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Illustration of the poet Muriel Rukeyser.

Poem Sampler

Muriel Rukeyser 101

By Benjamin Voigt

Tracing the remarkable work of a feminist pioneer.

Poems for Teens

- poem
  
  Eddie Priest’s Barbershop & Notary
  
  By Kevin Young
  
  is music    is men
  off early from work    is waiting
  for the chance at the chair
  while the eagle claws holes
  in your pockets    keeping
  time    by the turning
  of rusty fans    steel flowers with
  cold breezes    is having nothing
  better to do    than guess at the years
  of...
  
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- poem
  
  I, Too
  
  By Langston Hughes
  
  I, too, sing America.
  I am the darker brother.
  They send me to eat in the kitchen
  When company comes,
  But I laugh,
  And eat well,
  And grow strong.
  
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- poem
  
  Rosa Parks
  
  By Nikki Giovanni
  
  This is for the Pullman Porters who organized when people said
  they couldn’t. And carried the Pittsburgh Courier and the Chicago
  Defender to the Black Americans in the South so they would
  know they were not alone. This is for the Pullman Porters...
  
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Browse More Poems

Featured Poet: Philip Larkin

- author
  
  Philip Larkin
  
  Philip Larkin was born in Coventry, England in 1922. He earned his BA from St. John’s College, Oxford, where he befriended novelist and poet Kingsley Amis and finished with First...
  
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- Audio
  
  Be Kind While There's Time
  
  From Poetry Off the Shelf June 2012
  
  The Poetry Society of America celebrates the poetry of Philip Larkin.
  
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- Poem Guide
  
  Philip Larkin: “The Whitsun Weddings”
  
  By Joshua Weiner
  
  A Springtime train ride with brides and grooms.
  
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- poem
  
  High Windows
  
  By Philip Larkin
  
  When I see a couple of kids
  And guess he’s fucking her and she’s
  Taking pills or wearing a diaphragm,
  I know this is paradise
  
  Everyone old has dreamed of all their lives—
  Bonds and gestures pushed to one side
  Like an outdated combine harvester,
  And everyone...
  
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- Poem Guide
  
  Philip Larkin: “An Arundel Tomb”
  
  By Jeremy Axelrod
  
  Does a notoriously grumpy poet believe in everlasting love?
  
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- Prose from Poetry Magazine
  
  Going, Going
  
  By William Logan
  
  Two New Editions of Philip Larkin
  
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Poets 101

Muriel Rukeyser 101

Poem Sampler

By Benjamin Voigt

Tracing the remarkable work of a feminist pioneer.

Read More
Carl Phillips 101

Poem Sampler

By Benjamin Voigt

A contemporary US poet who is both singular and unpredictable.

Read More

Featured Videos

- Video
  
  We Real Cool
  
  From Poem Videos
  
  Using simple, illuminative paper-cut puppetry, this enchanting video imagines the moment of witness that inspired Gwendolyn Brooks to write her landmark poem, “We Real Cool.”
  
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- Video
  
  Choices
  
  From Poem Videos
  
  Created in partnership with Motionpoems, this meditative film explores the beauty and surprise of the unseen.
  
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- Video
  
  Famous
  
  From Poem Videos
  
  Created in partnership with Motionpoems, this film adaptation of Naomi Shihab Nye’s “Famous” meditates on the human desire to be seen and the individualized ways in which we define recognition.
  
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- Video
  
  There Are Birds Here
  
  From Poem Videos
  
  Created in partnership with Motionpoems, this animated film explores the complex and multifaceted beauty that can be overlooked by unobservant eyes.
  
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- Video
  
  Weighing In
  
  From Poem Videos
  
  Created in partnership with Motionpoems, this animated film explores Rhina P. Espaillat’s meditative poem on the cycle of life and the beauty and wisdom that accompany aging.
  
  Read More
- Video
  
  Learning to Love America
  
  From Poem Videos
  
  Created in partnership with Motionpoems, this animated film explores the interplaying identities of country and family.
  
  Read More

For Teens