Beltway RESOURCE BANK
Other Web Sites Devoted to DC-Area Poets
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Gaston Neal
Bio and tributes to the co-founder of Washington's New School for Afro-American Thought and the Drum and Spear Bookstore, who served as artist-in-residence at the DC Jail and Eastern HS.
http://www.interchange.org/Gaston/Larry Neal
Bio, photo, bibliography on the former DC resident, active in the Black Arts Movement, and author of Black Boogaloo and Hoodoo Hollerin' Bebop Ghosts. 1st site sponsored by Chicken Bones, second is a Wikipedia page with links.
http://www.nathanielturner.com/larryneal.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_NealHoward Nemerov
Photo, bio, and 16 poems, by the former Poetry Consultant to the Library of Congress (1963-64 and 1988-90), sponsored by the Poetry Foundation.
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=4968Jean Nordhaus
Poems and bio by the author of The Porcelain Apes of Moses Mendelssohn, hosted by the Poetry Foundation. Second site includes photo, bio, and ordering information for A Bracelet of Lies, sponsored by Washington Writers Publishing House.
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/jean-nordhaus
http://www.washingtonwriters.org/authors/nordhaus.shtmlDeanna Nikaido
Poems, bio, upcoming readings, and links by the author of Vibrating With Silence.
http://deannanikaido.comHank Okoro
Bio, photo, ordering information by the author of That Line Between Love and Hate.
http://www.remarkablepublishing.com/Bio.htmCharles Olson
T he author of The Maximus Poems and Projective Verse worked for the Office of War Information in DC. First site from Modern American Poetry includes bio, photo, essays, book jackets. Second, sponsored by Harvard Square Library, includes bio, photo and 3 poems.
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/m_r/olson/olson.htm
http://www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/poets/olson.phpTom Orange
Poems by a DC author on the DC Poetry web site.
http://www.dcpoetry.com/?module=keywords&keyword=Orange,%20TomEric Pankey
Bio, 2 poems, and an interview with the author of Cenotaph and GMU faculty member, sponsored by Random House.
http://www.randomhouse.com/boldtype/0300/pankeyAlicia Partnoy
Photo, bio and poems in Spanish by the former DC resident and author of The Revenge of the Apple.
http://www.literatura.org/Partnoy/Partnoy.htmlLinda Pastan
Photo, bio, and 15 poems, by the former Poet Laureate of Maryland and author of Carnival Evening, sponsored by the Poetry Foundation.
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=5253Richard Peabody
Photo, poems and fiction, essay on the DC literary scene, interview, links, and more by the editor of Gargoyle and author of Bouyancy and Last of the Red Hot Magnetos. Second link is his Wikipedia page.
http://www.gargoylemagazine.com/richard/richard.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_PeabodyPatric Pepper
Poem and bio by the author of Zoned Industrial and co-author of The DNA of the Heart, sponsored by Washington Writers Publishing House.
http://www.washingtonwriters.org/authors/pepper.shtmlSaint-John Perse
Born in Guadeloupe, this poet lived most of his adult life in France, where served as a diplomat, but fled the country in WWII to escape the collaborationist Vichy government. He settled in DC and worked at the Library of Congress. The author of 16 books, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1960.
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/perse.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-John_PerseSarah Morgan Bryan Piatt
Author of 15 books of poetry, this 19th c. American poet lived in DC in the 1860s, when she wrote her first book, The Nests of Washington. University of Toronto site has short bio, bibliography, and 16 poems. Harper's Magazine site reprints her poems and articles for them, written between 1870 and 1909.
http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poet/453.html
http://harpers.org/subjects/SarahMBPiattRobert Pinsky
Photo, bio, and 13 poems, by the former US Poet Laureate (1997-2000), sponsored by the Poetry Foundation. Modern American Poets site has essays, links to poems, a speech, and photo.
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=5406
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/m_r/pinsky/pinsky.htmStanley Plumly
Short bio, photo, links, and 8 poems (2 with audio) by the author of Now That My Father Lies Down Beside Me and professor at the University of Maryland. Sponsored by the Academy of American Poets.
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/103Ilona Popper
Poems, bio, purchasing and contact information by the author of Break, a long-time DC resident now living in West Virginia.
http://ilonapopper.oldwillow.comEzra Pound
Although not a willing resident of the District, I can't leave out Ezra Pound, who was incarcerated at St. Elizabeth's Hospital from 1946 to 1958, after his indictment on 19 counts of treason for broadcasting pro-Fascist propaganda on Italian radio. The Academy of American Poets site contains a short bio, photo, bibliography, links, and 7 poems. The second site, sponsored by the Poetry Foundation, includes a photo, bio, 10 poems, and 2 articles.
