Tara Betts: “What Bucks or Breaks”
Today’s featured poem, “What Bucks or Breaks” by Tara Betts, is a wonderful example of how a poem’s structure can enhance its meaning.
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Hollywood News: The (Relative) Upside of a Down Year
Women directors saw significant growth, helming 16% of the top 100 films, up from 12% in 2019 and a deplorable 4% in 2018. There was also steady improvement for women directing the top 250 films, with 18% in 2020, in contrast to 13% in 2019 and 8% in 2018.
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Marvin Bell Tribute
I wrote this poem to be included in a tribute volume for Marvin Bell, who died last month at 83. “Dead Woman Poem for Marvin Bell” honors him as an exceptional teacher of poetry and also purloins his invented form—what he called his Dead Man poems. —Susan Cohen
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Building a Brave New Life in ‘Herself’
Intimately and respectfully directed by Phyllida Lloyd, 'Herself' tells the story of Sandra, a working-class Irish woman who has two angelic daughters and a monster for a husband.
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Survey shows COVID-19 is disproportionately harming women’s mental health
About 57 percent of women said their mental health had been negatively affected, compared to 44 percent of men.
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Chloe Martinez: “In Delhi”
The poem is a love song both to my husband and to a city that I find endlessly fascinating and frustrating, and that I miss, especially in this travel-free year. —Chloe Martinez
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The Many Faces of Meryl: ‘Let Them All Talk’
and ‘The Prom’
If 'Let Them All Talk' forced Streep to meditate a bit on what it means to reach a pinnacle yet continue to strive for one’s art, 'The Prom' gave her permission to just have fun. She seems to be having a ball, and her voice has never sounded — or, I should say, “belted” — better.
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Naomi Shihab Nye: “Snow”
Because this poem invites us to read it as metaphor, it was a short leap to consider the poem’s application to our country’s current political crisis, neither side really talking to the other, grievances swamping us like a ‘snowpocalypse.’
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‘Bridgerton’: The Raunchy Regency Romp from Shonda Rhimes
'Bridgerton' is a sumptuous and utterly bingeable pleasure.
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Emily Dickinson: Winter Poems
Another source of solace has been poetry; reading, studying, and writing it has been the heartbeat of my days. With that in mind, this week’s column will present some poetry for you: a selection of winter poems by Emily Dickinson
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Have Yourself a Streaming Little Christmas
This year, with so many of us spending the season safe at home, it’s a great time to revisit childhood treasures, rewatch classic titles, or discover new ones.
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How the Pandemic is Affecting Senior Women
Older women tend to live longer and live alone. For some, a pandemic that encourages sheltering in place leaves them feeling “entrapped” and “like a hermit.”
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Myra Viola Wilds: “Thoughts”
“Thoughts” strikes me as a perfect poem to consider around the end of one year or the beginning of another as we take stock of what has come to pass, and make plans and resolutions for the future.
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‘Farewell Amor’: An Immigrant Family of Strangers’ Story
'Farewell Amor' begins at New York’s JFK airport. Walter is waiting for the arrival of his wife, Esther and teenaged daughter Sylvia. They’ve been apart for 17 years, since Sylvia was a baby. Other than phone calls, she doesn’t know her father. They all realize that they’ve become strangers.
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Amy M. Clark: “The Survival Kit”
In 2020, the survival kit metaphor takes on other dimensions as we come to the end of a year that has felt relentless and full of sorrow.
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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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Happy Birthday, Emily Dickinson! Celebrate the Poems and the Poet, On Demand
Later this week, December 10, will be Emily Dickinson’s birthday. Her prolific work and her reclusive life have inspired readers and writers for more than a century.
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Alicia Ostriker: “Ghazal: America the Beautiful”
Today’s poem by Alicia Ostriker reminds us of “our earnestness our sincerity / in first grade when we learned” the song, suggesting that such qualities might be part of why these lyrics stick with us so long.
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Accepting Imperfection by Embracing Flaws
Flaws are inimical to perfection, of course, and yet when you love someone, it is not in spite of their flaws. You accept and even cherish your loved one’s less perfect features, even though you have trouble extending that same attitude to yourself.
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‘HAPPIEST SEASON’: CHRISTMAS IN THE CLOSET
Historically, holiday movies have been about white heterosexual women finding love in time for Christmas in the arms of white heterosexual men. Hopefully, 'Happiest Season' will pave the way for more (and better) LGBTQ+ stories possible in the future.
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Allison Adelle Coke Hedge:
“America, I Sing You Back”
In “America, I Sing You Back,” to frame America as a child who makes mistakes “as any child might do” is ultimately to offer the possibility of redemption and restoration.
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‘The Crown and the Windsors’: Royally Entertaining
Season four of 'The Crown' may well be the series’ most ambitious to date. And it comes at a most welcome time. As we head into winter and new stay-at-home orders, we can take comfort in the steadiness of an institution as unwavering — for better or worse — as the British monarchy.
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Joy Harjo: “An American Sunrise”
Joy Harjo’s “An American Sunrise” is the title poem of a collection concerned with years of violence against and displacement of Native Americans at the hands of settler colonists.
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‘The Queen’s Gambit’: Netflix and Thrill
'The Queen’s Gambit' is one of the best things we’ve seen in a long time. It’s smart, gorgeous, moving, and — against all odds — thrilling.
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