Poetry Foundation

@poetry

The Poetry Foundation transforms lives through the power of words. Publisher of POETRY magazine.

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Poetry Foundation@poetry· 6d

Multihyphenate poet Jamila Woods on how poetry sits at the center of her art and the importance of performance in our video series, "Where I Write." Video produced by Three Story Media.

Poetry Foundation@poetry· 12d

In this archival episode of the #PoetryOffTheShelf podcast, Fanny Howe and host Helena de Groot discuss the sky, visions, and the beam that killed the landlord, plus an excerpt from Howe's posthumous collection. Listen here: https://bit.ly/4hMaBNN

A red background with a white outline illustration of books on a shelf. The text "Poetry Off the Shelf" is written in bold black letters on the left side.

Poetry Foundation@poetry· 13d

Multihyphenate poet Jamila Woods discusses how her work invites people to connect more deeply with themselves in our video series, "Where I Write." Video produced by Three Story Media.

Poetry Foundation@poetry· 14d

Read R.K. Hegelman's essay on what he describes as Fernando Pessoa’s disappearing act: https://bit.ly/3RJHDU9

A quote on a white background reads: To say ‘Fernando Pessoa’ is less to evoke the man—an unremarkable dilettante who lived in Lisbon and died in obscurity in 1935—than to name a system. Below the quote is the name R.K. Hegelman and a silhouette of a pegasus.

Black text on a white background reads: He doesn’t seek to shed the self entirely, but to multiply and suspend it—creating an ecology of selves, a reality teeming with a multitude of possibilities. Below, it says: R.K. Hegelman on Fernando Pessoa. A small green pegasus graphic is present near the bottom.

A photo of Fernando Pessoa wearing glasses and a wide-brimmed hat, partially visible against a plain background. The image is divided, with one side in a green hue and the other in purple. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

A partial image of Fernando Pessoa wearing a hat, next to a quote that reads: Pessoa's heteronymic system stands as a monument of modern literature. Yet we have scarcely begun to explore its full extent, even if we sense its vastness. Below the quote, it reads: R.K. Hegelman on Fernando Pessoa.

Poetry Foundation@poetry· 15d

We're so grateful for another wonderful year of the Summer Poetry Teachers institute! ☀️ 📚 This is what some of our educators had to say about the experience. Learn more about the Institute: https://bit.ly/4ebMJhL

A person is holding a notepad and pen, resting on their lap, with a smartphone on a table in the background. The image is overlaid with the text: Summer Poetry Teachers Institute and Poetry Foundation.

Poetry Foundation@poetry· 19d

Like the Trojan Horse, Robert Rubsam found Christopher Nolan’s IMAX ODYSSEY massive, impressive, and mostly hollow. Read Rubsam's full essay on the film: https://bit.ly/4hT7KlQ

Black text on white background reads: Watching Nolan’s Odyssey, I could not escape how small his imagination seems, how incapable of conjuring real grandeur or anything approaching mystery. Below is: Robert Rubsam on The Odyssey, and a small illustration of a pegasus in flight.

Black text on white background: Nothing that happens bears any particular moral or narrative relation to anything else. This results in a plot composed primarily of mere incident, of one thing after another without meaning or emphasis or grandeur, and crammed into the straitjacket of modern Hollywood plotting. — Robert Rubsam on The Odyssey.

A stylized illustration accompanies text on a white background. The text reads: Nolan’s film is frequently composed of mere images of mere things, signifying little beyond their own immediate spectacle. Characters are rendered passive and powerless, not by the gods on Olympus, but by the divinity in the director’s chair. Below, it says Robert Rubsam on The Odyssey with an image of a pegasus.

The image is artwork by Evangeline Gallagher depicting a scene with a group of Roman soldiers in red armor and helmets with plumes. They are facing a large statue-like figure in similar attire. On the left, a wolf is shown, and in the background, a Roman structure is visible.

Poetry Foundation@poetry· 20d

Multihyphenate poet Jamila Woods on finding her voice through soundscapes in our video series, "Where I Write." Video produced by Three Story Media.

Poetry Foundation@poetry· 26d

Nellie Wong, who died this year, leaves behind a formidable legacy as a poet, activist, and champion of the working class. Read David Grundy's essay on her work: https://bit.ly/45sdsUt

Image of a quote in black text on a light background. The quote reads: Her poetry collects hundreds of moments stolen from the office hour, from the flash of encounters, sights, sounds, and smells across the city. Below the quote is a pegasus graphic. The text beneath reads: David Grundy on the late poet Nellie Wong.