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/161
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=80585Presidential Inaugurations and Poets
Only three poets have read during US Presidential inaugurations. Robert Frost read during John F. Kennedy's inauguration. Maya Angelou and Miller Williams read at William J. Clinton's first and second inaugurations respectively. The text of the poems can be found at the following links, sponsored by the Library of Congress, Carnegie Mellon University, and Australian Politics.
Frost: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/tri050.html
Angelou: http://eserver.org/poetry/angelou.html
Williams: http://australianpolitics.com/usa/clinton/speeches/miller.shtmlGretchen Primack
Bio, photo, poems, upcoming events, and links from the Silver Spring native (now living in NY), and author of The Slow Creaking of Planets.
http://www.gretchenprimack.comMary Quattlebaum
Personal web site of a DC poet and prolific children's book author.
http://www.maryquattlebaum.comDudley Randall
Bio, bibliography, photo and essays on such topics as Birmingham, AL and the Civil Rights Movement, and the Black Arts Movement. Born in DC, Randall is the author of A Litany of Friends and More to Remember.
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/m_r/randall/randall.htmLee Riley-Hammer
Link to "Weepers," a fascinating hypertext poem created in collaboration with Mel Nichols, sponsored by English Matters.
http://chnm.gmu.edu/ematters/issue2/weepers/index.htmlElisavietta Ritchie
Photo, bio, review, poems, interview, and ordering info for Raking the Snow and In Haste I Write This Note to You, sponsored by Washington Writers Publishing House.
http://www.washingtonwriters.org/authors/ritchie.shtmlKim Roberts
Poems and bio by the author of The Kimnama and The Wishbone Galaxy and editor of Beltway Poetry Quarterly. Second site, from Washington Writers Publishing House, includes photo, bio, 1 poem and 2 audio files of the author reading. Third site is her Wikipedia page.
http://www.kimroberts.org
http://www.washingtonwriters.org/authors/roberts.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_RobertsRon Rodriguez
Interview with the author of The Captains That Dogs Aren't, sponsored by Washington Writers Publishing House.
http://www.washingtonwriters.org/authors/rodriguez.shtmlJoseph Ross
Poems, publications, events, photos, and links by the author of Bone Meeting Man and co-editor of the anthology Cut Loose the Body.
http://www.josephross.netAnne Rouse
Wikipedia page on the author of four books of poems, born in DC.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_RouseKay Ryan
Photo, bio, and poems by the US Poet Laureate, sponsored by the Poetry Foundation
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=80608Carly Sachs
Photo, bio, poem, interview, one audio file, links, and ordering information, sponsored by Washington Writers Publishing House.
http://www.washingtonwriters.org/authors/sachs.shtmlKaia Sand
10 poems by the former co-curator of the In Your Ear poetry series at DCAC. Sponsored by the DC Poetry web site.
http://www.dcpoetry.com/?module=keywords&keyword=Sand,%20KaiaJane Schapiro
Photo, bio, interview, and ordering information for Tapping This Stone, sponsored by Washington Writers Publishing House.
http://www.washingtonwriters.org/authors/schapiro.shtmlKarl Shapiro
Web site for the former Poetry Consultant to the Library of Congress (1946-47), sponsored by the Stadler Poetry Center at Bucknell University, contains a photo, bio, poem, film clip, chronology, and interview.
http://www.departments.bucknell.edu/stadler_center/shapiro/Catherine Harnett Shaw
Interview with the poet and novelist, sponsored by Washington Writers Publishing House.
http://www.washingtonwriters.org/authors/harnett.shtmlAnne Sheldon
Bio, photo, 2 poems, and ordering information for Hero Surfing. Sponsored by Washington Writers Publishing House.
http://www.washingtonwriters.org/authors/sheldon.shtmlJane Shore
Bio on the author of Happy Family and Music Minus One.
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/jane-shore
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Shore_%28poet%29Charles Simic
Photo, bio, and poems on the former US Poet Laureate, sponsored by the Academy of American Poets.
