Poetry

Poetry Feature Writer: Linda Sue Grimes

Poetry fascinates readers for many reasons, from its unique language use to the varied subjects that poets have dramatized down through the centuries.

The Ancients, including Homer and Vergil, captivated audiences with their ability to spin a memorable yarn. Ancient Indian epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, were so easily memorized that it was centuries before anyone wrote them down.

From the Ancients to Middle Eastern and Western Eurpoean bards to early Americans like Phillis Wheatley, Emily Dickinson, and Walt Whitman to the most contemporary poets such as recent poets laureate, Louise Glück, Ted Kooser, Charles Simic, and currently Kay Ryan, the journey through poetry remains a colorful and enticing one.

Thank you for visiting. I welcome questions, comments, and/or suggestions.


Feature Writer Articles in Poetry

Brininstool's Christmas Week in Sagebrush
"Christmas Week in Sagebrush" dramatizes the activities offered in the little town of Sagebrush as the cow pokes, families, and friends do some shopping and spending.
Barrett Browning's Sonnet 26
Barrett Browning's speaker dramatizes the difference between her early fantasy world and the world of reality as now represented by her belovèd.
Masters' Constance and Chase
From their graves, Constance Hately and Chase Henry thumb their noses at the residents of Spoon River for all slights, real and imagined.
Michael Marks' A Soldier's Christmas
Michael Marks' "A Soldier's Christmas" echoes the form of the famous Christmas poem, "Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas," by Major Henry Livingston, Jr.
Al Gore's Untitled Poem
Gore joked to his publisher that W. B. Yeats had penned the poem in Gore's latest book; sadly, the publisher seemed to fall for it, before Gore admitted to scribbling it.


Contributing Articles in Poetry

William Carlos Williams – Two Winter Poems
In Blizzard and Winter Trees, poet William Carlos Williams explores the complex beauty of winter, marked by contemplative serenity and the bitter cold realities of life.
Shelley's School Nighmare
Shelley's childhood experience of judicial suffering led him to turn his back on his comfortable society. His poetry expresses this trauma throughout his short life.
The Anne Sexton, Sylvia Plath Test
2010 will mark the 50th anniversary of the publication of both Anne Sexton's and Sylvia Plath's first books, which begs the question: Who has wielded the most influence?
Frank Bidart's "Adolescence"
The events from adolescence, whether good or bad, leave lasting impressions.
An Introduction to Louis Zukofsky's "A"-9
"A" is Zukofsky's "poem of a lifetime": 800 pages, in 24 movements, written over 50 years. Its 9th movement is a brilliant recreation of the human mind in dynamic motion.