Black text on white background: Above all, she manifests the notion of solidarity: the humble and unashamed capacity to feel for and with the living and the dead, the known and unknown, and to act for and with them, to protest, to organize. Below is the text: David Grundy on the late poet Nellie Wong. A small black silhouette of a pegasus is underneath.

Text on white background: She emphasized the importance of learning not just through formal institutions but through worker solidarity and opposition to the class hierarchies within universities: hierarchies that divide teachers and students from cleaners and secretaries. Below: David Grundy on the late poet Nellie Wong. A small pegasus graphic is also present

This is a black and white photo of Nellie Wong smiling while seated in a booth. The setting is The Great China restaurant in Oakland's Chinatown, around the 1950s. Nellie is wearing a dark outfit with a bow tie. Text below the image credits the Nellie Wong Archives.

Poetry Foundation@poetry· 26d

Was there really any lotus there in the flying-j rest stop or atop my head blossoming into a thousand petals? –Julian T. Brolaski in the July/August issue of POETRY Read the full poem "blue lotus" https://bit.ly/3SKjPzq #PoemoftheDay

Text on a gray background in red and black text. The red text reads: "Verisimilitude my one pleasure truth-seeming was easier to get into cuz it was everywhere like the sky in its common blue britches like the sea in its common denim." Below, in black text, is the name "JULIAN T. BROLASKI." Above the name is a small black image of a pegasus.

Poetry Foundation@poetry· Jul 26

December was late. Outside the ash was watching itself end and time ride with the thief. – Ethan Chua in the June/July issue of POETRY Read the full poem "To the stranger who stole my bike" https://bit.ly/450ijfD #PoemoftheDay

Text on a light gray background: "I was late. The mass was almost over, the voices nearly finished with their singing. Bread, water, some kind of stolen grace flashed past me on two wheels in the wind." Below the text is a silhouette of a black pegasus above the name Ethan Chua.

Poetry Foundation@poetry· Jul 26

Have you experienced BOLD TYPE at the Poetry Foundation yet? CAConrad's poem “First Light” fills the Poetry Foundation's gallery wall as a large-scale poetic design, inviting visitors to look, linger, and reflect. Plan your visit before this installment closes on August 1: https://bit.ly/4c3vTTB

A modern architectural building with glass walls reflecting nearby trees and skyscrapers. Lines of text are visible on the glass panels. Ambient natural light enhances the sleek, urban design.

Close up of black text on a white wall in bold letters, partically cut off: known I might dance around you if I get a pair of bunny pants no one can afford.

Poetry Foundation@poetry· Jul 23

Fanny Howe’s posthumous THIS POOR BOOK is a collection that challenges our notions of revision while also serving as a guide to getting lost. Read David Schurman Wallace's essay on Howe: https://bit.ly/4fezWOH

Text on a plain background reads: "A strain of mischief keeps Howe’s verse from turning leaden or self-serious: Satan collides with Marx, wrapped in a nursery-rhyme riddle.” Below is a line of text that says, "David Schurman Wallace on Fanny Howe." There is a small pegasus silhouette beneath the quote.

Text quote reads: “The book is not just a selection or a reckoning with her life in poetry, but an offering to the reader: an invitation to look again, even if answers remain elusive.” Below the quote, it says: “David Schurman Wallace on Fanny Howe.” There is a small graphic of a pegasus silhouette.

Quote text: 'After decades of writing, Howe returns us to uncertainty, suggesting value in forms of attention not measurable in conventional terms.' - David Schurman Wallace on Fanny Howe. Partial view of a person on the right.

An image of Howe with short, light brown hair is looking downward. The background is softly lit. Photo by Janet Knott/The Boston Globe via Getty Images.

Poetry Foundation@poetry· Jul 22

Poetry Foundation president & CEO Michelle T. Boone joins Chicago artists and community leaders for a conversation on Black cultural production, community stewardship, and the long arc of institution-building in the city. Listen to this episode of "Dreaming in Color:" https://apple.co/4vLvyLX

Promotional graphic for Dreaming in Color Live: Creating New Narratives in Leadership, featuring a quote about Chicago's neighborhoods and their future. Includes a portrait of Michelle Boone, President & CEO at the Poetry Foundation with text identifying her. The background is a gradient of blue, purple, magenta, and orange.

