Poets & Writers Theater

“Praise song for struggle, praise song for the day.” In this video for “Incredible Bridges: Poets Creating Community,” a project developed by the Academy of American Poets in partnership with EDSITEment, Elizabeth Alexander reads “Praise Song for the Day,” a poem commissioned for the first inauguration of president Barack Obama.

“In the realm of the poem, we can feel our full feelings and it doesn't have to present as nonpartisan or distant in any way.” In this conversation moderated by Eric Liu, executive director of the Aspen Institute Citizenship and American Identity Program, poets Elizabeth Alexander and Claudia Rankine discuss recent events and poetry's role in history.

"I think that in writing, we do try to fix moments so that somehow they're captured." Elizabeth Alexander speaks with PBS NewsHour's Jeffrey Brown about the loss of her husband and her experiences in writing her new memoir, The Light of the World (Grand Central Publishing, 2015).

On April 11 the author of five books of poetry and two essay collections, including Power and Possibility: Essays, Interviews, Reviews (University of Michigan Press, 2007), read her poem "Haircut" at the opening presentation of the Hill Center Poetry Series, cosponsored by the Library of Congress and the Washington Post.

Last week the National Book Foundation presented the panel discussion "Lineage: American Poetry Since 1950," moderated by Katie Peterson and featuring Elizabeth Alexander, Stephen Burt, Tony Hoagland, James Longenbach, Maureen McLane, and Susan Stewart. The aim of the discussion was "to use the National Book Awards as a point of departure to assess post-War poetry trends and achievements."