Curated Video
Solitude and Intensity: the Romantic Style of Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson's poetry frequently incorporates the color white, not as a symbol of purity or innocence, but as an emblem of intense emotion and passion, exemplified by her use of "white heat" as a metaphor for the soul's fervor....
Curated Video
Impressions and Lasting Legacy of Emily Dickinson
Thomas Wentworth Higginson, Emily Dickinson's mentor, found her both fascinating and elusive, describing their interactions as filled with "fiery mist" and "rare sparkles of light." Despite the intimacy of their correspondence, Dickinson...
Curated Video
The Innovative Style of Emily Dickinson's Poetry
Emily Dickinson describes the transformative power of poetry as something that can evoke profound physical sensations. She developed a distinctive style characterized by unique punctuation, particularly the use of dashes, and near...
Curated Video
Intimate Verses: the Letters and Poetry of Emily Dickinson
In 1862, Emily Dickinson initiated a lifelong correspondence with essayist Thomas Wentworth Higginson, sending him four poems and seeking his opinion on her work. Through letters, she conducted most of her significant relationships,...
Curated Video
Themes and Symbolism in Emily Dickinson's Poems
Emily Dickinson's late poetry often reflects themes of volcanic emotions and explosive psychological states, suggesting a deeply turbulent inner life. Some speculate that Dickinson's reclusiveness and intense emotional expressions in her...
Curated Video
Introduction to Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson is a well-known author these days, but her work was unknown during her lifetime. Dickinson, known as an eccentric and reclusive figure in her hometown of Amherst, Massachusetts. After her death, nearly 2,000 poems she...
Oxford Comma
Haunting Poetry: All Hallows
Why would a poet use ambiguity? What do I do if I can't figure out what an image means? How come these words are haunting my dreams? All of these questions and more are addressed in this reading, summary, and analysis of Louis Gluck's...
Oxford Comma
The Simplicity of Sadness: The Red Wheelbarrow
A deceptively deep poem, students have been frustrated by "The Red Wheelbarrow" for decades. This video shows that William's intentionally plays with the idea of significance. Find out more in this reading, summary, and analysis of...
Oxford Comma
How To Read Poetry: Reading, Summary, and Analysis of "Introduction to Poetry" by Billy Collins
Welcome to a reading, summary, and analysis of "Introduction to Poetry" by two time US Poet Laurette, Billy Collins. In this poem, Collins examines the beautiful world of poetry, and how it all too often turns nightmarish in the...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: Voices & Visions: Langston Hughes
James Baldwin and biographer Arnold Rampersad discuss the works and influence of African American writer Langston Hughes. There are also several links to other resources about Hughes. Video is part of a series entitled "Voices and...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: Voices & Visions: William Carlos Williams
Video on the life and works of poet William Carlos Williams. Includes a transcript. There are also several links to other resources about Williams. Part of a series on American poets. [57:14]
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: Voices and Visions: Robert Frost
Information about Robert Frost, and a video featuring readings and interviews with the poet. Past of a thirteen-hour series entitled "Voices and Visions." Includes a downloadable video transcript. [57:15]
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: Voices & Visions
Thirteen videos on the works and lives of renowned American poets, including Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes, and Robert Frost. With performances, interviews, and dramatic readings.
Library of Congress
Loc: Webcast: Langston Hughes and His Poetry
Launch a webcast about the life and work of Langston Hughes. [19:44]
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Poetry in America: Hymmnn and Hum Bom!
Although we think of a poem as something read from a book, poet Allen Ginsberg knew that poetry's power did not depend upon print, and he drew on the traditions of religious and ritual communities in writing verse that would elevate the...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Poetry in America: Those Winter Sundays
Robert Hayden's sonnet "Those Winter Sundays" offers a meditation on the fraught love between fathers and sons. Conjuring Depression-era industrial Detroit and the struggles of early 20th-century African Americans, the poem's...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: "n.y. State of Mind" by Nas
Multi-platinum hip hop artist Nas has a global reputation as one of the greatest emcees and lyricists in his contemporary art form, but what about within the history and canon, of American poetry? Learn alongside host Elisa New as Nas,...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Musee Des Beaux Arts
In this video [4:03] excerpted from Poetry in America, ponder W.H. Auden's World War II era reflections on suffering in "Musee des Beaux Arts" with Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, with journalist and ethicist David...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Harlem
"What happens to a dream deferred?" Langston Hughes question calls former President Bill Clinton, pianist and composer Herbie Hancock, poet Sonia Sanchez, and students from the Harlem Children's Zone to interpret Hughes' most iconic...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: I Cannot Dance Opon My Toes
"I cannot dance opon my Toes," Emily Dickinson writes, "no man instructed me." Still, Dickinson makes the white page of the poem her performance space. In this video [5:36] excerpted from Poetry in America, an ensemble of interpreters do...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Fast Break
Edward Hirsch's poem "Fast Break" captures a single slow-motion play on a basketball court. In this video [6:06] excerpted from Poetry in America, join Hirsch, host Elisa New, NBA players Shaquille O'Neal, Pau Gasol, and Shane Battier,...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: "The Gray Heron" by Galway Kinnell
How is the poet's eye like or unlike that of the scientist, the photographer, or of the small child first rambling around the natural world? In this environmentally-themed, visually splendid video [7:07] excerpted from Poetry in America,...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus
While "The New Colossus" once welcomed immigrants into New York Harbor from its perch on the Statue of Liberty, this video [5:22] excerpted from Poetry in America brings the discussion of poetry and immigration into our current moment....
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: "To Prisoners" by Gwendolyn Brooks
Lyric poetry carries the expression of the solitary human voice. Does it then follow that solitary confinement is a school for great poetry? This video excerpted from Poetry in America brings together a group of interpreters who learned...