Annie Finch

May 1, 2024 | poetryfoundation.org | Annie Finch |Noah Warren |Jeannie Vanasco |Meena Alexander

Born in Allahabad, India, poet Meena Alexander was raised in Kerala and Sudan. She earned a BA at Khartoum University and a PhD at Nottingham University. Described as “undoubtedly one of the finest poets of contemporary times” by The Statesman (India), she was the author of numerous collections of poetry, including Atmospheric Embroidery (2018), Birthplace with Buried Stones (2013), and PEN Open Book Award-winner Illiterate Heart (2002).

Apr 12, 2024 | merionwest.com | Annie Finch

“On its dead claws and back, mottled and plain,/from a long beach whose gulls roost on an edge,/Inscrutable.”Let it be known that we took our advantage,Took our September, on one beach in Maine,That we let the light go dashing through gold dune-grassFrom the low, watery sun—as if in vain—and that you’ve taken a crab-shell laced with brassOn its dead claws and back, mottled and plain,from a long beach whose gulls roost on an edge,Inscrutable. And move to let us pass.

Oct 30, 2023 | poetryfoundation.org | Annie Finch |Becca Klaver

In the season leaves should love, since it gives them leave to move through the wind, towards the ground they were watching while they hung, legend says there is a seam stitching darkness like a name. Now when dying grasses veil earth from the sky in one last pale wave, as autumn dies to bring winter back, and then the spring, we who die ourselves can peel back another kind of veil that hangs among us like thick smoke. Tonight at last I feel it shake.

Aug 7, 2023 | poetryfoundation.org | Annie Finch |Jenny Zhang |Gwendolyn Brooks

1. Gwendolyn Brooks’s “the mother” is not an anti-abortion poem, despite being used repeatedly as an argument against abortion. In fact, “the mother” must be one of the most misunderstood poems in the English language. In the face of that misunderstanding of “the mother,” the poet’s literary estate developed a form letter that staff send when asked for permission to use the poem:“Ms. Brooks left specific restrictions for how this poem can be used.

Aug 3, 2023 | themarkaz.org | Annie Finch

Annie Finch’s poetry is a pure tone that calls us home to the first impulse of poetry. We link to mystery. We lift off. —Joy Harjo“Annie Finch’s spellbinding poems give voice to the earth-centered spirituality of our era. Finch is a renowned poetry witch who skillfully draws on the secrets of poetic rhythm and craft to honor the sacredness of the natural world.