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American Poetry


Feature Writer Articles in American Poetry

 		Michael Marks' A Soldier's Christmas
Michael Marks' "A Soldier's Christmas" echoes the form of the famous Christmas poem, "Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas," by Major Henry Livingston, Jr.
Al Gore's Untitled Poem
Gore joked to his publisher that W. B. Yeats had penned the poem in Gore's latest book; sadly, the publisher seemed to fall for it, before Gore admitted to scribbling it.
Serepta and Amanda
Serepta Mason and Amanda Barker represent two Spoon River characters with very specific complaints against individuals who affected their lives in deleterious ways.
Badger Clark's A Cowboy's Prayer
Clark's poem features four riming octets that deliver a ballad of nostalgia while celebrating and offering his gratitude to God for his way of life.
Masters' Cassius Hueffer
"Cassius Hueffer" from Master's Spoon River Anthology is an American sonnet, which reverses the Petrarchan octave and sestet to emphasize the pessimism of the speaker.
Hughes' Madam's Calling Cards
Alberta K. Johnson is a character in Langston Hughes' twelve-poem set called "Madam to You." In this poem, she has herself some name cards printed.
Masters' Robert Fulton Tanner
Robert Fulton Tanner reveals much about his character by comparing himself metaphorically to a rat in a trap
Barker's Thanksgiving Argument
Pop McIntyre and Smoky Hughes don't see eye to eye when it comes to giving thanks; Smoky presses his individualism a little further than Pop can abide.
Brooks' Gay Chaps at the Bar
Brooks' "Gay Chaps at the Bar" is an American sonnet, featuring the Petrarchan style octave consisting of two quatrains and sestet consisting of two tercets.
Ollie and Fletcher McGee
The third and fourth poems of Edgar Lee Master's Spoon River Anthology are companion pieces, spoken by a wife and a husband, commenting on the quality of their marriage.
Rich's Diving into the Wreck
The ten versagraphs of Adrienne Rich's "Diving into the Wreck" dramatize a reader's metaphorical journey to explore the nature of a non-existent catastrophe.
Masters' Hod Putt
The ne'er-do-well "Hod Putt" finds solace in the notion that finally in death he has achieved a measure of equality with a man who was actually successful in life.
Kooser's Tattoo
Former U. S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser offers one of his fascinating observations, as he allows his speaker to speculate on the character of an aging, tattooed biker-type.
Masters' The Hill
"The Hill" is the first poem in Edgar Lee Masters' Spoon River Anthology, a series dramatizing the lives of deceased residents of the fictional town of Spoon River.
Dickinson's Two Butterflies went out at Noon
Emily Dickinson's gift of imagining supernaturally is on display in this fanciful piece that dramatizes the mystical flight of two butterflies.
Bryant's The Gladness of Nature
One of the most cheerful poems ever written, "The Gladness of Nature," paints smiles on the faces of fruit and flowers and allows the sunshine to chase away all gloom.
Frost's Acquainted with the Night
The speaker in Robert Frost's American sonnet reveals his rebellious nature, proclaiming his individual prerogative to venture into the city at night.
Richard Wilbur's Mind
Richard Wilbur's poem, "Mind," consists of three riming quatrains that compare the human mind to a bat flying through darkness in a cavern.
Oliver's Reckless Poem
Mary Oliver's "Reckless Poem" features the theme of self-awareness, dramatizing the act of intuitive knowledge superseding supposedly empirical evidence.
Hayden's American Journal
Robert Hayden's speaker from another planet is an alien being who has come to Earth, particularly to the United States of America, to study the inhabitants.
Angelou's Touched by an Angel
Angelou's "Touched by an Angel" lacks the poetic qualities that transform a philosophical statement into a poem.
Kinnell's Blackberry Eating
The speaker in Galway Kinnell's "Blackberry Eating" compares the experience of eating blackberries to that of pronouncing his favorite words.
Kay Ryan's Home to Roost
Current U.S. poet laureate, Kay Ryan, writes clever, little ditties that offer a distinctive reading experience.
Neruda's Sonnet 73
Heavy with sexually charged innuendo, Neruda's sonnet dramatizes the process of lust transforming into genuine love.
Brooks' the vacant lot
Brooks' versanelle offers a minimalist character sketch of three people whom the speaker disdains, and the vacant lot symbolizes her glee at being "all done" with them.
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Contributing Articles in American Poetry

