US Represented

US Represented

Kevin’s Most-Loved Poems

Kevin’s Favorite Poems, “Requiem,” Four More Gravestone Poems, “Gravy”

This is part of a series of columns that feature a much-loved poem, and other poems that speaks to, or resonate with, the first poem. This week’s poem is “Requiem,” written by Robert Louis Stevenson. This poem was carved into Stevenson’s gravestone. The line that attracted me was “Glad did I live and gladly die.” Some critics consider […]

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Kevin’s Much-Loved Poems: “The Lanyard” by Billy Collins

I’d previously excluded “The Lanyard” from these columns because of its length–it’s considerably longer than most of the poems I’ve included. But I was recently asked to read at a birthday party from a thankful daughter, and, after searching widely, I found and read one of my already-most-loved poems. It was so well received I’m giving it a column

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Kevin’s Much-Loved Poems–“What I Learned from My Mother,” “To My Mother,” and “Hooky”

This continues the series of columns which highlight a much-loved poem and present other poems that speak to, or resonate with, that poem. This week features “What I Learned from My Mother,” by Julia Kasdorf (from Sleeping Preacher, U. Pittsburgh, 1992). A related brief poem is a poem to his mother by Robert Louis Stevenson; the third poem, also

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Kevin’s Much Loved Poems–“Lead,” “Unto a Broken Heart,” and “Hello, Heart”

This continues the series of columns that highlight a much-loved poem and presents other poems that speak to, or resonate with, that poem. This week features “Lead,” by Mary Oliver. The second related poem is by Emily Dickinson; the third is one of mine. The complete Poetry Foundation entry on Mary Oliver is available at Poetry Foundation:

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