A profile of Tracy K. Smith, the U.S. Poet Laureate for 2017. Includes an audio recording of her reading the poem "When Your Small Form Tumbled Into Me." (Published June 14, 2017)

A profile of Tracy K. Smith, the poet chosen by the Library of Congress to be the 22nd Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry for 2017-2018, otherwise known as the U.S. Poet Laureate. Published June 14, 2017.

This article looks at a ballad, 'Bars Fight,' by 18th century African-American writer Lucy Terry. It considers the literary qualities of a ballad, and its historical role in society. It then goes on to consider why a Black slave might...

[Free Registration/Login Required] African American poet Maya Angelou passed away this week. Learn about her difficult early life and rise to fame as a critically acclaimed author.

This website describes the life of Lucy Terry Prince, first female African American poet. She obtained her freedom by marrying a wealthy free black man who purchased her freedom.

An interview with Tracy K. Smith, the 2017 U.S. Poet Laureate, where she discusses writing a memoir, her poetry, and David Bowie. (Published June 28, 2016)

An interview with Tracy K. Smith, the 2017 U.S. Poet Laureate, where she talks about her memoir, Ordinary Light. (Published April 9, 2015)

Basic biographical information about Anne Bradstreet, one of the first poets to write English verse in the American colonies. Content includes two of her poems: "The Prologue" and "To My Dear and Loving Husband."

Encyclopedia Britannica provides a brief biography of Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784 CE), the first African-American to have a book of poetry published.

After the American Revolution, creativity began to flourish as writers and Romantic poets inspired the nation to re-invent itself. That public sensibility is briefly described in this article, which is a transcript of a radio broadcast.

This site is from The Sonnet in American Literature (1930). It includes links to the sonnets of E. A. Robinson as well as to many other poets and their works.

Maya Angelou was not only a poet but also many other things including a teacher, civil rights activist, abuse survivor, mother and dancer. Learn about her remarkable life and why her work is so significant to many people.

Poet Maya Angelou, who passed away this week, was also a civil rights activist. Learn about the work she did, and why it was so important to her and many others.

Encyclopaedia Britannica provides a biography of Emily Dickinson (1830-1886 CE), an author widely acclaimed as one of America's greatest poets. Though she wrote nearly 2,000 poems, only a few were printed during her lifetime, and those...

Read the biography of the Jamaican writer Joel Augustus Rogers.

This website briefly describes the life of Phillis Wheatley, poetess and freed slave.

On this site learn more about "I Hear America Singing" and listen to a recording of it being read by Billy Collins.

Three articles about the effects of sharecropping, a farming system that became prevalent after the Civil War for blacks and whites.

Newport, New Hampshire pays homage to one of its own with this biography of Sarah Josepha Hale. Read about how Hale became a magazine editor, a novelist and poet, and one of the most determined and influential people in American society,...

Livingston is quoted in this article regarding the use of poetry as therapy. Must scroll to her comment.