Nov 03 Discussion questions for ‘The Poet X’ By Courtney Vinopal Our November 2020 pick for Now Read This, the PBS NewsHour's book club with The New York Times, is Elizabeth Acevedo’s "The Poet X."… Continue reading
Oct 09 Joy Harjo on how a new Native poetry anthology fills a gap in American literature By Joshua Barajas For centuries, Native poetry has been preserved by the spoken word. So when a team of editors were putting together a new anthology of Native poetry, with U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo among them, they read the entire work out… Continue reading
Oct 08 American poet Louise Glück wins Nobel literature prize By David Keyton, Jill Lawless, Associated Press American poet Louise Glück won the Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday for her "candid and uncompromising" work, becoming the first U.S. winner since Bob Dylan in 2016. Continue reading
Sep 24 After RBG’s death, this poet urges us to follow in her steps By Joshua Barajas In writing her poem, “In the Steps of RBG,” Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer’s message was: “Wow, you did it. And now, it’s our turn.”… Continue reading
Jul 29 How this poet shows the way ‘racism hits the body’ By Courtney Vinopal In her book “Citizen,” the poet Claudia Rankine aims to show readers how Black people experience racism in their everyday lives. And to help tell that story, she reached out to visual artists. Continue reading
Jul 28 Watch 6:40 The ‘existential wound’ that fueled poet Natasha Trethewey’s acclaimed career By Jeffrey Brown, Anne Azzi Davenport Natasha Trethewey is a two-time U.S. poet laureate and a winner of the Pulitzer Prize for her collection “Native Guard.” Now, she has written a memoir about her childhood, the murder of her mother and her own career calling. Titled… Continue watching
Jul 21 In writing about Trayvon Martin, this poet saw the history of systemic racism By Courtney Vinopal In crafting her elegy for Trayvon Martin, poet Claudia Rankine sought to draw on the larger narrative of “terrorization, violence and murder” that Black Americans have faced throughout history. Continue reading
Jul 13 How a natural disaster prompted this poet to focus on race in America By Courtney Vinopal Our July 2020 pick for the PBS NewsHour-New York Times book club is Claudia Rankine’s “Citizen.”… Continue reading
Jun 30 ‘Citizen’ is our July book club pick By Courtney Vinopal Our July book club pick for Now Read This is Claudia Rankine's "Citizen: An American Lyric"… Continue reading
Apr 18 Watch 6:13 Landmark Oregon bookstore strains to survive the pandemic By Tom Casciato The independent book business has been battered in recent decades, as locally owned sellers strained to compete with the online-giant Amazon. But the COVID-19 crisis has forced many to close their doors, depriving both readers and writers the spaces they… Continue watching