Explore: Poetry

Tagged Poetry

Introducing the 2022–23 Philadelphia Youth Poet Laureate...

The Free Library of Philadelphia is pleased to announce the 2022–23 Philadelphia Youth Poet Laureate: Telicia Darius, a senior at Hardy Williams Mastery Charter School in a dual enrollment program at the Community College of…

Are You Philadelphia’s Next Youth Poet Laureate?

Are you a creative, engaged student who is passionate about writing, reading, performing, and experiencing poetry? Are you equally passionate about working with your peers and other students to bring more poetry to Philadelphia? If so,…

The lyrical speaker: Finding your own voice through poetry!

“La poesía es un espacio de libertad/ Poetry is a space of freedom”. Carlos José Pérez Sámano, Mexican poet and writer Poetry explores the language and its limitations. It’s a way to get…

In April, Every Day Is a Poem!

April showers, as they say, bring May flowers, and we’ll be very glad to see them this year! But what else does April bring? It’s National Poetry Month , and there are so many ways to celebrate poetry! Get to know…

Novels-In-Verse Recommendations for Poetry Month

Ah, Spring, that magical season when a young person's mind turns to thoughts of friendship, feelings, and free verse. No wonder April is Poetry Month! Here in Philadelphia, the days are getting longer, the temperatures are getting…

Philly, Meet Your New Poet Laureate

The Free Library and the Philadelphia Poet Laureate Governing Committee are excited to announce that Airea D. Matthews has been appointed the 2022-2023 Philadelphia Poet Laureate . The committee of poets, educators, and…

Nourishing Literacy | Veggie Rap!

If you like sweet beets, nourish your literacy with extra flavor and spice! Brocc out with the Veggie Rap! It's a jam, and it might even make you feel butter. Lime for lime you can farro along. Phyllo ears with some grape…

¡Celebremos la Fiesta del Libro en Español!

The love for the Spanish language and culture can transcend frontiers! The stories, poems and illustrations of the books can reflect personal narratives that touch our collective unconsciousness. A team of talented community…

Nourishing Literacy | Books and Cooks: Strong Rocks

Books and Cooks, a collaboration between the Parkway Central Library Children’s Department and the Culinary Literacy Center’s Nourishing Literacy team, offers an afterschool series of story read-alouds, cooking ideas,…

Andre’a Rhoads Named the 2021-2022 Philadelphia Youth Poet Laureate

You got some change? Bring it out Don’t just stand there Playing a poor man’s game Change jingles in your pocket Like the dangling shackles Stuck in my ear, hurting my soul — from “Jukebox,” by…

Palestinian Stories in Literature for Young People

by Erin H . and Kayla H. What does it feel like to be a child living through war and displacement? How can young people in the United States learn to develop empathy for young people around the world? How do we explain to our children…

Creative Writing: Discovering Your Inner Voice

I always wanted to explore creative writing! It’s fascinating to understand what tools and mechanisms writers use to craft a story or a poem. Creating with words is an amazing and fun experience! The pandemic gave me the…

One Book, One Philadelphia | Youth in Verse

This year’s One Book, One Philadelphia youth titles are Elizabeth Acevedo’s The Poet X and Hey Black Child by Useni Eugene Perkins—both written in verse. While novels in verse are nothing new, with some of the first…

Celebrate Poetry Month Virtually!

Is it any wonder that April is National Poetry Month ? What a beautiful time of year to be in Philadelphia—a veritable poetry capital, vibrant in the face of challenges—and with April showers and the cherry blossoms in…

Are You Philadelphia’s Next Youth Poet Laureate?

Poetry: The Art of Expression!

A Voice for Peace, Concord, and Harmony: The XV International Poetry Festival in Philadelphia will virtually congregate poets from Latin America and the United States in an evening of verse and music. The Free Library, Acción…

Making Her Mark Spotlight: Poetry and Movement Building

by Suzanna Urminska and Sam Perduta Our words carry power—whether as balm or as burnish, our words have the power to come together to form poetry that recalls and reconnects a range of human experiences both personal and…

So You’re Reading a Poem…

If you’re unfamiliar with poetry, or it’s just been a while since you really sat down and read a poem, we can walk through one together! Here’s a look at some of the tools used by Jericho Brown in his collection The…

