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Poetry Guide
On the Grasshopper and Cricket
by John Keats
The English Romantic poet John Keats (1795-1821) wrote "On the Grasshopper and Cricket" during an 1816 sonnet competition with his friend Leigh Hunt; he published the poem in his first collection, ...
Lit Guide
Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992
by Anna Deavere Smith
Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 is a work of documentary theatre comprised of monologues derived from interviews that the playwright, Anna Deavere Smith, conducted with citizens of Los Angeles whose li...
Poetry Guide
Afternoons
by Philip Larkin
"Afternoons" appears in Philip Larkin's collection The Whitsun Weddings (1964). The poem presents a melancholy portrait of families at a playground, centered on "Young mothers" who have transitione...
Poetry Guide
On the Grasshopper and Cricket
by John Keats
The English Romantic poet John Keats (1795-1821) wrote "On the Grasshopper and Cricket" during an 1816 sonnet competition with his friend Leigh Hunt; he published the poem in his first collection, ...
Lit Guide
Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992
by Anna Deavere Smith
Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 is a work of documentary theatre comprised of monologues derived from interviews that the playwright, Anna Deavere Smith, conducted with citizens of Los Angeles whose li...
Poetry Guide
Afternoons
by Philip Larkin
"Afternoons" appears in Philip Larkin's collection The Whitsun Weddings (1964). The poem presents a melancholy portrait of families at a playground, centered on "Young mothers" who have transitione...
Poetry Guide
The Fly
by William Blake
"The Fly" is one of English Romantic poet William Blake's visionary poems from Songs of Experience (the second volume of his groundbreaking 1794 collection Songs of Innocence and of Experience). Th...
Poetry Guide
On the Grasshopper and Cricket
by John Keats
The English Romantic poet John Keats (1795-1821) wrote "On the Grasshopper and Cricket" during an 1816 sonnet competition with his friend Leigh Hunt; he published the poem in his first collection, ...
Lit Guide
Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992
by Anna Deavere Smith
Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 is a work of documentary theatre comprised of monologues derived from interviews that the playwright, Anna Deavere Smith, conducted with citizens of Los Angeles whose li...
Poetry Guide
Afternoons
by Philip Larkin
"Afternoons" appears in Philip Larkin's collection The Whitsun Weddings (1964). The poem presents a melancholy portrait of families at a playground, centered on "Young mothers" who have transitione...
Poetry Guide
The Fly
by William Blake
"The Fly" is one of English Romantic poet William Blake's visionary poems from Songs of Experience (the second volume of his groundbreaking 1794 collection Songs of Innocence and of Experience). Th...
Lit Guide
Marigolds
by Eugenia Collier
When Lizabeth thinks about the dusty shantytown where she grew up, she remembers Miss Lottie’s dazzling yellow marigolds. That, and the devastating moment when she became more woman than child. At...
Lit Guide
Flyboys
by Tobias Wolff
Tobias Wolff’s “Flyboys” tells the story of the narrator and his friend Clark’s plans to build a plane. The project largely takes place in Clark’s bedroom, where the boys spend weeks designing thei...
Lit Guide
The Three-Body Problem
by Liu Cixin
It’s the height of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, and for college student Ye Wenjie, the world is falling apart. Her father, a theoretical physics professor named Ye Zhetai, has been tortured to ...
Lit Guide
The Warmth of Other Suns
by Isabel Wilkerson
In The Warmth of Other Suns, renowned journalist Isabel Wilkerson captures the personal drama and historical significance of the Great Migration, in which more than six million Black Southerners mo...
Poetry Guide
In Your Mind
by Carol Ann Duffy
The British poet Carol Ann Duffy published "In Your Mind" in her 1990 collection The Other Country. Like many of the poems of this collection, "In Your Mind" explores the startling journeys people ...
Poetry Guide
Byzantium
by William Butler Yeats
"Byzantium" is Irish poet W.B. Yeats's meditation on the relationship between mortality and immortality, the physical world and the spiritual world, and humanity and art. In this complex, mysteriou...
Poetry Guide
I died for Beauty—but was scarce
by Emily Dickinson
Written around 1862 and published posthumously in 1890, "I died for Beauty—but was scarce" is one of Emily Dickinson's most haunting and well-known poems. The speaker, a cryptic voice from the afte...
Poetry Guide
Mrs Aesop
by Carol Ann Duffy
Carol Ann Duffy's "Mrs Aesop" is a poem about an ancient Greek storyteller famous for his fables, or short tales that teach a moral lesson. The poem takes the form of a dramatic monologue from the ...
Poetry Guide
The Spirit Is Too Blunt an Instrument
by Anne Stevenson
"The Spirit is Too Blunt an Instrument" was published in English poet Anne Stevenson's 1969 collection Reversals. The poem's speaker marvels at the incredible complexities of a newborn baby's body,...
Poetry Guide
William Street
by Kenneth Slessor
Kenneth Slessor's "William Street," included in the poet's 1939 collection Five Bells: XX Poems, finds the beauty in urban grunge and chaos. The speaker vividly describes the sights, smells, and so...
Poetry Guide
From An Essay on Criticism: A little learning is a dangerous thing
by Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope's "An Essay on Criticism" seeks to lay down rules of good taste in poetry criticism, and in poetry itself. Structured as an essay in rhyming verse, it offers advice to the aspiring c...
Lit Guide
Marigolds
by Eugenia Collier
When Lizabeth thinks about the dusty shantytown where she grew up, she remembers Miss Lottie’s dazzling yellow marigolds. That, and the devastating moment when she became more woman than child. At...
