Explore: Poetry

Tagged Poetry

Picture Book Highlights | 'Tis the Season... and the Times

Sometimes you come across a small book that holds much more than what you see between the cover. Migrations: Open Hearts, Open Borders is just such a wonder. This timely and heartening work, the fruition of an exhibit by…

A New Poet Laureate for Philadelphia...

The Free Library is excited to announce that Trapeta Mayson has been appointed the 2020-2021 Philadelphia Poet Laureate . A committee of poets, educators, and arts-organization professionals selected Trapeta from a wildly impressive…

The Remarkable Afterlife of Emily Dickinson

An early letter by Emily Dickinson. Two months ago, I spent an evening in a dimly lit room scrutinizing the handwriting of a long-dead person with a group of mostly strangers. Scraps of 150-year-old paper were passed around for us to…

#OneBookWednesday | Surfacing the Edge: Reading Contemporary Native Poets

Recently, my One Book, One Philadelphia coworker-in-crime wrote a blog post about poetry events happening at the Free Library this fall, including a public talk with U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo . I readied myself to meet Ms. Harjo…

Song-Poems Concert Series Returns to Literature Deparment This Fall

The 'Song-Poems' concert series , which debuted in the Spring of 2019, is finishing up this calendar year with three special events. The concert series invites Philadelphia-based musicians to come into the library and utilize…

Poetry Comes to the Free Library This Fall

One of my favorite poetry presses recently printed out bookmarks that said: "Who needs poetry?" This question was a little tongue in cheek, but I think, in earnest, a valid question. "Need" is a curious word. If we…

Fall 2019 Author Events: Cultural Connections

During this fall season of Free Library Author Events , we’re seeing a lot of cultural connections between our authors and speakers. Let’s talk about the events taking place two days in a row, both off-site at the same…

Meet the 2019-2020 Youth Poet Laureate!

I’ll let constellations form and fall off this tongue Mold planets out of clay with clay with these hands, Create a whole universe behind these eyes I’ll spread myself across the sky in thick, bright strokes, and leave a…

You Can’t Kill a Poet

You Can’t Kill a Poet is a Philadelphia-based reading series for LGBTQ readers which just celebrated its 5th anniversary! The series is held at different locations throughout the city, including Tattooed Mom , South…

The Poetry to the People Tour Is Coming to Philadelphia!

At the Free Library of Philadelphia, we know firsthand that access to books and other media can change lives. The Poetry to the People tour is dedicated to increasing such access—so we’re obviously thrilled to be one of the…

Raquel Salas Rivera Receives Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship

Here's some exciting news to close out National Poetry Month : Philadelphia Poet Laureate Raquel Salas Rivera has been selected by the Academy of American Poets as one of 13 recipients of a new fellowship award ! Rivera, who was…

Poetry Reading Circle: Celebremos Global Peace!

A Voice for Peace, Concord, and Harmony: XIII International Poetry Festival in Philadelphia will congregate poets from Latin America, Spain, and the United States in an evening of verse and music on May 1. Each poet will read one piece,…

Book Donation to Recognize and Celebrate Polish Literature

The Free Library was fortunate to recently receive a donation of books by Polish authors that were translated into English, along with books in Polish for both adults and children. The books were donated by the Polish Book Institute , a…

The Poets of WW1

As long as there has been war, there’s been writing about war, whether in poetry or prose, exploring not only its glory and valor but its brutality and cost. "The Great War" — what we now call World War I—as…

Spanglish Se Habla Aquí

With an estimated 62 million Spanish speakers residing in the US, the United States now has the second largest Spanish-speaking population in the world after Mexico. But for many bilingual Americans, their preferred everyday…

Poetry Is Hot – Again!

Today, it seems that more Americans than ever before are writing poetry, participating in poetry slams, and entering poetry contests. But as we dive (back?) into poetry and draw inspiration from the great poets of yesteryear, it seems…

Introducing Philadelphia’s Next Youth Poet Laureate...

If you are looking for the future of poetry, look in Philadelphia. Young people in this city love poetry— writing it , reading it , and performing it on stage . Even as poetry readership is rising across the country, there is a…

Teens Explore Social Justice at the Free Library

by Timmy Lawrence and Geneva Williams, members of the Youth Planning Committee for the 2018 Social Justice Symposium for Teens. Today, more than ever, social issues have reached a pivotal point in our society. Although injustice may…

Art, Gardens, and Stories: Making Philadelphia Home

[ Editor's note: We librarians offer literally thousands of programs every year. It's a special thrill to get formal feedback from our audiences. We can't publish every review we get, but we're overjoyed to have gotten…

YAWP! Happy 199th birthday, Walt Whitman

At the end of the film Dead Poets Society , the students who loved their professor, Mr. Keating (played by Robin Williams ), stand up on their desks and proclaim, "O Captain, My Captain" as a sign of allegiance and respect.…

Voyages by Road and Sea

Voyages by Road and Sea explores the legacies of Walt Whitman and Herman Melville through contemporary voices and art in Parkway Central Library's West Gallery. Marking the bicentennial years for both Whitman and Melville, Voyages…