Poem-a-Day - "Write in this vein. In this terror."

November 8, 2023
David Drake, also known as “Dave the Potter,” was born in c. 1800, possibly to parents who had trained as potters in West Africa, as Atlantic slave traders frequently kidnapped skilled laborers from villages. David was one of forty known enslaved potters working in or near Edgefield between 1815 and 1880, but he was the only one who signed and dated his pots. David likely began to sign and write inscriptions, usually in the form of rhyming couplets, on the shoulders and sides of some of his glazed pots around 1840.

Read verses by David, newly added to our archive, with thanks to University of South Carolina Press.

[I, made this Jar,]” 
[I made this Jar = cash]” 
[Give me silver or; either Gold]
[This noble Jar – will hold]” 
[Ladys & gentlemens Shoes]” 
[I wonder where is all my relation]” 
[horses mules and hogs]” 
[the fourth of July – is Surely come]” 
[I saw a leppard]” 

“America failed itself by failing to value the fullness of who enslaved people were. Dave the Potter’s fragments are slivers of this genius, and for this we have to be grateful. For those of us with the opportunity to restore what has been erased, he is a gift, a promise; every piece of ceramic work that has survived represents this possibility, this hope.”

Kwame Dawes, “Vessels for Taking Us Home,” reprinted from Praise Songs for Dave the Potter: Art and Poetry for David Drake (University of Georgia Press, 2023), edited by P. Gabrielle Foreman

more at poets.org
Read poems inspired by David Drake and his legacy from Praise Songs for Dave the Potter: Art and Poetry for David Drake: 

Slavery’s Slippery Touch” by P. Gabrielle Foreman
Deepest Pot” by Glenis Redmond
Notes in the Margin” by Glenis Redmond
Jarring” by Glenis Redmond
“Being a Black man from Edgefield, like David Drake, there is a kinship of clay that I feel obliged to protect. For all the collecting and curation, there’s something missing from the exhibitions and well-lit cases in big cities. The glaze still glows on the jugs, and those adorned with faces grimace or smile or frown, but who’s truly listening to what they’re saying or what the ancestors meant for us to feel?”

—J. Drew Lanham, “Kinship of Clay,” published in the 2023 spring-summer issue of American Poets, the biannual journal of the Academy of American Poets.
more at poets.org
Read ekphrastic poems inspired by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum’s exhibit, “Going Dark: The Contemporary Figure at the Edge of Visibility,” on view until April 7, 2024. 

Thirteen Ways of Looking” by Ama Codjoe
If They Come in the Morning” by Ama Codjoe
Trans Study: Untitled 4 (Facial Expression)” by Cameron Awkward-Rich

“a bright future coming
toward us, we thought, to bathe us
in its light like water”

—“The Subjunctive

Steve Bellin-Oka is the author of Instructions for Seeing a Ghost (University of North Texas Press, 2020), winner of the 2019 Vassar Miller Prize in Poetry. A Tulsa Artist Fellow in poetry and translation, he is also a research fellow at the Oklahoma Center for the Humanities. Read and listen to a Q&A with Bellin-Oka about his Poem-a-Day curatorial approach.

more at poets.org

#PoetryNearYou Pick of the Week

The Guggenheim Museum hosts Poetry Is Not a Luxury, a day-long gathering, curated by 2023 Poet-in-Residence Ama Codjoe, where poets and artists will share readings, panels, and performances that express Audre Lorde’s conviction that “poetry is not a luxury.” Saturday, November 11, at Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (1071 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York) from 1 to 5 p.m. EST. Free with RSVP(Sponsored) 

The Poet-in-Residence program is presented by the Guggenheim in collaboration with the Academy of American Poets.

Ambroggio Prize and Landon Translation Award

We are accepting submissions for the 2024 Ambroggio Prize, a $1,000 publication prize given for a book-length poetry manuscript originally written in Spanish and with an English translation, and the 2024 Harold Morton Landon Translation Award, which is a $1,000 award that recognizes the work of a translator for a poetry collection translated from any language into English and published in 2023. Submissions will be accepted through February 15, 2024. 

more at poets.org

Treehouse Climate Action Poem Prize

Established in 2019 with generous support from Treehouse Investments, the Treehouse Climate Action Poem Prize is given to honor exceptional poems that help readers recognize the gravity of the vulnerable state of our environment. The prize will honor three poets. First place will receive $1,000; second place, $750; and third place, $500. Submissions are accepted from September 15, 2023, through November 15, 2023. The judges are poet Elizabeth Bradfield and climate scientist Kate Marvel, PhD.