Lit Guide
Flyboys
by Tobias Wolff
Tobias Wolff’s “Flyboys” tells the story of the narrator and his friend Clark’s plans to build a plane. The project largely takes place in Clark’s bedroom, where the boys spend weeks designing thei...
Lit Guide
The Three-Body Problem
by Liu Cixin
It’s the height of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, and for college student Ye Wenjie, the world is falling apart. Her father, a theoretical physics professor named Ye Zhetai, has been tortured to ...
Lit Guide
The Warmth of Other Suns
by Isabel Wilkerson
In The Warmth of Other Suns, renowned journalist Isabel Wilkerson captures the personal drama and historical significance of the Great Migration, in which more than six million Black Southerners mo...
Poetry Guide
In Your Mind
by Carol Ann Duffy
The British poet Carol Ann Duffy published "In Your Mind" in her 1990 collection The Other Country. Like many of the poems of this collection, "In Your Mind" explores the startling journeys people ...
Poetry Guide
Byzantium
by William Butler Yeats
"Byzantium" is Irish poet W.B. Yeats's meditation on the relationship between mortality and immortality, the physical world and the spiritual world, and humanity and art. In this complex, mysteriou...
Poetry Guide
I died for Beauty—but was scarce
by Emily Dickinson
Written around 1862 and published posthumously in 1890, "I died for Beauty—but was scarce" is one of Emily Dickinson's most haunting and well-known poems. The speaker, a cryptic voice from the afte...
Poetry Guide
Mrs Aesop
by Carol Ann Duffy
Carol Ann Duffy's "Mrs Aesop" is a poem about an ancient Greek storyteller famous for his fables, or short tales that teach a moral lesson. The poem takes the form of a dramatic monologue from the ...
Poetry Guide
The Spirit Is Too Blunt an Instrument
by Anne Stevenson
"The Spirit is Too Blunt an Instrument" was published in English poet Anne Stevenson's 1969 collection Reversals. The poem's speaker marvels at the incredible complexities of a newborn baby's body,...
Poetry Guide
William Street
by Kenneth Slessor
Kenneth Slessor's "William Street," included in the poet's 1939 collection Five Bells: XX Poems, finds the beauty in urban grunge and chaos. The speaker vividly describes the sights, smells, and so...
Poetry Guide
From An Essay on Criticism: A little learning is a dangerous thing
by Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope's "An Essay on Criticism" seeks to lay down rules of good taste in poetry criticism, and in poetry itself. Structured as an essay in rhyming verse, it offers advice to the aspiring c...
Poetry Guide
The Fly
by William Blake
"The Fly" is one of English Romantic poet William Blake's visionary poems from Songs of Experience (the second volume of his groundbreaking 1794 collection Songs of Innocence and of Experience). Th...
Lit Guide
Marigolds
by Eugenia Collier
When Lizabeth thinks about the dusty shantytown where she grew up, she remembers Miss Lottie’s dazzling yellow marigolds. That, and the devastating moment when she became more woman than child. At...
Lit Guide
Flyboys
by Tobias Wolff
Tobias Wolff’s “Flyboys” tells the story of the narrator and his friend Clark’s plans to build a plane. The project largely takes place in Clark’s bedroom, where the boys spend weeks designing thei...
Lit Guide
The Three-Body Problem
by Liu Cixin
It’s the height of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, and for college student Ye Wenjie, the world is falling apart. Her father, a theoretical physics professor named Ye Zhetai, has been tortured to ...
Lit Guide
The Warmth of Other Suns
by Isabel Wilkerson
In The Warmth of Other Suns, renowned journalist Isabel Wilkerson captures the personal drama and historical significance of the Great Migration, in which more than six million Black Southerners mo...
Poetry Guide
In Your Mind
by Carol Ann Duffy
The British poet Carol Ann Duffy published "In Your Mind" in her 1990 collection The Other Country. Like many of the poems of this collection, "In Your Mind" explores the startling journeys people ...
Poetry Guide
Byzantium
by William Butler Yeats
"Byzantium" is Irish poet W.B. Yeats's meditation on the relationship between mortality and immortality, the physical world and the spiritual world, and humanity and art. In this complex, mysteriou...
Poetry Guide
I died for Beauty—but was scarce
by Emily Dickinson
Written around 1862 and published posthumously in 1890, "I died for Beauty—but was scarce" is one of Emily Dickinson's most haunting and well-known poems. The speaker, a cryptic voice from the afte...
Poetry Guide
Mrs Aesop
by Carol Ann Duffy
Carol Ann Duffy's "Mrs Aesop" is a poem about an ancient Greek storyteller famous for his fables, or short tales that teach a moral lesson. The poem takes the form of a dramatic monologue from the ...
Poetry Guide
The Spirit Is Too Blunt an Instrument
by Anne Stevenson
"The Spirit is Too Blunt an Instrument" was published in English poet Anne Stevenson's 1969 collection Reversals. The poem's speaker marvels at the incredible complexities of a newborn baby's body,...
Poetry Guide
William Street
by Kenneth Slessor
Kenneth Slessor's "William Street," included in the poet's 1939 collection Five Bells: XX Poems, finds the beauty in urban grunge and chaos. The speaker vividly describes the sights, smells, and so...
Poetry Guide
From An Essay on Criticism: A little learning is a dangerous thing
by Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope's "An Essay on Criticism" seeks to lay down rules of good taste in poetry criticism, and in poetry itself. Structured as an essay in rhyming verse, it offers advice to the aspiring c...
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