Poetry | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/poetry/RSS feed for PoetryenWed, 14 Oct 2026 11:30:00 +0000Archaeologists in Egypt Discover a Mud-Brick Tomb Featuring a Heartbreaking Elegy to an Ancient Man's Fatherhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-in-egypt-discover-a-mud-brick-tomb-featuring-a-heartbreaking-elegy-to-an-ancient-mans-father-180989677/The 19-line poem was inscribed on a stone slab in the Bir al-Shaghala necropolis. The lament "is a highly literary and original epigram," a scholar saysWed, 14 Oct 2026 11:30:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-in-egypt-discover-a-mud-brick-tomb-featuring-a-heartbreaking-elegy-to-an-ancient-mans-father-180989677/Canadian Poet Anne Carson Brings Ancient Wisdom to Modern Audiences. Now, She's a Nobel Laureate in Literaturehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/canadian-poet-anne-carson-brings-ancient-wisdom-to-modern-audiences-now-shes-a-nobel-laureate-in-literature-180989655/The 76-year-old poet, translator and essayist is renowned for her "bold and inventive" approach to blending poetry, prose and everything in between, leading to what the Swedish Academy calls "new forms for contemporary literature"Thu, 08 Oct 2026 18:23:30 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/canadian-poet-anne-carson-brings-ancient-wisdom-to-modern-audiences-now-shes-a-nobel-laureate-in-literature-180989655/Seven Places in Europe That Legends Say Were Built by Giants, Devils or Dragonshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/seven-places-in-europe-that-legends-say-were-built-by-giants-devils-or-dragons-180989571/Bridges, mountains, caves and rock formations that seem impossible to explain become magnets for folkloreFri, 25 Sep 2026 19:32:57 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/seven-places-in-europe-that-legends-say-were-built-by-giants-devils-or-dragons-180989571/A Researcher Studying in a Dutch Library Was Amazed to Discover a Scrap of Parchment From a 1,700-Year-Old Copy of ‘The Odyssey’https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-researcher-studying-in-a-dutch-library-was-amazed-to-discover-a-scrap-of-parchment-from-a-1700-year-old-copy-of-the-odyssey-180989524/The handwritten fragment contains Greek verses from Book 12 of Homer’s epic, in which King Odysseus recounts the fate of his doomed crewMon, 21 Sep 2026 14:15:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-researcher-studying-in-a-dutch-library-was-amazed-to-discover-a-scrap-of-parchment-from-a-1700-year-old-copy-of-the-odyssey-180989524/'Odyssey' Translator Emily Wilson Is Starting Over After Calling Christopher Nolan's Blockbuster Film 'Abysmal'https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/emily-wilson-will-completely-re-translate-homers-odyssey-after-calling-christopher-nolan-blockbuster-film-abysmal-180989423/Nearly a decade after her acclaimed first translation was released, Wilson is taking a fresh approach to Homer's ancient Greek epicMon, 31 Aug 2026 16:21:17 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/emily-wilson-will-completely-re-translate-homers-odyssey-after-calling-christopher-nolan-blockbuster-film-abysmal-180989423/You Can Now See One of the Oldest Surviving Copies of 'The Odyssey' at the Metropolitan Museum of Arthttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/you-can-now-see-one-of-oldest-surviving-copies-of-the-odyssey-at-metropolitan-museum-of-art-180989360/The papyrus fragment contains three lines that don't appear in standard modern-day translations of Homer's epic poemWed, 19 Aug 2026 13:19:26 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/you-can-now-see-one-of-oldest-surviving-copies-of-the-odyssey-at-metropolitan-museum-of-art-180989360/