At the turn of the 20th century, with few children’s books featuring Black characters, one young editor implored his peers to ‘Let us make the world know that we are living.’
The rise in the popularity of Amanda Gorman, the nation’s first National Youth Poet Laureate, represents a prime opportunity for educators to use spoken word poetry in the classroom.
The first national youth poet laureate in the United States taps into the power of generativity, a concept that refers to creating a legacy that lasts beyond our lifetimes to shape future generations.
The history of Italian literature cannot be understood without the vernacular poets. But their works were largely unknown until Lorenzo ‘the Magnificent’ sent a gift to the Prince of Naples.
These two prize-winning books speak volumes about how we face trying times, might recognise the beauty in brokenness and maybe find ways to repair the wounds of the past.
In the drama of envisioning a future for the United States, Joe Biden and Donald Trump both invoked stories about snakes to suggest different views about self-interest and the common good.
British poet Wilfred Owen told readers there is no peace for the dying soldier until we fight against the lie that it is sweet and proper to die for one’s country.
We’re supposed to suppress feelings of envy. But what if the kind spurred by school shutdowns, frontline work and cramped apartments are worth exploring – and acting upon?
Alfred Tennyson’s passionate book-length elegy was once among the most popular poems in English. Today, it shows us how soulful art can stir us to life and stave off banality.