He Had a Love for Persian Poetry
Ayatollah Khamenei’s Death and Its Aftermath Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, was killed on Saturday in a joint offensive by the United States and Israel against his regime. He was 86 years old. Khamenei had a significant impact on Iran’s Islamic Revolution and led the country for over three decades, including two presidential terms in […]
Eric Swalwell’s hidden erotic poetry is revealed
California gubernatorial contender Eric Swalwell once wrote a bold and sexually explicit poem during his college years, wherein he described passionate lovers “kissing until a blood vessel burst and burst,” leading to “blood running down my chin.” The Democrat, who is currently campaigning for governor, composed this provocative piece at age 19 while enrolled at […]
Where are all the male poets in today’s literature and poetry?
The State of Poetry and Masculinity For most of the last several centuries, the English-speaking world has celebrated male poets who created beautiful verses—from Shakespeare to Frost. Interestingly, there’s been a strange shift in perception: today, poets aren’t often viewed as masculine figures. It’s not just a random change. It seems to stem from a […]
Prankster Deceives Progressive Poetry Journals into Accepting Poor Poems from ‘Gender-Fluid Nigerian’ Identity
A poet named Aaron Barry, who is white and straight, pretended to be a “gender fluid” Nigerian named Adel Nwanko to release some decidedly terrible poetry. His work, described as “trash,” was meant to highlight systemic racism against white authors in the literary community. Barry explained that despite the evident quality of his work being […]
Channing Tatum and Pedro Pascal create poems for musician Mustafa’s book on poetry
Channing Tatum and Pedro Pascal have created a new collection of anthology poems, curated by Canadian musician and poet Mustafa. The book also includes contributions from writers like George Sanders, Max Porter, and Hanif Abdullakib. Titled *Noor*, this collection delves into themes of rituals, loss, and devotion. Pascal’s poem opens with, “You told me that […]
Publisher of popular bilingual poetry book on A470 focuses on Welsh rivers
The collection of bilingual poems celebrating Zigzag through Wales turned out to be quite popular. In light of this success, the independent publishing house has launched another anthology, this time in both English and Welsh, focusing on rivers across the nation. Afonydd (Rivers) honors Welsh waterways, encompassing everything from grand rivers to smaller, picturesque, and […]
‘Impressive, ingenious and affecting’ poem about missing an absent son wins National Poetry Competition | Books
Inspired by the writer's experience of missing out on his son after his son moved from the UK to Australia, the poem won this year's £5,000 national poetry competition. Fiona Larkin's poem “Absence” has grammar and was chosen from almost 22,000 entries. “The odds are so high that it feels like a lottery win,” Larkin […]
‘Listen my soul to the glad refrain’: poetry prescriptions to beat the January blues | Books
“Last year is over, they seem to say,” wrote Philip Larkin in his poem “The Trees.” “Let’s start anew, anew, anew.” As we try to make sense of things in the middle of winter (when the world is in such turmoil, both literally and figuratively), the distilled nature of poetry creates a kind of alchemy. […]
Nikki Giovanni, acclaimed poet of the Black Arts Movement, dies aged 81 | Poetry
Nicky Giovanni, the award-winning American poet who emerged as one of the leading voices of the black arts movement in the 1960s, has died at the age of 81. Giovanni passed away on Monday after being diagnosed with cancer for the third time, his friend, writer Renee Watson, told NPR in a statement. Poet Kwame […]
Shuntaro Tanikawa, giant of Japanese poetry, dies aged 92 | Poetry
Shuntaro Tanikawa, who departed from haiku and other traditions and pioneered a poignant yet dialogical style of modern Japanese poetry, has died at the age of 92. Tanigawa, who was a translator of the manga “Peanuts'' and wrote the lyrics for the theme song for the anime “Astro Boy'' series, passed away on November 13, […]