In this collection
See all
Patricia Smith: Exploring Life Through the Poetry of Personas
Renowned poet and poetry slam performer Patricia Smith explores urban life and history by getting into people's skins and speaking their words. In this powerful and inspiring keynote for NWP's 2010 Urban Sites Network Conference, she reflects on her teaching experience and the incredible power of language to unlock an interior life.
Read more
Why I Write: Jane Hirshfield Writes about Life's Profound Mystery
Prize-winning international poet, translator, and essayist Jane Hirshfield's poetry speaks to the central issues of human existence: desire and loss, impermanence and beauty, and the many dimensions of our connection with others. She tells NWP why she writes.
Read more
Why I Write: To Awaken the Spirit in the Downtrodden
Poets and youth workers Al Mills and Nnamdi Chukwuocha answer the call to describe #WhyIWrite with a poem. The answer is inseparable from their community and the promise of the youth they work with.
Read more
Billy Collins: A ‘Reader’s Poet’ Reads at NWP’s Annual Meeting
Two-time Poet Laureate Billy Collins shared his poetry, insights into writing, and many, many humorous asides at the 2009 NWP Annual Meeting's General Session.
Read more
Everybody’s Vaguely Familiar: Jack Powers, Poetry & A Career of Teaching Writing
We kick-off National Poetry Month by visiting with poet and teacher Jack Powers, celebrating the publication of his new book, Everybody’s Vaguely Familiar.
Read more
Poet, Author, Educator: A Visit with Zev (Dan) Levinson
Zev (Dan) Levinson visits with us to discuss his poetry, outreach, and connection to education through the Redwood Writing Project and California Poets in the Schools. In addition to being a poet and author, Levinson has also recently joined the NWP Writers Council.
Read more
For many years, the National Writing Project has benefited from the performances and insights of poets, both through NWP’s Writers Council and though collaborations exploring teaching and poetry at NWP events or on NWP Radio. This collection links to recordings and audio episodes that capture some of those connections for all of us to enjoy.
NWP sites and leaders can help build this collection by contributing your own recordings of keynotes, workshops, and interviews with poets you work with. And you can always invite the writers you work with to join the Writers Council and ‘stand up for writing.’
Up next
Why I Write: Jane Hirshfield Writes about Life's Profound Mystery
Prize-winning international poet, translator, and essayist Jane Hirshfield's poetry speaks to the central issues of human existence: desire and loss, impermanence and beauty, and the many dimensions of our connection with others. She tells NWP why she writes.
Read more
Why I Write: To Awaken the Spirit in the Downtrodden
Poets and youth workers Al Mills and Nnamdi Chukwuocha answer the call to describe #WhyIWrite with a poem. The answer is inseparable from their community and the promise of the youth they work with.
Read more
Billy Collins: A ‘Reader’s Poet’ Reads at NWP’s Annual Meeting
Two-time Poet Laureate Billy Collins shared his poetry, insights into writing, and many, many humorous asides at the 2009 NWP Annual Meeting's General Session.
Read more
Also Recommended
"Hey, Mom, I Forgive You": Teaching the Forgiveness Poem
Linda Christensen, who has taught high school Language Arts for many years, builds a community of writers as her students write poetry about forgiving—or not forgiving. The author starts with her own story.
Read more
Love Ties My Shoes: Long-term English Learners as Thoughtful Writers
Students in a high school English Language Development class writing a book? Lynn Jacobs' story of her students success can inform teacher study groups and inspire professional development sessions. For details about the project, powerful student voices describing the process, and ties to professional literature that help to explain how and why this was a possibility for Jacobs and her students, check out this inspirational article.
Read more
Amplifying Student Voices
Dave Boardman makes the argument that writing online not only makes writing digital, it transforms it into interactive, changeable communication. He tells the story of inviting his students to participate in an online community with other writers across the country and includes references for study.
Read more