Jun 3rd, 2008 · In December, more than two dozen teenagers were arrested for breaking into and vandalizing the one-time summer residence of Robert Frost. Their punishment? Attend a class about the American poet. Novelist and Middlebury College professor Jay Parini, who taught the class, talks with Robert Siegel.
May 30th, 2008 · Ani DiFranco took the stage with her trademark candor and fearlessness. She called the songs she played, "happy songs", saying they are "kinda unexplored territory for me." The singer and author recited poetry between songs, and joked with the audience about having to replace the curse words in her songs since her performance was broadcast live on WXPN.
May 25th, 2008 · The Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Theodore Roethke's work is known for its clarity, intensity and haunting images. And throughout his life, a major source of inspiration and comfort came from his childhood home in Saginaw, Mich.
May 25th, 2008 · When Frances Richey's son deployed to Iraq in 2004, their relationship was strained by their very different views about the war. While her son was gone, Frances Richey wrote poetry about her own experience and her son's. Richey speaks with NPR's Guy Raz about her poems and the bond they helped renew with her son.
May 19th, 2008 · Chengdu, China, is known as a city of writers — with an especially strong community of poets. Last week's earthquake already has made its mark. Poet He Xiaozhu says he wrote a poem about the quake both for those who died and as a way to release what's in his heart.
May 6th, 2008 · Fresh Air music critic Ken Tucker reviews Trouble in Mind, the new album from country singer Hayes Carll. The 32-year-old Texan says his music is inspired by Beat poetry, Bob Dylan and singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt.
May 4th, 2008 · Louise Erdrich, who has written 12 novels and volumes of poetry, is known for her masterful storytelling. The author talks about her new book, The Plague of Doves, which focuses on a senseless, horrific crime and a Native American reservation in North Dakota.
Apr 30th, 2008 · The nationwide contest Poetry Out Loud draws 200,000 high school students who recite — by heart — classic and contemporary poems. This year's winner was Shawntay Henry from St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Henry read "Frederick Douglass" by Robert E. Hayden.