Category Archives: Poetry

Five American Poets: Stevens, Swenson, Rukeyser, Jarrell, and Lowell

… Wallace Stevens (1979 – 1955) The Idea of Order at Key West She sang beyond the genius of the sea. The water never formed to mind or voice, Like a body wholly body, fluttering Its empty sleeves; and yet … Continue reading →

Shakespeare’s Sonnets 1 – 10

24 Aug ’13

… The texts for the following sonnets are taken from The Pelican Shakespeare and read by Simon Callow. Enjoy. … Sonnet 1 From fairest creatures we desire increase, That thereby beauty’s rose might never die, But as the riper should … Continue reading →

Tennessee Williams reads Hart Crane, poems from The Bridge

4 May ’13

… The Bridge, it’s said, was Hart Crane’s reaction to T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land, which he admired very much, but Crane wanted to write about a much happier, and more American, landscape. For awhile he was in love with … Continue reading →

Three Lovely Poems with Rotting Carcasses in Them: Baudelaire, Eberhart & Yorty

20 Apr ’13

… Charles Baudelaire wrote Une Charogne to his lover, Jeanne Duval, a Haitian actress, who met him when she left Haiti for France in 1842. Whether she died sooner or lived longer than the poet is in dispute, though both … Continue reading →

5 Poems by Robert Frost

15 Dec ’12

Here is a PDF with all five poems by Robert Frost included in this post: 5 Poems by Robert Frost The Tuft of Flowers Acquainted with the Night The Road Not Taken Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening Dust … Continue reading →

Robert Frost reads Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

25 Nov ’12

Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queer To stop … Continue reading →

Robert Frost reads The Road Not Taken

17 Nov ’12

……. Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took … Continue reading →

a poem by e. e. cummings and some paintings

8 Sep ’12

… what if a much of a which of a wind gives the truth to summer’s lie; bloodies with dizzying leaves the sun and yanks immortal stars awry? Blow king to beggar and queen to seem (blow friend to fiend: … Continue reading →

ARTE POÉTICA por Pablo Neruda

27 Aug ’12

… Entre sombra y espacio, entre guarniciones y doncellas, dotado de corazón singular y sueños funestos, precipitadamente pálido, marchito en la frente y con luto de viudo furioso por cada día de vida, ay, para cada agua invisible que bebo … Continue reading →

5 More American Poets: Stein, Frost, Eliot, Pound & Eberhart

22 Aug ’12

… These poetry vimeos featuring the poets reading from their works ought to be a useful tool for any English or writing teacher. I took the readings from The Caedmon Collection Recordings and added the texts and other visuals hoping … Continue reading →

L’Albatros by Charles Baudelaire

20 Aug ’12

… Souvent, pour s’amuser, les hommes d’équipagePrennent des albatros, vastes oiseaux des mers,Qui suivent, indolents compagnons de voyage,Le navire glissant sur les gouffres amers. À peine les ont-ils déposés sur les planches,Que ces rois de l’azur, maladroits et honteux,Laissent piteusement … Continue reading →

If I Told Him: A Complete Portrait of Picasso

27 May ’12

… I wanted to make a video poem out of the Caedmon recording of Gertrude Stein reciting If I Told Him. In late May, shortly before it closed, I saw the Stein show at the Met and filmed some of … Continue reading →