Writing Sonnets on the Question of Motherhood
The author of no swaddle (University of Iowa Press, 2025) considers the value of both engaging with and refuting a traditional form.
Tags:
Genre: Poetry
Community of the Imagination: Cyrus Cassells
Caption:
In this 2021 Under the Volcano video, Cyrus Cassells reads a poem about Federico García Lorca that he began writing in Tepoztlán, Mexico. Cassells is the recipient of the 2025 Jackson Poetry Prize.
Genre:
Rattlecast: Richard Siken
Caption:
In this Rattlecast episode, host and editor of Rattle Timothy Green introduces Jennifer Manthey, who reads her poem “Locker Room Annunciation,” and Richard Siken, who reads from his latest collection, I Do Know Some Things (Copper Canyon Press, 2025), and reflects upon his decision to write prose poems as a means of grounding himself in the aftermath of a stroke.
Genre:
Sound and Sense
“We live in such a fast-paced world: Poetry helps us slow down, deepen our attention, connect and live more fully,” says Arthur Sze in our online exclusive announcing his appointment as the twenty-fifth poet laureate of the United States. Taking inspiration from Sze’s insights on poetry’s ability to help us appreciate each moment, compile a cluster of words and phrases that come to mind when you recall the soundscape of a recent observation. As you jot down the grouping of words, allow the sounds of what’s already on the page to contribute to associative rhythms and any consonance or assonance in your brainstorm. Then, compose your poem using the full range of the page’s space, deprioritizing any urgency for ease of meaning-making for a piece that is first and foremost inextricable from its sound.
Ten Questions for Ashley M. Jones
“I wish all writers the audiences they desire and the acclaim they deserve.” —Ashley M. Jones, author of Lullaby for the Grieving
Tags:
Arthur Sze on His Life and Work
Caption:
“When the time of your life is a time of earthquakes.” In this PBS NewsHour interview, Arthur Sze reads from his latest collection, Into the Hush (Copper Canyon Press, 2025), and talks about his life and work, including his discoveries while translating literature. Sze has been named the twenty-fifth poet laureate of the United States.
Genre:
Arthur Sze Named U.S. Poet Laureate
During his term as poet laureate, Sze plans to have a special focus on poetry in translation.
Tags:
2024 Jackson Poetry Prize Reading: Fady Joudah
Caption:
In this Poets & Writers event, 2024 Jackson Poetry Prize winner Fady Joudah reads a selection of poems, including from his National Book Award–nominated collection, [...] (Milkweed Editions, 2024), and joins Pádraig Ó Tuama for a conversation about his work and life as a poet.
Genre:
Get the Word Out: 2025 Poetry Reading
Caption:
In this video, Ricardo Hernandez, assistant director of Programs & Partnerships at Poets & Writers, hosts a celebratory reading by the 2025 poetry cohort of Get the Word Out, a publicity incubator for early career authors. Readers include Adedayo Agarau, Genevieve DeGuzman, Isabella DeSendi, Alison Lubar, Nick Martino, Yamini Pathak, mick powell, Maya Salameh, Kelsey L. Smoot, and Bernardo Wade. DeSendi’s debut collection, Someone Else’s Hunger (Four Way Books, 2025), is featured in Page One in the September/October issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.
Genre:
Kevin Young: Night Watch
Caption:
In this Politics and Prose event, Kevin Young reads from his latest poetry collection, Night Watch (Knopf, 2025), and discusses the importance of place, both for his life and his writing, in a conversation with Steve Lickteig. Night Watch is featured in Page One in the September/October issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.
Genre:
Pages