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

October 29: “Chansons Innocentes II” by E. E. Cummings
October 30: “Saturday, April 17, 2010 12:49 am” by Cristina Rivera Garza
October 31: “The Opposite of Abandonment” by Alexis Aceves Garcia
November 1: “Injury Room” by Katie Ford
November 2: “Galleria Ode” by Patrick Phillips
November 3: “Cold War” by Randall Mann
November 4: “Sippokni Sia” by Winnie Lewis Gravitt
Copyright © 2023 The Academy of American Poets, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website.



Our mailing address is:
The Academy of American Poets
75 Maiden Lane
STE #901
New York, NY 10038

Add us to your address book


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Older messages

"Frog" by Flower Conroy

Wednesday, November 8, 2023

Pocket pet of witches, reincarnated child souls, Facebook Twitter Instagram Support Poem-a-Day November 8, 2023 Frog Flower Conroy Pocket pet of witches, reincarnated child souls, most toxic augers of

"Hoof" by Donna Spruijt-Metz

Tuesday, November 7, 2023

Is it that I have had a richness Facebook Twitter Instagram Support Poem-a-Day November 7, 2023 Hoof Donna Spruijt-Metz —after Psalm 89, lines 26–35 Is it that I have had a richness of choices, have I

"My Poisonous Cousin the Pipevine Swallowtail" by Amy Beeder

Monday, November 6, 2023

come again in summer, larvae ravening the bitter vine Facebook Twitter Instagram Support Poem-a-Day November 6, 2023 My Poisonous Cousin the Pipevine Swallowtail Amy Beeder come again in summer, larvae

"The Arid Land" by Lynn Riggs

Sunday, November 5, 2023

There will be willows plunging Facebook Twitter Instagram Poem-a-Day is reader-supported. Your gift today will help the Academy of American Poets continue to publish the work of 260 poets each year,

"Sippokni Sia" by Winnie Lewis Gravitt

Saturday, November 4, 2023

I am old, Sippokni sia. Facebook Twitter Instagram Poem-a-Day is reader-supported. Your gift today will help the Academy of American Poets continue to publish the work of 260 poets each year, and share

You Might Also Like

Weekend: Is it OK to take home party leftovers? 🌮

Saturday, November 2, 2024

— Check out what we Skimm'd for you today November 2, 2024 Subscribe Read in browser Header Image Together with toyota crown But first: get in your zone Update location or View forecast

Halloweening

Saturday, November 2, 2024

What makes Halloween night special? ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Trump Stumbles to the Finish Line

Saturday, November 2, 2024

Trump won late deciders in 2016 and 2020, things don't look as good this time around ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Elon Musk’s PAC is powered by coal

Saturday, November 2, 2024

Coal billionaire Joe Craft is one of America PAC's biggest donors, according to campaign finance records reviewed by HEATED. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

"You Know Me" by Valeria Ruiz

Saturday, November 2, 2024

Dear President, // I'm a Hispanic immigrant / You know me Facebook Twitter Instagram Poem-a-Day is reader-supported. Your gift today will help the Academy of American Poets continue to publish the

I'm Ditching My Basic Black Puffer Jacket For THIS

Saturday, November 2, 2024

Meet the cooler, upgraded puffer. The Zoe Report Daily The Zoe Report 11.1.2024 I'm Ditching My Basic Black Puffer Jacket For THIS (Shopping) I'm Ditching My Basic Black Puffer Jacket For THIS

8 Home Maintenance Inspections You Should Do Annually

Friday, November 1, 2024

Microsoft Delayed Copilot+ 'Recall' Feature Yet Again. Spot a small problem before it becomes a big one. Not displaying correctly? View this newsletter online. TODAY'S FEATURED STORY Eight

Amanda Seyfried Made This Y2K Trend Look So Chic

Friday, November 1, 2024

Plus, Megan Thee Stallion's cleavage-baring dress, your November horoscope, & more. Nov. 1, 2024 Bustle Daily Here's every zodiac sign's horoscope for November 2024. Here's Your

Is ADHD Really a ‘Superpower’?

Friday, November 1, 2024

Today in style, self, culture, and power. The Cut November 1, 2024 CULTURE Is ADHD Really a 'Superpower'? Paris Hilton says so. But in my experience, it's just a condition to manage like

5-Bullet Friday — Frida Kahlo on Love, Leaving Cities for Farms, Japanese City Design, and The Genius of Jon Batiste

Friday, November 1, 2024

“Fall in love with yourself, with life, and then with whomever you want.” — ​Frida Kahlo ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