niedecker: Essential American Poets - Essential American Poets

    Recordings of poet Lorine Niedecker with an introduction to her life and work. Recorded at home in 1970. Recording courtesy of PennSound.

    1. Lorine Niedecker: Essential American Poets 15:46
    2. Gertrude Stein: Essential American Poets 17:14
  • Poetry Foundation Poetry Lectures Talks given by notable scholars and critics on poets, poetry, and their intersections with other art forms. Features recordings from historic archives and live events. Click play_circle_filled to listen to an episodecancelplay_circle_filled

    Malena Mörling and Jonas Ellström: International Poets in Conversation - Poetry Lectures

    Malena Mörling and Jonas Ellerström discuss Swedish poetry and the challenges of translation, and they read some poems in both Swedish and English from their anthology, The Star By My Head.

    1. Malena Mörling and Jonas Ellström: International Poets in Conversation 39:27
    2. Harris Khalique: International Poets in Conversation 40:10
  • Poetry Foundation Avant-Garde All the Time Poet Kenneth Goldsmith presents selections from UbuWeb, the learned and varietous online repository concerning concrete and sound poetry, experimental film, outsider art, and all things avant-garde. Click play_circle_filled to listen to an episodecancelplay_circle_filled

    Driven by Sound Tracks - Avant-Garde All the Time

    An audio tour of films featuring Vito Acconci, Erik Satie, Vicki Bennett, Karl Holmquist, and more from the UbuWeb archive.

    1. Driven by Sound Tracks 29:46
    2. The Sound of Silence 20:11
  • Poetry Foundation Chicago Poetry Tour Podcast From the neighborhood library of Gwendolyn Brooks to the Union Stock Yards, where Chicago became Carl Sandburg’s “Hog Butcher for the World,” to the birthplace of slam poetry, the Chicago Poetry Tour explores the city’s history through its dynamic poets and poetry. Click play_circle_filled to listen to an episodecancelplay_circle_filled

    South Side Community Arts Center - Chicago Poetry Tour Podcast

    Established in 1940 by the WPA's Federal Art Project, the South Side Community Art Center has provided a second home for the city's African-American artists. Haki Madhubuti, founding editor of Third World Press, reads.

    1. South Side Community Arts Center 09:13
    2. Hall Library 24:28
  • Poetry Foundation Podcasts Audio recordings of poems and poetry-related podcasts: Poem of the Day, PoetryNow, the POETRY magazine podcast, VS, and more. cancel

• Articles

  • MasterClass 9 Creative Writing Exercises For Poets Writer’s block plagues writers of all kinds, but perhaps none more so than poets. Writing poetry is an exercise in patience, passion, and perseverance. From mining your surroundings to playing with literary devices, here are some exercises to help stimulate your imagination. cancel
  • Writing Forward 36 Poetry Writing Tips Check out this master list of the very best poetry writing tips. Try one or try them all. If you have any tips to add, share them in the comments. cancel
  • Writing Forward Writing Tips
  • Writing Forward Creative Writing Exercises

• Essentials

  • Amazon.com - The Pulitzer Prize for Poetry Winners Poetry who won The Pulitzer Prize for Poetry cancel
  • Amazon.com - Poetry Books Online shopping for Poetry Books from a great selection of Regional & Cultural, Themes & Styles, Anthologies, Women Authors, Ancient, Classical & Medieval & more at everyday low prices. cancel
  • Magnetic Poetry Kit Magnets That Reveal The Poet Within Dave Kapell, the founder of Magnetic Poetry, was suffering from writer's block while trying to compose song lyrics. To overcome this problem, he wrote down interesting words on pieces of paper and rearranged them, looking for inspiration. What he hadn't figured into this experiment were his allergies. One good sneeze and any progress was sent flying across the room. Dave decided to glue the words to pieces of magnets and stick them to a pizza tin. Then he got hungry and the now magnetized words made their way to the refrigerator door. Before too long, Dave wasn't the only one rearranging his would-be song lyrics. When friends came over, Dave noticed they started to move the magnets around, amusing themselves by writing the first magnetic poems. cancel
  • Moleskine - Classic Notebook Moleskine classic notebooks are perfect notebooks for writing journals, a daily diary, or note-taking in college classes or meetings. Moleskine notebooks are beloved by travelers & bullet journalists for their slim design. cancel
  • Sharon Jones - Burn After Writing Instagram, WhatsApp, Snapchat, TikTok, VSCO, YouTube... the world has not only become one giant feed, but also one giant confessional. Burn After Writing allows you to spend less time scrolling and more time self-reflecting. Through incisive questions and thought experiments, this journal helps you learn new things while letting others go. Imagine instead of publicly declaring your feelings for others, you privately declared your feelings for yourself? cancel

• Courses

  • MasterClass 10 Creative Writing Prompts for Story Ideas Whether you’re trying to start a new story, or struggling with writer’s block in the middle of one, ideas may seem difficult to come by. To discover your next novel or short story idea, exercise your creative writing muscle with this list of creative writing prompts and story starters that will mine your life experiences, passions, and imagination for inspiration. cancel
  • Coursera Sharpened Visions: A Poetry Workshop Offered by California Institute of the Arts. Why just write poems when you can write better ones? This course is built on the notion that the most exciting writing begins after the first draft. It is specifically for folks who believe that writing poems just to express oneself is like using the Internet just for email. After all, poetry can change the way you and your readers think of the world and its inhabitants; it can break new ground for language; turn a blank sheet of paper into a teeming concert of voices and music. Though many of us may have the potential to make that happen, having an understanding of how several tools of poetic composition can be used (and audaciously “misused”) gives you more ways to try (and if we do this right, we might surprise ourselves most of all). We'll cover key poetic terms and devices by studying poems by a handful of modern and contemporary poets and then get a chance to try our own hand at writing new poem drafts from a select number of prompts. Throughout the course you will have the opportunity to workshop your poem drafts and get feedback on your work, working towards a more polished poem. cancel
  • Coursera Poetry Courses Poetry courses from top universities and industry leaders. Learn Poetry online with courses like Sharpened Visions: A Poetry Workshop and Modern & Contemporary American Poetry (“ModPo”). cancel
  • Udemy Top Poetry Courses Online Learn Poetry today: find your Poetry online course on Udemy. cancel
  • Skillshare Online Poetry Classes | Start Learning for Free Discover classes on Poetry, Creative, Creative Insights, and more. Get started on Writing for Expression: How to Make Your Words More Artful & Lyrical cancel

• Blogs

  • Poetry Foundation Harriet The Poetry Foundation’s literary blog for poetry and related news. cancel
  • Read Poetry Blog Join this growing online community in exploring identity, diversity, and empowerment through poetry. Find exclusive interviews, recommendations, and more. cancel

• Websites

  • Hello Poetry The best place to read and share poetry on the internet The experiment we call Hello Poetry began in May 2009, which now seems a lifetime ago. I wanted an uncluttered, peaceful space to read and share poetry, so I started building one in my time after work. The site now serves over a million readers a month and is home to hundreds of thousands sharing their poetry. cancel
  • All Poetry The world's largest poetry site The web's largest poetry writing group - from beginners to experts. Improve your poetry, create a fan base, and read the best poetry of our generation. Allpoetry is home base for poets. See a poem you like? Click Follow then comment to show some love! cancel
  • Poetry Foundation Poems, readings, poetry news and the entire 100-year archive of POETRY magazine. cancel

• Near You

  • Meetup Poetry | Find your people Find Meetups and meet people in your local community who share your interests. cancel