I Know the Richest Person on Earth
1. In our Intercultural Studies class today Mariah, Ta’mare, and Rachel read the following stanzas Of “Our True Heritage” by Thích Nhất Hạnh: The cosmos is filled with precious gems. I want to offer a…
Category: Poets
Neruda Night! Latin America Reading Group for March
“There is something about Neruda—about the way he glorifies experience, about the spontaneity and directness of his passion—that sets him apart from other poets. It is hard not to be swept away by the urgency…
Hedy & Heine
The year after Mev died I read a lot of literature– Poetry, novels, plays One volume I took refuge in Was a bi-lingual edition of Heine’s Songs of Love & Grief I have a favorite…
A Poem by Lâm Thị Mỹ Dạ
Như lúa hỏi đất Anh có tốt không ? Như cây hỏi gió Anh có tốt không ? Như mấy hỏi trời Anh có tốt không ? Trời anh mênh mông Mây em bay lượn
The Cry of Vietnam
Published in 1968, The Cry of Vietnam is a short collection of heart-breaking poems and stirring drawings by Thich Nhat Hanh and Vo-Dinh. The book’s epigraph is taken from the classic Vietnamese work, The Tale…
On Ferlinghetti’s Americus, I
For Dianne Lee and Lynette D’Amico When I first read Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s Americus,I just before The Book of Mev was published, I was energized by discovering how much it is a mish mash, full of…
A Poem by Heinrich Heine
Du bist wie eine Blume, so hold und schön und rein, Ich schau dich an, und Wehmut schleicht mir ins Herz hinein. Mir ist, als ob ich die Hände aufs Haupt dir legen sollt Betend,…
A Poem by Anryu Suharu
When, with breaking heart, I realize This world is only a dream, The oak tree looks radiant. –Kenneth Rexroth and Ikuko Atsumi, Women Poets of Japan
Poem by Lâm Thị Mỹ Dạ
Anh ở xa, em ở xa Vầng trăng ở giữa đôi ta gợi hình Đêm nhìn lên ánh trăng xinh Vầng trăng ấy-nơi chúng mình gặp nhau. — from Green Rice
A Poem by Akiko Yosano
Even at nineteen I knew The violet would fade, The brook would dry up, And life would pass away. Tangled Hair: Selected Tanka from Midaregami trans. Sanford Goldstein and Seishi Shinoda