Poetry

Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson Was Fiercer Than You Think

A new biopic shows the poet as more than a mysterious recluse

Marsh Ponds; Mavilette, Nova Scotia, 2014

A Photographer Captures Emptiness and Longing in Longfellow's Nova Scotia

Photographer Mark Marchesi spent four years tracing images from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's epic poem, "Evangeline"

Bob Dylan by John Cohen, 1962

Is Bob Dylan a Poet?

As the enigmatic singer, songwriter and troubadour takes the Nobel Prize in literature, one scholar ponders what his work is all about

Langston Hughes powerfully speaks for those excluded.

What Langston Hughes’ Powerful Poem “I, Too" Tells Us About America's Past and Present

Smithsonian historian David Ward reflects on the work of Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes' Harlem brownstone: Cultural remnant or great place for a Starbucks?

The Fight to Preserve Langston Hughes’ Harlem Home From Gentrification

A new kind of Harlem renaissance is threatening the home of one of America's greatest poets

Walt Whitman (1819-1892)

Should We Hate Poetry?

It was precisely because poetry wasn’t hated that Plato feared it, writes the Smithsonian’s senior historian David Ward, who loves poetry

Anyone Can Contribute to This Giant Poem...if You Can Find This Typewriter

A roving typewriter tries to capture New York's subconscious

“Brian Bilston” sits above his parody of a W. B. Yeats poem.

Why Twitter's "Poet Laureate" Has No Plans to Unmask His Real Identity

He tweets under the guise of @Brian_Bilston and uses the platform to reinvent the age-old form of writing

Maialen Lujanbio wears the large trophy txapela, or beret, after becoming the first female to win the National Championship in 2009.

What Is Bertsolaritza and Who Are the Basque Poets Who Know It?

At the Folklife Festival, be sure to catch the singing, improvisational poetry slam that’s keeping a language alive

“We know of only five scrolls of this heroic size by the artist Wen Zhengming [1470-1559] and this is the only known example with a personal poem,” says curator Stephen D. Allee.

When the Painting Is Also Poetry

A sublime new show honors the Chinese tradition of the ‘Three Perfections’—poetry, painting and calligraphy

Sarah Josepha Hale was the 19th century's answer to Oprah.

Five Fascinating Details About the Media Mogul Who May Have Written 'Mary Had a Little Lamb'

Everywhere that Sarah Josepha Hale went, success was sure to go

When It Rains in Boston, the Sidewalks Reveal Poetry

Water-resistant spray paint creates hidden poems on Beantown’s streets

Robert Frost in 1941

Listen to Robert Frost Read His Poems

Recordings offer a chance to really listen to the meaning behind classics like "The Road Not Taken"

Astronomers Recreate Ancient Skies to Date a Nearly 2,600-Year-Old Greek Poem

Researchers narrow down the dates for when the lonely poet Sappho wrote "Midnight Poem"

Walt Whitman spent much of the Civil War in hospitals, cheering up wounded soldiers and writing letters on their behalf.

A Rare Walt Whitman Letter Was Found in the National Archives

The poet wrote the letter on behalf of a dying soldier

North Dakota poet Bill Lowman

Open Range Meets Open Mic at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering

Every year, the world's best cowboy poets gather in Elko, Nevada

Home of a Rebel Sharpshooter by Alexander Gardner

Can the Civil War Still Inspire Today's Poets?

As epic verse about the American past falls victim to modernism, a poet who is also a historian calls for a revival

Listen to Bob Dylan Read '’Twas the Night Before Christmas'

A favorite voice interprets a classic

"We pass from one realm of water to another," Brodsky told the author during their late-night walk through the city, which lasted until the first rays of dawn glinted over the sea.

The City Nobel Laureate Joseph Brodsky Called Paradise

A journalist recalls his witching-hour walk through Venice with the famous poet

This portrait of Patti Smith, a photograph by Lynn Goldsmith, was taken in 1976, a year after Horses, Smith’s breakout album.

Poet and Musician Patti Smith’s Endless Search in Art and Life

The National Portrait Gallery’s senior historian David Ward takes a look at the rock 'n' roll legend's new memoir

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