poetry

12 Tragicomic Facts about Samuel Beckett

Happy birthday to the late novelist and poet Samuel Beckett.

When Walt Whitman Reviewed His Own Book

“An American bard at last!” he declared of himself in an anonymous review.

The Past and Future of Magnetic Poetry, the Populist Product that Began With a Sneeze

The inventor of Magnetic Poetry was thrust into his life's work by one well-timed sneeze.

9 Mournful Facts About Edgar Allan Poe’s "The Raven"

“Once upon a midnight dreary” begins "The Raven," setting the mood for one of the most recognizable poems written in English.

Midnightdreary via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY 3.0

The Search for Baltimore’s Next Poe Toaster

As in the local tradition, not the kitchen appliance.

When Did We Stop Using 'O'?

What was once literature's favorite exclamation is now as dead as the Romantic poets who used it.

Meet the Man Who Owned William Carlos Williams' Famed Wheelbarrow

Thaddeus Marshall owned the famous wheelbarrow at the center of poet William Carlos Williams' most famous work. Nearly a century later, he's finally getting his proper due.

Jean-Baptiste Wicar, Virgil Reading "The Aeneid" // Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

6 Mysteries Surrounding Virgil's Life and Work

Nearly 2,000 years after Virgil wrote "The Aeneid," even the most basic facts about the author are still a source of controversy.

Robots Are Learning to Write Poetry

'Old Mother Hubbard' is Weirder Than You Thought

James McIntyre: The World’s Cheesiest Poet

Portrait of Robert Burns, painted by Alexander Nasmyth.

14 Scots Words from the Works of Robert Burns

Polish up on this list of words and phrases from Robert Burns’s complete works. Highlighting the imagination of his Scots language, they are ripe for revival by Robbie revelers old and new.