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/27Sistah Joy
Bio, photos, and upcoming readings, by the author of Lord, I'm Dancing As Fast As I Can. Also: links to the cable TV poetry program, "Soujourn with Words," the monthly reading series "Verse, Vibes & Bites," the performance group "Collective Voices," and more.
http://www.sistahjoy.com/Myra Sklarew
Bio on the author of 9 books of poems and professor emertius of creative writing at American University.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myra_SklarewDean Smith
Bio, childhood photo, poem, interview, and ordering information for American Boy. Sponsored by Washington Writers Publishing House.
http://www.washingtonwriters.org/authors/smith1.shtmlJ.D. Smith
Photo, bio,m upcoming events, essays, links, by the author of Settling for Beauty and The Hypothetical Landscape.
http://www.jdsmithwriter.comKatherine Smith
Bio, photo, 2 poems, and ordering information for Argument by Design. Sponsored by Washington Writers Publishing House.
http://www.washingtonwriters.org/authors/smith.shtmlR.T. Smith
The author of Messenger, Split the Lark, and The Cardinal Heart was born in DC. He currently lives in VA and is editor of Shenandoah. Sponsored by the Academy of American Poets, this link features a short bio, photo, links, and 1 poem.
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/380Rod Smith
6 poems by the author of Music or Honesty and The Good House, among other titles, sponsored by SUNY Buffalo. Second site, sponsored by DC Poetry, has 1 poem sequence.
http://wings.buffalo.edu/AandL/english/pubs/spc/cartograffiti/contents/issue1/poems/smith/index.html
http://www.dcpoetry.com/?module=keywords&keyword=Smith,%20RodWilliam Jay Smith
Photo and bio on the former Poetry Consultant to the Library of Congress (1968-70), from the Academy of American Poets.
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/375Rose Solari
Bio, photo, poems, reviews, upcoming readings by the author of Orpheus in the Park.
http://www.rosesolari.com/Stephen Spender
Bio and bibliography on the former Poetry Consultant to the Library of Congress (1965-66), sponsored by the Academy of American Poets.
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/656William Stafford
Photo, bio, and 16 poems, by the former Poetry Consultant to the Library of Congress (1970-71), sponsored by the Poetry Foundation.
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=6496States Poets Laureate
Most states have Laureates (the exceptions are: AZ, HI, MA, MI, MO, NV, NJ, NM, OH and PA). The current holders of these titles are listed on this site, sponsored by the Library of Congress.
http://www.loc.gov/rr/main/poets/current.htmlLD Stewart
Photo, bio, and links, sponsored by The Authors Den.
http://www.authorsden.com/visit/author.asp?AuthorID=3547Mark Strand
2 sites on the former U.S. Poet Laureate (1990-91), from the Academy of American Poets web site, and Modern American Poetry.
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/102
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/MAPS/poets/s_z/strand/strand.htmNinie G. Syarikin
14 poems, plus photos and contact information, by a translator and interpreter from Indonesian and Malay languages who lives in DC.
http://www.houseofcreativewriting.com/Allen Tate
2 sites on the former Poetry Consultant to the Library of Congress (1943-44); the first offers a photo, bio, and criticism, the second provides a photo, 8 poems, and links.
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/s_z/tate/tate.htm
http://personal.centenary.edu/~dhavird/Tate.htmlYermiyahu Ahron Taub
Bio, poems, upcoming events and more from the author of What Stillness Illuminated and The Insatiable Psalm.
http://www.yataub.netHenry Taylor
Short bio, bibliography and links on Wikipedia. Taylor is the author of The Flying Change and Understanding Fiction.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_S._TaylorNaomi Thiers
Photo, bio, and ordering information for Only the Raw Hands Are Heaven, sponsored by Washington Writers Publishing House.
http://www.washingtonwriters.org/authors/thiers.shtmlMaureen Thorson
Bio, photos, poems, books, and readings from the publisher of Big Game Press.
http://www.reenhead.com/Susan Tichy
Author web site includes bio, publications, links, and contact info, from the professor at George Mason University and author of Bone Pagoda.
http://mason.gmu.edu/~stichy/index.htmlJean Toomer
Sponsored by the Academy of American poets, the first site contains bio, photo, selected bibliography, links, and 3 poems. Second listing for bio on the DC Public Library web site. Third site includes bio, poetry, short fiction, photos, bibliography, and links from a mathematician teaching at SUNY Buffalo. Toomer was born in DC, and active during the Harlem Renaissance.
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/71
http://029c28c.netsolhost.com/blkren/bios/toomerj.html
http://www.math.buffalo.edu/~sww/toomer/jean-toomer.htmlJohn Tyler
The tenth President of the United States (from 1841-1845) was also a poet. Samples of his work from the Library of Congress site.
http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/prespoetry/jt.htmlLouis Untermeyer
13 poems, by the former Poetry Consultant to the Library of Congress (1961-63), sponsored by the Poetry Foundation.
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=81044Elaine Maria Upton
Photo and ordering information for Children of Apartness, sponsored by Washington Writers Publishing House.
http://www.washingtonwriters.org/authors/upton.shtmlMona Van Duyn
Photo, bio, and 3 poems, one with audio on the Academy of American Poets site. Bio, critical essays, and one poem on the Modern American Poetry site. Van Duyn was US Poet Laureate from 1992-93.