Poetry Foundation@poetry· Jul 20

Help shape the future of the Poetry Foundation library by July 31! 📚 If you've visited our poetry library, please share your thoughts in our anonymous survey. Your input will guide how we serve readers, researchers, and poetry lovers for years to come: https://bit.ly/4omjQ8i

A person leans over a railing in a library, holding a green book. The library has tall wooden walls and is filled with shelves of books. Bright, natural light illuminates the space.

Poetry Foundation@poetry· Jul 18

Read the rest of Daniel Durand's poem "Walking in the Winds of Boedo" translated by Jordan Landsman in the July/August issue of POETRY. https://bit.ly/3RzcK4u #PoemOfTheDay

Text on a light grey background with an illustration of a pegasus. The text, in orange, reads: "Every day when I get home from work I spend money I don’t have on useless books. Every day I come home from downtown drunk. History remembers few men who, in this way, have reached the age of eighty." Below, in black, it states: "Daniel Durand, Tr. by Jordan Landsman."

Cover of the Poetry July/August 2026 issue featuring the word "POETRY" in colorful cut-out letters against a textured white background. At the bottom, text reads: "Read the July/August issue of Poetry at poetryfoundation.org".

Poetry Foundation@poetry· Jul 18

Beneath the inscrutable blue-black mirror of the water’s surface lies a technicolor universe that Nina C. Peláez brings to life in the essay "Into That World Inverted." Read the full essay https://bit.ly/4w4GsgB

A quote on a black background reads, "Standing on land less than 250 years old, island time is a reminder that this is a place in the process of being both made and unmade." It is attributed to Nina C. Peláez, mentioning a visit to a marine sanctuary in Hawaii. An emblem of a bird is below the text. A small part of a cloudy sky is visible on the right.

A hand-shaped piece of lined notebook paper is pointing against a backdrop of a blue sky with scattered clouds. The title of the essay is under the image "This-Be-the-Place" with an image credit to Matt Chase.

A black background features a quote in white text: "I am held in the veil between these worlds that are each—astonishingly—part of this place that we call Earth." Below the quote is a small illustration of a pegasus and the name Nina C. Peláez.

Quote on a black background: “Held together in a rhythm I cannot command or even understand, I am reminded of how little we allow ourselves to perceive.” Below the quote is the name Nina C. Peláez and a pegasus silhouette graphic.

Poetry Foundation@poetry· Jul 16

Laura Kasischke is the poetry queen of domestic hell. Her new poetry collection cements her unsparing and singular reputation. Read Sandra Simond's essay on Kasischke: https://bit.ly/4bKNsHp

Slide 1: Text on white background with a decorative illustration of a pegasus at the bottom. The text quotes Sandra Simonds on Laura Kasischke saying, "Her cutting derangement and wild pessimism about the nuclear family is enough to unnerve even the most prodigious tradwife."

Slide 2: A figure peeks over a wooden fence, holding a cigar with one hand. The background features an explosion of red stars and smoke. The image has a stylized, illustrated look. Image Credit: Ricardo Diseño.

Poetry Foundation@poetry· Jul 16

And everything still frozen I blink at the news I nod with the talking heads. –Tarik Dobbs in the July/August issue of POETRY Read the full poem "In Minneapolis." #PoemoftheDay https://bit.ly/4fpxsvL

Text on a light background reads: "I wake to neighbors and their whistles my boyfriend running across the lawn." Below the text is a stylized Pegasus above the name "Tarik Dobbs.

Poetry Foundation@poetry· Jul 14

Tareq Hajjaj with "Abide," translated by Najlaa Eltom and Edward Salem from the July/August 2026 issue of POETRY. Read in English and Arabic, or listen to audio of the full poem: https://bit.ly/4pglXeA

In pink text: Far down where light is undone, in dirt's sanctum, the seed observes its only vow. Beneath the poem, the author's name, Tareq Hajjaj, and translators, Najlaa Eltom and Edward Salem, are listed in black text. A small black pegasus is displayed beside the text.

Poetry Foundation@poetry· Jul 8

After interior decades, one forgets the gossipy panacea of you-and-me love; a girl becomes a girl on ocean air, spare keys lodged in boxwood leaves, blue medication. —Jackie Sabbagh with "Gay Sestina" from the July/August issue of POETRY. CW: strong language https://bit.ly/4fnqEjd

Graphic with red text: It was the summer the gays were gay and the lesbians were unbelievable. Below is a silhouette of a pegasus and the name Jackie Sabbagh.

