Poem of the Week: Easter, 1916

100 years ago on April 24, an uprising took place against Great Britain’s rule of Ireland. Though the uprising was unsuccessful and many of the prominent Irish leaders involved were executed, the uprising exemplified national pride and revolution. Later that year, poet William Butler Yeats composed “Easter, 1916” describing his conflicted emotions towards the event.

RCAH Center for Poetry, Lansing Poetry Club making the bid for Michigan Poet Laureate

By Kelsey Block “Poetry is a life-cherishing force. For poems are not words, after all, but fires for the cold, ropes let down to the lost, something as necessary as bread in the pockets of the hungry.” –Mary Oliver On Thursday, March 31, the Historical Society of Greater Lansing hosted “Michigan, My Michigan,” a celebration

Center for Poetry plans to build Little Free Library

By: Alexis Stark This spring, the Center for Poetry is constructing a Little Free Library to be installed in East Lansing and filled with wonderful books of poetry. The Little Free Library Organization established its roots in 2009, when Todd Bol of Hudson, Wisconsin built a small wooden schoolhouse on a post and put it

Renowned poet, activist, and MSU alumna Carolyn Forché returns to campus

By Kelsey Block The Residential College in the Arts and Humanities Center for Poetry was proud to welcome Michigan State University alumna and poet Carolyn Forché to campus on April 22 and 23. Forché joined the Center as a part of its annual Spring Poetry Festival, which is held in conjunction with National Poetry Month

Center for Poetry Holds Edible Book Contest

On April 1st, the Center for Poetry held its annual Edible Book Contest, inspired by the International Edible Book Festival. Special thanks to RCAH Communications Manager Katie Wittenauer for being our guest judge, and to the Roethke House in Saginaw, Michigan for contributing prizes and a magnificent cake inspired by Theodore Roethke’s children’s book Party

Center for Poetry intern wins poetry prize

By Kelsey Block Visiting writer Sofia Starnes, the poet laureate of Virginia, announced at her reading last night that RCAH Center for Poetry intern Jenny Crakes won this year’s Annie Balocating Poetry Prize. Crakes said she was both surprised and excited to have won the $500 award. “The poem was about a road trip that

Sofia Starnes and Anita Skeen on WKAR 90.5’s Current State

Sofia Starnes and Anita Skeen on WKAR 90.5’s Current State Each year, in honor of National Poetry Month in April, the RCAH Center for Poetry brings a series of poets to campus to conduct readings and workshops with the public. Current State spoke with Center for Poetry Director Anita Skeen and Virginia Poet Laureate Sofia M. Starnes about this year’s festival,

Poem of the Week: “Nightlife” by Sofia M. Starnes

The moon dissolves in mist and flower; the window balances the outside dark against a single lamp— and underneath, a rose. Some nights, I know three things: the being rush, bone sequence, hide and blood, bliss of these rudiments, from them to make a life. And then, some slower things: the being wait, a portal, mouthful, ache;

Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey visits the RCAH Center for Poetry

National Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey (left) kicked off our Spring 2014 Poetry Festival with a reading on Wednesday, April 2. On the second day of her visit, Poetry Center Director Anita Skeen facilitated a Q&A session at the MSU Main Library. Check out our Facebook and Flickr for more about Natasha’s visit! Photo by Linnea