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/169
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/s_z/van%20duyn/van_duyn.htmDan Vera
Poems, a web journal, links, photos, contact info, and readings by the author of The Space Between Our Danger and Delight, publisher of Vrzhu Press and Souvenir Spoon Books.Also his Wikipedia page.
http://www.danvera.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_VeraRebecca Villarreal
Bio, writings, and photographs by a former DC-based poet, now living in Chicago.
http://www.rebeccavillarreal.com/Mark Wallace
Photo and poems by the author of Nothing Happened, and Besides I Wasn't There and Sonnets of a Penny-A-Liner. Sponsored by the Electronic Poetry Center at the University of Buffalo.
http://wings.buffalo.edu/epc/authors/wallaceRobert Penn Warren
Photo, bio, 2 poems, and criticism on the former U.S. Poet Laureate, who served two terms (1944-45 and 1986-87), sponsored by Modern American Poetry.
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/s_z/warren/warren.htmGeorge Washington
aka "The Father of Our Country." Two poems by the First US President, from the Library of Congress site.
http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/prespoetry/gw.htmlMargaret Weaver
Bio, photo, 2 poems, and ordering information for Escaping Words. Sponsored by Washington Writers Publishing House.
http://www.washingtonwriters.org/authors/weaver.shtmlJoshua Weiner
Poem by the author of The World's Room and Professor of English at the University of Maryland. Sponsored by the Academy of American Poets. Second site, from the Poetry Foundation, contains a photo, bio, 2 poems, and 2 articles.
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/16615
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=81091Walt Whitman
Whitman lived in DC for ten years, during and after the Civil War. He lived in a series of rooming houses downtown, where he revised Leaves of Grass, and wrote a great deal of new work, until he had a stroke and his health deteriorated. After DC, he moved to Camden, NJ, the last place he lived. The first site, sponsored by the Academy of American poets, contains a bio, photo, bibliography, links, and 18 poems (or excerpts of poems). The second site is an incredible archive for those who wish to delve deeper, with information on where to find the poet's manuscripts, as well as criticism, photographs, disciples, teaching materials, bibliography, biography, teaching materials, and an audio clip of what may be Whitman's only recording, reading an excerpt of a poem. This site is a collaborative effort funded by three universities and three government agencies. The third site, sponsored by the Poetry Foundation, includes a photo, bio, and 27 poems.
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/126
http://www.whitmanarchive.org/
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=7388Richard Wilbur
Photo, bio, and 32 poems, by the former US Poet Laureate (1987-88), sponsored by the Poetry Foundation.
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=7411Edward Christopher Williams
Bio on the playwright and poet active during the Harlem Renaissance. In DC, Williams worked as a high school principal and Howard University librarian. Sponsored by the DC Public Library web site.
http://029c28c.netsolhost.com/blkren/bios/williamsec.htmlJonathan Williams
Tribute page with numerous links, on the Black Mountain School poet and publisher of The Jargon Society Press, who grew up in DC and attended St. Albans School for Boys, but lived most of his adult life in North Carolina. Site sponsored by the Electronic Poetry Center.
http://epc.buffalo.edu/authors/williams_jonathan/index.htmlWilliam Carlos Williams
Photo, bio, and 11 poems by the former Poetry Consultant to the Library of Congress (1952), sponsored by the Poetry Foundation.
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=81496Mary Sherman Willis
Bio, poems, and events by the poet and teacher at George Washington University.
http://marysherman.wordpress.com
Terence Winch
Bio, photo, information on books and records, links and contact info for the author of The Great Indoors and The Drift of Things.
http://www.terencewinch.comShirley Windward
Bio, photo, and 6 poems by the LA author, born in DC.
http://www.blehert.com/guest/gpwindward.htmlMichele Wolf
Bio, books, events, poems, and links by the author of Immersion and Conversations During Sleep.
http://michelewolf.com/Elinor Wylie
Bio, poems, links, bibliography on the first site. Photo and 6 poems on the second site, sponsored by the Poetry Foundation. Wylie lived in DC from the age of 12 (1897) to the time she left her first husband (in 1910) and moved to England with the man who would become her second. Although rarely read any more, such poets as Elizabeth Bishop, Theodore Roethke, and Louise Bogan have cited her work as an influence. Wylie is the author of Nets to Catch the Wind and Angels and Earthly Creatures, among other titles.
http://www.magiclink.com/web/lostheroines/webdoc4.htm
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=7583Matthew Zapruder
Wikipedia page on the DC-born translator and author of three books of poems.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Zapruder