Nikky Finney:
“Instruction, Final: To Brown Poets from Black Girl with Silver Leica”
Poetry Sunday columns this month will reprise previous features of black women poets and poems that take up questions of social justice.
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How to Understand Hate
The origins of hatred and its ability to spread as if the Devil had tossed a cigarette into dried underbrush is a subject that has preoccupied psychologists, sociologists, and historians for much of the last 70 years.
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Alfre Woodard Bears Witness in ‘Clemency’
'Clemency' is a character study of a woman whose professionalism seamlessly masks her character. We see her dreams; we see her self-destructive after-hours behavior. Yet, we never see her crack on the job.
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Elizabeth Alexander: “Praise Song for the Day”
The love Elizabeth Alexander envisions is complex but possible, and the poem is a strong reminder to be clear about all of our country’s legacies—sorrows as well as triumphs—while still singing a “praise song for walking forward in that light.”
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Public Spaces, Hidden Faces:
Juneteenth and Black Citizenship in America Today
Throughout the month of June and beyond, it is my hope that as Americans we will continue to fight for the human rights of each other in all spaces, public or private, and agree to celebrate only when every last one of us is free.
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The Many Shades of Fatherly Love
[From Our Archives]
Our writers have experienced many shades of fatherly love—conditional, unconditional, warmly comforting, wintry, authoritarian, nurturing, judgmental. For Father’s Day—this Sunday, June 21—we present these varied memories.
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‘Shirley’: Disappointing Biopic
Despite Its Stellar Cast
We read "The Lottery," Shirley Jackson's stunning short story, when I was in seventh grade. It left a huge impression on me, a fact that certainly doesn't distinguish me from any other readers in the least.
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Marilyn Nelson:
“Three Sonnets from A Wreath for Emmett Till”
"After revisiting what I knew about lynching, reading more about it, and growing increasingly depressed, I knew that I would write this poem as a heroic crown of sonnets..." —Marilyn Nelson
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Summer’s Healing Power: Earth, Water, and Light
In our culture, we are prone to avoid, block, or soothe painful feelings, but this approach is based on the idea that accepting, rather than fighting feelings, is a better way. In trying to fight or avoid pain, we often make it worse.
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Black Lives Matter:
Films That Can Start Conversations
You can find documentaries, miniseries, and narrative films that help illuminate what the Black Lives Matter movement is about and why it's so important. Here are several available to rent or stream.
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Maria Popova’s “Brain Pickings” Column on
Pablo Neruda’s “Keeping Quiet”
In some ways, Pablo Neruda’s poem almost seems to anticipate the situation the world finds itself in now.
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Toni Morrison:
The Power of Fiction in the Arc of Progress
Her legacy remains in her great books, and her life will be remembered for her vision and courageous honesty.
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‘The Rest of Us’ Focuses On An Unlikely
Family of Women
"[These are] characters that I could relate to — flawed, funny, real women who are going through the confusion of life, but each from their own experience and perspective." — Chin-Yee, Director
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Yamini Pathak:
“Manifesto for the Indian Widow Who Wishes to Live”
Through the use of fantastical elements and irony, the poem transforms into a strong negative commentary on what Yamini Pathak calls in her Poet’s Note “the traditional treatment of widows in Indian society.”
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Daughters, Mothers, and Grandmothers
The paradox of parenthood is that while this overarching connection and investment in your children is essential, being a good mother also requires that you let them become themselves.
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“Military Wives’ Sings A Familiar Feel-Good Tune
The main message, one of solidarity in a time of uncertainty, resonates in 'Military Wives.' There's a quite wonderful sense of sorority.
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“Yes,” by Denise Duhamel
Reading “Yes,” we get a real sense of commitment to making a marriage work and, maybe more importantly, of the sense that this is not just a tedious chore. Real affection, and humor, lighten the touch here.
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Food Wars: The Struggle for Healthy Eating
The past ten years have seen an explosion of interest in and controversy about just what comprises healthy eating. As a result, new diets and regimes abound.
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Yes, You Can Go Back…To School
"What one course did you not take in college, but wish you did?" Take a look at some of the — free — courses available online.
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“Tennessee June,” by Jorie Graham
The poem makes its political point lightly, touching on it and then moving immediately into a lyricism that steers the poem back into more personal—and universal—concerns.
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The Covid Marriage
The enforced togetherness required by social distancing has led couples to spend more time together than usual, a lot of it. And even for those that have strong, solid relationships, it’s been, well, a bit more than they’d like.
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New Documentary Shines Loving Light
On ‘A Secret Love’
There is nothing but respect and genuine affection in 'A Secret Love.' If anything, the film evokes a sense of admiration and wonder for any couple that can maintain the love and sense of sheer joy for and about each other.
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The Lummi Nation: How a Native American Community Prepared for the COVID-19 Pandemic
I have been following the success of the Lummi Nation, a Native American community, two hours from Seattle, Washington. They are a model of how a community dealt with and contained the virus quickly.
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“The Laughter of Women,” by Lisel Mueller
"Poetry, for me, is the answer to how does one stay sane when private lives are being ransacked by public events," Lisel Mueller explained to an interviewer after 'Alive Together: New and Selected Poems' won the 1997 Pulitzer Prize.
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