 		An Introduction to Louis Zukofsky's "A"-9
"A" is Zukofsky's "poem of a lifetime": 800 pages, in 24 movements, written over 50 years. Its 9th movement is a brilliant recreation of the human mind in dynamic motion.
Sonata Mulattica Bucks a Trend
The new book from former U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove is not only an unusual project, but also features a way of writing that's often missing from today's poetry world.
Important Female Writers of the Beat Generation
While the women of the Beat movement did not receive the same attention of the mass media as the men, they were equally important in defining the generation.
Famous Women Writers of the Beat Generation
While the women of the Beat movement did not receive the same attention of the mass media as the men, they were equally important in defining the generation.
John Ashbery's "Novelty Love Trot"
Individuals can be defined by what they like or dislike, own or discard, or think or ignore, but that is merely a scratch on the surface compared to doing or not doing.
Norman Scott Momaday's Way to Rainy Mountain
Momaday's Epic, The Way to Rainy Mountain, Gives the Reader a Comprehensive History of the Kiowa Tribe Through Three Poetic Voices From Mythic Emergence to Modern Times
Elizabeth Oakes Smith's Poetry
The creative writing of Elizabeth Oakes Smith, an 19th century poet, lecturer and activist, was influenced by tragic experiences at sea.
Frank O'Hara's "Today"
Everything, even the smallest most inane object, has meaning, but sometimes it is necessary to look a little closer to see what that meaning is.
Louis Zukofsky's Sincere Perception of Language
Beginning with words as perceptible objects, Zukofsky's poetry generates a sense of dynamism and interactivity that moves beyond poetic description and authorial intent.
Louis Zukofsky and the Objectified Poem
Louis Zukofsky used every aspect of the written word to create multi-faceted poems which replicate the dynamics of worldly, human experience.
Garrison's "Bach in the Subway"
Being lost without a direction or need for a direction can create wonderful feelings of weightlessness, and it is a perfectly respectable way to spend one's time.
Joseph Brodsky's "A Polar Explorer"
Exploration is touted as the pathway to discovery and human achievement, but sometimes when you reach for the top the bottom falls out.
Donald Hall Chronicle of Causality
Everyone knows that in order to have safe sex you must use protection, but sometimes the consequences of safe sex can be just as devastating as unsafe sex.
Levine's "Animals Are Passing From Our Lives"
When facing an obstacle the easy way out is tempting, but it is better face to adversity with head held high even in the thick of increasing vacuousness.
Kunitz's "The Portrait"
Art often enables people to release pent up emotions and thoughts that would otherwise drive them mad, yet sometimes it is madness that drives creativity.
William Bronk – Oh What a Relief He Is
The American poet William Bronk, who died in 1999, is the perfect antidote for anyone whose not in tune with all the experimentation going on in American poetry today.
Ted Kooser's "Tattoo"
Ageing, despite the futile attempts of modern medicine, is inevitable and it is through this vehicle of transience that all human beings eventually become equal.
Character Development in "The Mountain"
As the mountain dominates Lunenburg, so also it dominates the narrator's mind. With blank verse techniques, Frost brings out the narrator's character in subtle ways.
The Mountain by Robert Frost
With excellent blank verse techniques that includes wonderful dialog, this poem from "North of Boston", Frost's second book, keeps the reader captivated.
Auden's The Unknown Citizen
Human beings are complicated, defying labels and over simplifications, yet in the interests of scientific or political progress humanity is often reduced base symbols.
When Lilacs Last in the Door-Yard Bloom'd
When the great Anglo-American novelist Henry James first read 'When Lilacs Last in the Door-Yard Bloom'd,' he plainly detested it.
Metaphors by Sylvia Plath – Layers of Meaning
Plath loads multi-layered allusions onto every term in Metaphors. Waiting to be discovered are comments about Eve and Original Sin, and mothers devalued as mere breeders.
Metaphors by Sylvia Plath is a Riddle Poem
Sylvia Plath has signalled that her poem Metaphors should be read as a light-hearted take on pregnancy by choosing a playful riddle poem format and using its fun aspects.
Analysis of Robert Frost's "The Mountain"
Analysis of "The Mountain" shows how Robert Frost used both description and dialogue to convey a story. Much can be gathered from what he did not include in the poem.
Metaphors by Sylvia Plath Not Bitter and Gloomy
The Plath suicide colors academics' appraisal of her work. Metaphors is not the bitter, gloomy view of pregnancy it is often painted. Rather, it is a fun pregnancy poem.
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