Poetry

The Ten Best Children's Books of 2019

This year's top titles deliver strange animals, mouth-watering foods and biographies of unsung heroes

A William Blake illustration depicting the fall of Adam and Eve

Student Discovers Secret Acrostic in Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’

A Tufts University undergraduate spotted three interlocking instances of the word “FALL” in Book 9 of the epic poem

Harjo, pictured at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

Joy Harjo’s New Poetry Collection Brings Native Issues to the Forefront

The recently announced U.S. Poet Laureate melds words and music to resist the myth of Native invisibility

Section of fragment found

Fragment of 'The Rose Thorn,' a Poem About a Talking Vulva, Dated to the 1300s

The section of the erotic Medieval fantasy was found in the binding of book in Austria's Melk monastery

Reverend Ralph Abernathy, flanked by associates, stand on steps of a mockup of the lunar module displaying a protest sign while demonstrating at the Apollo 11 launch.

While NASA Was Landing on the Moon, Many African Americans Sought Economic Justice Instead

For those living in poverty, the billions spent on the Apollo program, no matter how inspiring the mission, laid bare the nation's priorities

The family of Jaidyn MacCorison, 11 (at a New Hampshire gas station), goes back generations in the region.

The Mysterious Beauty of Robert Frost's New England

These stark yet stunning landscapes inspired the lyricism of the American titan of poetry

Walt Whitman in 1869, as photographed by William Kurtz

Rare Walt Whitman Artifacts Go on View at Library of Congress for Poet's 200th Birthday

The library holds the world’s largest collection of Whitman-related items

Virginia Woolf (pictured above), Margaret Kennedy, Rebecca West, Stella Benson and Hilaire Belloc are amongst the writers who answered the survey

Literary Confessions Penned by Virginia Woolf, Margaret Kennedy Unearthed

10 prominent English writers answered a 39-question survey detailing their opinions of literary predecessors and peers

The volume of poetry is set to be sold alongside a trove of photographs passed down by the Barrow family.

Notebook of Poetry Penned by Bonnie and Clyde Set to Go on Auction

The volume features poems written by the outlaw duo during their Depression-era crime spree

Mary Oliver, a Poet Whose Simple Turns of Phrase Held Mass Appeal, Dies at 83

The Pulitzer Prize-winning writer was known for her straightforward meditations on nature, spirituality and the human experience

Poe coined the phrase “the imp of the perverse” in an 1845 story of that title about an almost perfect murder.

How Edgar Allan Poe Became Our Era's Premier Storyteller

Fans of the mystery writer have no shortage of ways to pay homage to the scribe behind "The Raven" and so much more

For the First Time in More Than 20 Years, Copyrighted Works Will Enter the Public Domain

A beloved Robert Frost poem is among the many creations that are (finally) losing their protections in 2019

The re-discovered works are newly published in the literary journal Fugue.

Scholar Unearths Trove of Anne Sexton’s Forgotten Early Works

The four poems and an essay find the confessional poet detailing American life in the 1950s, from skiing to suburban lawn care

Smithsonian.com's Chief Digital Officer Shares His Favorite Books of the Year

Our own William Allman describes the 2018 titles he found to be the most enjoyable and eye-opening reads

Pulter's poems offer an intimate glimpse into the private life of a 17th-century noblewoman

Critically Explore 17th-Century Noblewoman's Little-Known Poems Online

Hester Pulter’s works detail chaotic political landscape of the English Civil War, scientific discoveries, theological queries, personal struggles

Tracy K. Smith, America's Poet Laureate, Travels the Country to Ignite Our Imaginations

Like Johnny Appleseed, Smith has been planting the seeds of verse across the U.S.

"Mrs. Tabitha's Cats Academy"

Cats in Literature? It’s a Long Tail

A new exhibition at the British Library explores how cats have inspired—and frightened—writers across the centuries

More like something out of a dream than a part of daily life, that weekend indelibly imprinted scenes in American memory: the riderless horse, the rat-a-tat-tat of the muffled drums, the brave widow, the toddler saluting his father’s casket.

How Poetry Soothed a Nation in Mourning for John F. Kennedy

First the jolt of shock, then a shroud of sadness struck the nation in the weeks following that fateful day

None

How the Poppy Came to Symbolize World War I

The red flowers blooming on a battlefield in Belgium, inspired John McCrae to write the war poem “In Flanders Fields”

Look inside, if you dare. Or if you have a forensics degree.

Is This the Bag That Held Sir Walter Raleigh's Mummified Head?

Legend has it his wife retained his embalmed head. But while the sack dates to the correct era and was found in his son's home, scholars are not convinced

Page 5 of 11