Poetry | Women's Voices For Change

“Not Elegy, But Eros,” “The Old City,”
and “Ode to the Joke,” by Nausheen Eusuf

By Rebecca Foust

All of Nausheen Eusuf's poems show an uncommon amount of mystery, subtlety grace, wit, and intelligence, but many—including the ones offered to you today—make me catch my breath.

Poetry

“On the Way to Grandma’s Funeral” and
“What the Confederate Flag Means to Me,”
by Glenis Redmond

By Rebecca Foust

Every poem in "What My Hand Say" is influenced by the poet’s historical and actual experience with racism, and some take it head-on.

Poetry

Poetry Sunday: “Making Zelnik at the Sibling Reunion,” by Karen Paul Holmes

By Rebecca Foust

My new book, "No Such Thing as Distance," was partly inspired by the Macedonian culture in which I grew up. How better to reflect that heritage, and also the closeness of my family, than through a cooking poem?

Poetry

Poetry Sunday: “Prepositional,” by Lorna Knowles Blake

By Rebecca Foust

“Prepositional” speaks of a long relationship between the speaker and her beloved and examines the stability of their unit (“us”) against (in relation to) the larger backdrop of history and the even larger backdrop of nature and time, creating a truly unique and universal valentine.

Poetry

Poetry Sunday: Poems by Lee Harlin Bahan

By Rebecca Foust

I highly recommend "A Year of Mourning" for readers interested in translation or the sonnet form, as well as anyone suffering the pangs of unrequited love.

Poetry

Poetry Sunday: “Are You in the Room with Me Now?” by Maw Shein Win

By Rebecca Foust

We readers understand that the speaker is in fact weeping at the end of the poem, but we also understand that something powerful is holding her back from acknowledging or owning her tears.

Poetry

Poetry Sunday: “La Mano,” by Alexandra Lytton Regalado

By Susan Cohen

This evocative narrative of motherhood almost did not emerge because the poet feared it was too sweet. (Do male poets worry as much about this when they write about their children? I wonder.)

Poetry

Poetry Sunday: “Immigrants,” by Judith Ayn Bernhard

By Rebecca Foust

I want my poetry to reflect sympathy for people who have come to this country seeking refuge and solidarity with all who struggle for a better life.

Poetry

Poetry Sunday: “Eve Recollecting the Garden,”
by Grace Bauer

By Rebecca Foust

There is a story being told in the poem, and it is a compelling one—the timeless battle of the sexes, with a contemporary feminist taking a bead on traditional religious creation myths and assumptions about original sin.

Poetry

Poetry Sunday: “Burning the Old Year,” by Naomi Shihab Nye

By Rebecca Foust

What is being described in today’s poem is more of a personal than cultural ritual, but Naomi Shihab Nye speaks with such power and authority that she makes of it her own credible myth.

Poetry

Poetry Sunday: “Christmas Eve: My Mother Dressing,” by Toi Derricotte

By Rebecca Foust

At this time of year my thoughts return to my parents, and I was just thinking about how hard it is to remember my mother as she was every day. This poem reminds me that framing her in the context of specific events is one way to recover those memories.

Poetry

Poetry Sunday: “Solstice,” by Kathryn Stripling Byer

By Rebecca Foust

I love the poem’s vivid insistence that these gestures can fill a real room with heat and light, and can, if only for a moment, banish the kind of despair that makes a solitude of the human heart.

Poetry

Poetry Sunday: “Gray’s Tea Room,” by Grace Cavalieri

By Rebecca Foust

At the heart of the poem lies an exploration of human desire; it leaves the question of “how much is enough” unresolved.

Poetry

Poetry Sunday: “High Noon at Los Alamos,” by Eleanor Wilner

By Rebecca Foust

Today’s poem was written in the time of MAD (mutually assured destruction) détente, but it has obvious relevance to the situation we find ourselves in today.

Poetry

Poetry Sunday: “Blue Date Cake,” “Standing Tall,” and “Over Damascus,” by Tamam Kahn

By Rebecca Foust

"Fatima’s Touch: Poems and Stories of the Prophet’s Daughter" is a remarkable book, painstakingly and lovingly researched, beautifully produced, and rich with deeply-felt and skillfully-rendered poetry that draws on the ancient history and culture of Islam.

Women's Voices For Change

Articles onPoetry

“Not Elegy, But Eros,” “The Old City,”
and “Ode to the Joke,” by Nausheen Eusuf

“On the Way to Grandma’s Funeral” and
“What the Confederate Flag Means to Me,”
by Glenis Redmond

Poetry Sunday: “Making Zelnik at the Sibling Reunion,” by Karen Paul Holmes

Poetry Sunday: “Prepositional,” by Lorna Knowles Blake

Poetry Sunday: Poems by Lee Harlin Bahan

Poetry Sunday: “Are You in the Room with Me Now?” by Maw Shein Win

Poetry Sunday: “La Mano,” by Alexandra Lytton Regalado

Poetry Sunday: “Immigrants,” by Judith Ayn Bernhard

Poetry Sunday: “Eve Recollecting the Garden,”
by Grace Bauer

Poetry Sunday: “Burning the Old Year,” by Naomi Shihab Nye

Poetry Sunday: “Christmas Eve: My Mother Dressing,” by Toi Derricotte

Poetry Sunday: “Solstice,” by Kathryn Stripling Byer

Poetry Sunday: “Gray’s Tea Room,” by Grace Cavalieri

Poetry Sunday: “High Noon at Los Alamos,” by Eleanor Wilner

Poetry Sunday: “Blue Date Cake,” “Standing Tall,” and “Over Damascus,” by Tamam Kahn

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