We Read Poets of Distinction

For our January meeting, we focused on poets who had earned a distinctive honor in celebration of poetry coming back to the inaugural activities.

Maxine Kumin (1925- ) – Pulitzer prize winner for Poems of New England in 1972, Poet Laureate of New Hampshire

Jack

Kay Ryan (1945- ) – appointed the 16th Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry by the Library of Congress

Duck
Turtle
The Edges or Time
Patience
A Cat/A Future
Things Shouldn’t Be So Hard

Robert Frost (1874-1963) –  delivered poem at John F. Kennedy’s inauguration in 1961

The Gift Outright

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) – first well-known American writer to try to earn a living through writing alone

Annabel Lee

Maya Angelou (1928- ) – delivered poem at Bill Clinton’s inauguration in 1993

Still I Rise
Woman Work
On the Pulse of Morning
The Health-Food Diner

Wislawa Symborska (1923-) – Nobel laureate, 1996

Under One Small Star
Utopia

Margaret Atwood (1939- ) – multiple award winner for poetry and literature

Is/Not
More and More

Gabriela Mistral (Lucila Godoy y Alcayaga) (1889-1957) – first female Latin American poet to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1945.

Anniversary
The Stranger
I Am Not Alone

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We Do Poetry in June…

We did do poetry in June although I am deliquent in reporting about it. Here is the list of the poems that we read.

A.J.M. Smith (1918-1981)- Canadian poet – bio  and analysis

The Sorcerer originally Not of the Dust – Smith was apparently something of a crafstmen and frequently revisited his poems. This poem was originally published in 1925 as Not of the Dust and then revised in 1954 and re-titled The Sorcerer. You can find both versions on this link about one third down the page.

Roy Campbell  (1901-1957) – South African poet – bio

The Zebras from Adamastor (1930)

Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906) – African American poet bio

Sympathy – inspiration behind Maya Angelou’s autobiography called I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

Maya Angelou  (1928 – ) – bio

Why the Caged Bird Sings – an answer or mirror to Dunbar

A Brave and Startling Truth

Wallace Stevens (1879-1955) – bio

Somnambulisma

Angels Surrounded by Paysans

Celia Thaxter (1836-1894) – bio

The Sandpiper

Steven Crane (1871-1900) – bio and analysis

Do Not Weep, Maiden, for War Is Kind

Pablo Neruda – bio

Ode to a Lemon

Ode to a Watch in the Night

Achibald MacLeish (1892-1982) – bio

Summer of the Year

Winter is Another Country

Robert Graves (1895-1985) – bio

Counting the Beats

William Ernest Henley (1849-1903) – bio

Madam, Life’s a Piece in Bloom

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