David Whyte: Poet
David Whyte: "People are hungry, and one good word is bread for a thousand."
I was introduced to DAVID WHYTE's poetry over a decade ago. Many of the poems touched me deeply and had an impact on my life. This lens is to share his life's work. DAVID WHYTE is also a lecturer, and corporate consultant. He's an adventurous poet . . . He has a degree in marine zoology. Has worked as a naturalist guide in the Galapagos Islands. Led natural history and anthropological expeditions in Chile, Bolivia,and Peru. Traveled to India and Nepal. DAVID WHYTE uses poetry in corporate...

Sharon Olds: Poet
Sharon Olds Writes SENSE-ably
Olds sees common things from odd corners of refraction, where fantasy takes off from the given . . . (from an essay by Kenneth Lincoln) This is a poetry which implicitly insists that all we know is the body, and our only reliable way of knowing is the body's way of knowing, whether that is a maternal knowledge and love or a daughter's compulsive love of a cruel father's long-shanked frame, or the gum-line tartar, its scent and texture, on a lover's teeth. It is a poetry insisting that to kno...

Marge Piercy: Poet
A prolific poet (and novelist) . . .
Marge Piercy has authored 17 books of poetry,and just as many novels. She's won many honors, including the oldest poetry award in the USA: The Golden Rose. Piercy's poetry is usually written in free verse, with a very personal tone, often focusing on feminist or social issues. "What we want to change we curse and then pick up a tool. Bless whatever you can with eyes and hands and tongue. If you can't bless it, get ready to make it new." ~ M. Piercy ~

Adrienne Rich: Poet
a poet . . . in love with the hope of telling utter truth
Adrienne Rich crystallized in her writing and life the complexities of awakening consciousness in modern women. ADRIENNE RICH . . . ON POETRY: Poetry is above all a concentration of the power of language, which is the power of our ultimate relationship to everything in the universe. ON WOMEN'S ISSUES: The connections between and among women are the most feared, the most problematic, and the most potentially transforming force on the planet. ON POLITICS: If you are trying to transform a br...

Czeslaw Milosz: Poet
A Poet in Service of the Good . . .
In his own words . . . poetry is an "ally in the service of the good", and that it "was brought to the mountains by a unicorn and an echo". "At the entrance, my bare feet on the dirt floor, Here, gusts of heat; at my back, white clouds. I stare and stare. It seems I was called for this: To glorify things just because they are." "It is impossible to communicate to people who have not experienced it the undefinable menace of total rationalism."

Carl Sandburg: Poet
An original poet . . .
Sandburg's poems Grass, Chicago, Fog, and a few others I learned in grade school, but I realized how many, many poems of his I'd never read. I created this lens to know more about Carl Sandburg, and share it with others. This lens only scratches the surface but I hope you enjoy being introduced to Carl Sandburg, or spending time with a poet already familiar. I've written some poetry I don't understand myself. ~ Carl Sandburg ~

Denise Levertov: Poet
A Poet of Many Dimensions . . .
Levertov is one of my favorite poets and I'm happy to share her life and work with you. Denise Levertov's poetry explores several dimensions of the human experience: nature, love and motherhood, war and the nuclear arms race, poetry, the role of the poet and mysticism. She has been outspoken on women's rights, peace and justice issues, race, and human rights in general.

Heather McHugh: Poet
Poet Heather McHugh
"If you're a poet smitten with English, you love it for its drive and not its drone. The rhythms of a language must be irresistiblewhile the humdrums of it have to be resisted. No linguistic habit is, per se, of interestbut ah! when the unsung (underlying) nun informs itwith a sensual twist or quick shape-shift! Well, that's the trick: the sudden unexpectedness inside the overknown."   ~ H. McHugh, 1999   In McHugh's poetry you'll find a lot of wordplay -- puns, rhymes, syntac...

Billy Collins
Billy Collins: A Great Contemporary Poet
Billy Collins is a former poet laureate having served for two terms (2001-2003), and New York state poet from 2004-2006. He's published 13 books of poetry and edited three others. He is currently a Distinguished Professor of English at Lehman College in the Bronx, where he has taught for over thirty years. He has been called "The most popular poet in America" by the New York Times.