Repetition, Rhythm, and Sometimes Rhyme

Ask a teen if they have a favorite poem and the answer may surprise you. Young people are experts in self-expression, and what higher form of self-expression is there than the poem? It probably doesn’t hurt that we introduce…

Healing Verse Philly: a Project from the Poet Laureate

Through the challenges of 2020, one of the abiding sources of relief for many of us has been poetry. More people than ever are looking to the written word for strength, wisdom, and comfort. Even before the pandemic struck, Trapeta B.…

Public Typewriter

Stop by Art & Literature on Parkway Central Library's second floor any time we are open to use a 1950s Royal typewriter, courtesy of Philly Typewriter's Philadelphia Public Typewriter Program . A Perkins Brailler…

Public Typewriter

Virtual Monday Poets: Airea D. Matthews and Phillip B. Williams

Join us for an evening of beautiful poetry by poets Airea D. Matthews (Philadelphia Poet Laureate) and Phillip B. Williams. This virtual event is free. Please register starting 11/22/22 at mondaypoets.eventbrite.com . You…

Cootie Catcher Poetry

Create a changeable, foldable poem in the form of an origami fortune teller! Materials will be provided.

Photo Exhibit

Join local photographer and poet -Daisie Cardona for a photo exhibit. Daisie worked with the afterschool kids and helped them take photos around the area. She will also share some of her poetry.

Alice Dunbar-Nelson

Free Library resources in support of the Rosenbach's Digital Exhibition: "I Am an American!" The Authorship and Activism of Alice Dunbar-Nelson

Poetry - Poets on Film

Documentaries about poets and fictional films based on their lives or featuring their poetry.

Poetry in Translation

Take pleasure in reading poets from other languages and cultures.

Poetry - Novels in Verse

Poetry with special appeal for tweens and teens.

Poetry - Haiku

A poetry form which transcends its traditional roots.

Poetry - Great Contemporary Poetry

Selections from the Literature Department.

Poetry - Children's Poetry for Everyone

The young and the young at heart will relish children’s poetry for all ages.

Poetry - New Poetry for Children

Enjoy new poetry books for children

LitFinder *

Discover literature content from more than 150,000 full-text poems, 840,000 poem citations and excerpts, 7,100 full-text short stories and novels, 3,800 full-text essays published in the 16th-20th centuries, 2,400 full-text speeches, and…

Gale Literary Sources (formerly Artemis)

Cross-search all of Gale’s literature databases from a single digital space to find biographies, primary sources, contextual reference, and criticism. Includes Dictionary of Literary Biography, Something About the Author, LitFinder,…

Ross Gay | Inciting Joy: Essays with Major Jackson | A Beat Beyond: Selected Prose of Major Jackson

Ross Gay is the author of The Book of Delights , a life-affirming collection of short lyric essays that reminds readers to appreciate so-called ordinary wonders, even during turbulent times. His several volumes of poetry include Catalog…

Ada Limón | The Hurting Kind

The 24th United States Poet Laureate, Ada Limón is acclaimed for her explorations of the “frightening mysteries and hopeful uncertainties of the everyday” ( The New York Times Book Review ). Her many poetry collections include the…

Raquel Salas Rivera | antes que isla es volcán / before island is volcano

Introduced by Denice Frohman In conversation with Cynthia Dewi Oka The 2018–19 Poet Laureate of Philadelphia, Raquel Salas Rivera is the author of five full-length books of poetry. These poetry collections include lo terciario/the…

Garrett Hongo | The Perfect Sound: A Memoir in Stereo

In conversation with Major Jackson Garrett Hongo was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for the poetry collection The River of Heaven . His other books of poetry include Yellow Light and Coral Road . The distinguished professor in the…

Bernardine Evaristo | Manifesto: On Never Giving Up

In conversation with Tamala Edwards, anchor, 6ABC Action News morning edition Bernardine Evaristo won the 2019 Man Booker Prize and the Dublin Literary Award for Girl, Woman, Other , “a breathtaking symphony of Black women’s…

Nikole Hannah-Jones | The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story

In conversation with Tamala Edwards, anchor, 6ABC Action News morning edition, and Dr. Anthea Butler, Geraldine R. Segal Professor in American Social Thought and Chair of Religious Studies, University of Pennsylvania Introduced by…

