Poem of the Week: “October,” by Louise Glück

Congratulations to Louise Glück, winner of the 2020 Nobel Prize for Literature. October by Louise Glück <!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:”Cambria Math”; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;

Poem of the Week: “Waking After the Surgery,” by Leila Chatti

We couldn’t have been more tickled to see this poem from RCAH alumna Leila Chatti’s new book “Deluge” in Friday’s New York Times (and selected by friend of the Center for Poetry Naomi Shihab Nye). Be sure to save the evening of Tuesday, April 21 for a reading here with Leila celebrating the release of

Poem of the Week: “Gratitude” by Jon Davis

Founding Director of the Center for Poetry, Anita Skeen, chose this poem. “I came across this poem two days before Thanksgiving when I was thinking about all of the things I am grateful for. I loved it, which is not a critical response, but an emotional one.  And then I thought how grateful I am

Poem of the Week: “Backfires” by Fleda Brown

Join us Wednesday, November 6 as Fleda Brown closes out our Fall Writing Series. Backfires The woods are on fire. The woods are seething and blistering. Matisse, stuck in his wheelchair, is scissoring shapes, directing his assistant to pin them to a board. Beethoven is solving musical problems inside the soundless chamber of his head.

Poem of the Week: “Like Vine Maple Red in the Fir,” by Alice Derry

Join us Wednesday, Oct. 16 as Alice Derry and Tess Gallagher open our Fall Writing Series. Like Vine Maple Red in the Fir The season turns. The trees wound the streets. We too want to be touched. We press a scab to feel the pain. Or tongue that place in the mind which yields a

Poem of the Week: “Equinox,” by Elizabeth Alexander

Equinox Now is the time of year when bees are wild  and eccentric. They fly fast and in cramped  loop-de-loops, dive-bomb clusters of conversants  in the bright, late-September out-of-doors.  I have found their dried husks in my clothes.  They are dervishes because they are dying,  one last sting, a warm place to squeeze  a drop

Poem of the Week: “Grace”

Assistant to the Director, Estee Schlenner, chose this week’s poem. She was drawn to the poem’s honesty, imagery, and the concept of grace. Grace By Joy Harjo                                     For Darlene Wind and James Welch I think of Wind

Poem of the Week: “The Rider”

This poem was chosen by Acting Director of the Center for Poetry, Laurie Hollinger. She was reminded of the new bike lane outside of Snyder Hall at MSU. This poem is also a brief study on loneliness. Loneliness is an isolating feeling, while simultaneously being a feeling shared by many. The Rider By Naomi Shihab

Poem of the Week: “Questionnaire”

It’s the beginning of classes here at MSU, and Poem of the Week is back! This poem is very poignant, and I think it gives us all something to think about. Questionnaire By Wendell Berry How much poison are you willing to eat for the success of the free market and global trade? Please name

Poem of the Week: “Somewhere I Have Never Travelled, Gladly Beyond”

Center for Poetry intern, Amy Potchen, explains her choice of poem: ” A friend showed me this poem last week and I have been in love with it even since. I love the imagery of the rose and the different ways that it is used in this poem. The first flowers of the spring time