National Poetry Month

  • National Poetry Month: Day 1. Two Poems from W. S. Di Piero

    Welcome to The Rumpus’s National Poetry Month project, featuring new, previously unpublished poems by 30 different authors. We kick off the month with two poems by W. S. Di Piero. What Have You Got To Lose? Third floor walk-up, simple…

  • National Poetry Month at The Rumpus

    I like to think that April was named National Poetry Month because it was inspired by the success of Black History Month and Women’s History Month, and April was next in line, as opposed to, say, a clumsy reference to…

  • Lucy Corin: A Poem I Love

    Frank O’Hara’s “Morning” I can read, as I just did, stuffing my face with a disgusting greasy croissant, and I am still totally immersed in the world of this poem which resists weeping so desperately the whole thing feels like…

  • Sean Singer: A Poem I Love

    Melvin Dixon’s “Spring Cleaning” Melvin Dixon died of AIDS in 1992 and is one of our most underrated poets. “Spring Cleaning” alludes to what Ralph Ellison called “the jagged grain,” the texture of experiencing the blues in one’s life. Dixon,…

  • Joey Nicoletti: A Poem I Love

    I am smitten with Milton Kessler’s “Comma of God.” It’s a poem of great texture: a prayer, a chant, an adroit benediction. Perhaps most of all, it’s a testament to a fully lived life; an edifice of gratitude for having…

  • Poetic Lives Online: Links by Brian Spears

    Just a reminder that we here at The Rumpus are posting a poem a day for National Poetry Month, so enjoy some never before published work by some up-and-coming poets. Another practice that’s grown out of National Poetry Month is…

  • Amy Letter: A Poem I Love

    The last poem I loved is “Strongly Scented Sonnet” by Rhoda Janzen. It’s vivid and perverse, a bit disgusting, yet the most palpably romantic poem I have ever read. A woman, for her lover, tucks an apple into “the nest…

  • Shara Lessley: A Poem I Love

    Editors Note: In honor of National Poetry Month, The Rumpus has asked writers to provide us with poems they love, and the reasons why. We’re also including links to these poems in their entirety. We’ll be doing this all month.…

  • Poetic Lives Online: Links by Brian Spears

    Harriet wants to know what stereotypes you associate with poets. This could get funny. Speaking of funny, the comment thread in this piece about Ugly Duckling Press is wonderful, especially the suggestion that the press is being funded by the…