Cover of the July/August 2026 issue of POETRY magazine. POETRY is displayed in large, colorful letters with a layered paper cut-out design. A small pegasus silhouette is near the top right corner. Below the cover, text reads: Read the July/August issue of Poetry at poetryfoundation.org.

Poetry Foundation@poetry· Jul 7

📆 U.S.-based nonprofit poetry organizations, presses, publications, and select literary arts service and membership organizations: there's one week left to apply for the Poetry Foundation's General Operating Support Grant! 📆 Learn more and apply: https://bit.ly/4lenn61

A black background with white text that reads Poetry Foundation General Operating Support Grants. There is an image of a pegasus beneath the text. The deadline to apply is by July 15, 2026.

Poetry Foundation@poetry· Jul 5

Read Jos Charles's essay "that which joins and that which divides: on re-spelling" in the July/August issue of POETRY: https://bit.ly/4eU5GqK

White graphic with a quote in orange text: Poetry, I sensed, might dwell in indeterminacy rather than seek to resolve it. Below the quote is a black silhouette of a pegasus and the name Jos Charles.

Cover of POETRY magazine July/August 2026 issue. The word POETRY is cut out on a textured white background with colorful patterns behind it. A small pegasus is at the top right. Text below: Read the July/August issue of Poetry at poetry.foundation.org.

Poetry Foundation@poetry· Jul 3

Read "Polish Flint" by Patricia Lockwood from the July/August 2026 issue of POETRY magazine: https://bit.ly/4fdW5MN

Poetry Foundation@poetry· Jul 3

The Poetry Foundation library is building its future and we want your input! 📚 If you've visited our poetry library, please take 5 minutes to share your thoughts by 7/31. Your anonymous input will shape how we serve readers, researchers & poetry lovers for years to come: https://bit.ly/4omjQ8i

A brightly lit library with wooden shelves filled with books. Four individuals are engaged in various activities: reading, using a laptop, and browsing the collections. Large windows allow natural light to illuminate the space.

Poetry Foundation@poetry· Jul 1

The July/August 2026 double issue of POETRY is here! It features “Broken Lines: A Gathering of Exiled Poets,” a folio curated by City of Asylum Detroit, and new poems by Fred D’Aguiar, Jay Gao, Patricia Lockwood, Tarik Dobbs, and more. Read the full issue: https://bit.ly/4faHfGN

Cover of Poetry magazine, July/August 2026 issue. The word POETRY is displayed in large, colorful letters with abstract patterns. A small silhouette of a pegasus is in the top right corner. The background features a layered white design.

Poetry Foundation@poetry· Jun 29

In this week's feature essay, Robin Becker discusses her fifty-year career with Rachel Mennies. Read their conversation: https://bit.ly/4eMqekX

Text on an image: I think first of the gender-nonconforming poets out there who perhaps felt as I felt as a young writer: people who perhaps felt that their poems didn’t have an audience or didn’t have a place. I want them to know that they do. Robin Becker in conversation with Rachel Mennies. A small pegasus is above the names.

Poetry Foundation@poetry· Jun 29

Read the rest of Jan Beatty's poem "Human Torpedo" in the June issue of POETRY: https://bit.ly/49VdQh9 #PoemOfTheDay

Green background with a red silhouette of a pegasus above the name Jan Beatty in red text. Above are two lines of text in black: I was launched below the water’s surface towards a target. I was born from a hired gun & wet desire.

Poetry Foundation@poetry· Jun 27

We dance like beasts near the edge of light. I kiss the throne of you in gratitude, what love we might find in this small window we call home. —jason b. crawford in the June issue of POETRY. Read the full poem "Untitled Love Poem For ...:" https://bit.ly/4veqZKy

Poetry Foundation@poetry· Jun 26

Suppose your life a folded telescope Durationless, collapsed in just a flash As from your mother's womb you, bawling, drop Into a nursing home. —X.J. Kennedy (1929-2026) Read full poem here:https://bit.ly/4v6da0M

Black and white photo of X.J. Kennedy smiling and wearing glasses

Poetry Foundation@poetry· Jun 24

The sun set into my skin hours ago. But still, I need air after a woman on South Beach arrested me with a stare, asked me for towels, sized me up, questioned my English, repeated her demands. —Christell Victoria Roach in the June issue of POETRY. Read the full poem: https://bit.ly/4vTcdZK