Poems Inspired by Landscapes, Praise Poems, and More

July 26, 2022

Poems Inspired by Landscapes

“[I wandered lonely as a Cloud]” by William Wordsworth
“The Road” by Helene Johnson
“Trying Too Hard to Write a Poem Sitting on the Beach ’” by Philip Whalen
“Twilight Hours” by Sadakichi Hartmann
“Water and Flowers” by Ameen Rihani
“Late Afternoon Stroll on the Cliffs” by Laure-Anne Bosselaar
“My Mountains” by Gabriela Mistral, translated by Ursula K. Le Guin

Praise poems are poems of tribute or gratitude. As summer slows towards its end, read and write your own poems of gratitude this season:

“Mass for the Day of St. Thomas Didymus [excerpt]” by Denise Levertov
“Praise Song for the Day” by Elizabeth Alexander
“Praise” by Angelo Geter
“In Praise of Dreams” by Gary Soto
“In Praise of Okra” by January Gill O’Neil
“A List of Praises” by Anne Porter

“There are signs that this decade could be even more promising for poetry. At the Academy of American Poets, [Jen] Benka and staff have seen a marked increase in website traffic, especially since early 2020. [...] ‘I think it’s American poetry’s heyday. It’s come into its own,’ Benka says. ‘The art form is alive and vibrant in a way that I don’t think it ever has been.’”

—Academy executive director Jen Benka spoke with Dasia Moore at the Boston Globe about former U. S. poet laureate Tracy K. Smith and poetry’s current cultural impact.

Read more: “Can poetry possibly matter in a time like this? Harvard’s Tracy K. Smith knows the answer.”

“What I want to have happen when someone opens up a Poem-a-Day is to find either a poem, or even a line, that draws them in, that turns on the light bulb, in some part of their own experience. In some part of their day they go, ‘Ah! There it is. I see myself; I see the world a little bit more clearly.’”

Erica Hunt is the author of Jump the Clock (Nightboat Books, 2020). Read and listen to Hunt discuss her curatorial approach and more on Poets.org.

#PoetryNearYou Pick of the Week

Check out our #PoetryNearYou Pick of the Week: POETCHELLA 2022, Texas’s premier literary festival and the largest spoken word event in the county. Headlined by Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow Roscoe Burnems, Rudy Francisco, Taalam Acey, Dasan Ahanu, and more. Friday, August 4 to Sunday, August 7 at the Lorenzo Hotel in Dallas, TX (1011 S Akard St). Buy tickets here. (Sponsored).

First Book Award

Submissions for the First Book Award are open and will be accepted online until September 1, 2022. Eduardo C. Corral will judge the 2023 Academy of American Poets First Book Award, the most generous first-book prize for poetry in the U.S. The winning manuscript will be published by Graywolf Press and the winning poet will receive a paid residency at Civitella Ranieri.

Watch and listen to Cecilia Knapp read Natalie Shapero’s poem “The Sky” as part of the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation’s Read By series of poetry films.

Emerson College in Boston is seeking a full-time assistant professor of book publishing.
California State University, San Bernardino is seeking a full-time assistant professor of creative writing.
Milkweed Editions in Minneapolis is seeking a full-time executive assistant.

Revisit last week’s Poem-a-Day selections with us on Poets.org:

July 17: “Gitanjali 60” by Rabindranath Tagore
July 18: “Spider” by César Vallejo
July 19: “time travel” by Mihee Kim
July 20: “Saturnine” by Patricia Spears Jones
July 21: “stilettos in a rifle range” by Tyrone Williams
July 22: “Dissent and the Hydra” by Jena Osman
July 23: “Fireworks” by Edith Sitwell

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January Gill ONeil Ursula K Le Guin Tracy K Smith St Thomas Didymus current cultural impact The Boston Globe

Poems Inspired by Landscapes, Praise Poems, and More

Key phrases

Older messages

"Document" by Uche Nduka

"Uvalde Shooting Highlights Role of Doors in Security Plans" by Deborah Paredez

"The Sheaves" by Edwin Arlington Robinson

"Fireworks" by Edith Sitwell

"Dissent and the Hydra" by Jena Osman

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