April is National Poetry Month. Poets and poetry-lovers alike are celebrating in a myriad of ways. There are conferences and festivals, slams and open mics, contests and challenges, like NaPoWriMo.
Over here at Zafatista, I know the least I can do to celebrate is post another list of some of my favorite poems. I created the first list back in September, and it is certainly time for another. I dug up many of these pieces in my Norton Anthology of Poetry, which I read in a high school English class. The book is a treasure, although it does not represent nearly enough women poets or poets of color or women poets of color.
Each poem tells a unique story. Read and comment as you see fit. Preferably, before NPM is over. :)
The Fish by Elizabeth Bishop
Dream Variations by Langston Hughes
El Chicle by Ana Castillo
Ars Politica by Julia Alvarez
I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud by William Wordsworth
This Is Just To Say by William Carlos Williams
The Wrong Kitchen by Nikki Giovanni
Mirror by Sylvia Plath
The Promise by Sharon Olds
Poets from bottom to top: Ana Castillo, Nikki Giovanni, William Carlos Williams.
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id like to write more later, but i had to comment when I say you included This is Just to Say. That one has been a favorite of mine for some time. i love how familiar it is, like it could be scribbled on a sticky note and left on my own refrigerator, and the sheer honesty of the last part makes me smile. gotta love simplicity.
ReplyDeletethen again there are so many parts to it. maybe it isnt that simple after all.
ReplyDeletei also like the simplicity of "This is Just to Say." The Promise is good too. El Chicle has great rhythm. I like Keats passion for writing, makes me want to write. Overall, great picks zafatista!
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