Tracy K. Smith | Lucille Clifton’s Generations: A Memoir

In conversation with Trapeta B. Mayson Chronicling African American family life and women through 14 celebrated poetry collections, Lucille Clifton won the National Book Award and the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, and is the only author ever…

Honorée Fanonne Jeffers | The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois with Kevin Young | Stones

Honorée Fanonne Jeffers is the author of five poetry collections, including The Gospel of Barbecue , Red Clay Suite , and T he Age of Phillis , which was longlisted for the 2020 National Book Award for Poetry and won a 2021 NAACP Image…

Jackie Kay | Bessie Smith: A Poet’s Biography of a Blues Legend

In conversation with Sapphire The National Poet Laureate of Scotland from 2016 to 2021, Jackie Kay is the author of the celebrated poetry collections Life Mask , Off Colour , and The Adoption Papers , winner of the Scottish Arts…

Rita Dove | Playlist for the Apocalypse: Poems

In conversation Trapeta Mayson, Philadelphia Poet Laureate Former United States Poet Laureate Rita Dove won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for Thomas and Beulah , a semi-fictional collection of verse that examined the lives of her…

Camille T. Dungy, Gregory Pardlo and Joshua Bennett | There’s A Revolution Outside, My Love: Letters from a Crisis

In conversation Trapeta Mayson, Philadelphia Poet Laureate A reflection of the heartrending turmoils of racial injustice and brutality against Black Americans amidst the fear and uncertainty of a pandemic, There’s a Revolution Outside,…

Yusef Komunyakaa | Everyday Mojo Songs of Earth: New and Selected Poems, 2001–2021

Yusef Komunyakaa won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for Neon Vernacular , a collection of poems that spoke about the realities of the Vietnam War, of which he was a veteran. His other collections include Warhorses , Taboo , and The…

Natalie Diaz | Postcolonial Love Poem with Denice Frohman

Natalie Diaz is the author of When My Brother Was an Aztec , an “ambitious . . . beautiful” ( New York Times ) American Book Award–winning poetry collection that ruminates on her sibling’s drug addiction. A former professional…

Sonia Sanchez | Collected Poems

In conversation with M. Nzadi Keita, Poet-in-Residence, Associate Professor; co-coordinator, African-American/Africana Studies at Ursinus College, and author of Brief Evidence of Heaven: Poems from the life of Anna Murray Douglass…

Hala Alyan | The Arsonists’ City

In conversation with Alix Gerz, Vice President of Communications, Free Library of Philadelphia Hala Alyan’s novel Salt Houses , a “heart-wrenching, lyrical and timely” ( Dallas Morning News ) study of three generations in a Palestinian…

Nikki Giovanni | Make Me Rain

One of America’s most celebrated poets, the “outspoken, prolific, energetic” ( New York Times ) Nikki Giovanni is the author of numerous collections of poetry including Acolytes ; Black Feeling, Black Talk, Black Judgment ; and …

Saeed Jones | How We Fight for Our Lives with Clifford Thompson | What It Is: Race, Family, and One Thinking Black Man’s Blues

Saeed Jones is the author of the “hard and glaring and brilliant” ( NPR Book Review ) poetry collection Prelude to Bruise , winner of the 2015 Stonewall Book Award/Barbara Gittings Literature Award. He is also the co-host of BuzzFeed’s…

Richard Blanco | How to Love a Country: Poems

Richard Blanco made history four times at Barack Obama’s second presidential inauguration: He was the first immigrant, the first Latino, the youngest person, and the first openly gay person to be the U.S. inaugural poet. Exploring…

Carolyn Forché | What You Have Heard Is True: A Memoir of Witness and Resistance

In conversation with Beth Kephart, the award-winning author of twenty-four books, including Going Over , Handling the Truth: On the Writing of Memoir , and Flow: The Life and Times of Philadelphia’s Schuylkill River . “An unflinching…

Feminista Jones | Reclaiming Our Space: How Black Feminists Are Changing the World from the Tweets to the Streets with DaMaris B. Hill | A Bound Woman is a Dangerous Thing

Social worker, public speaker, community activist, and blogger Feminista Jones is the author of the novel Push the Button and the poetry collection The Secret of Sugar Water . She was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in…