Poems – Page 3 – Interesting Literature

10 of the Best Poems about Race and Racism

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

Poetry can be used to address and explore a range of pressing social issues, and racial prejudice and racial identity are among these topics which poets have written about powerfully, from a range of perspectives.

Whether it’s African-American poets writing at the time of the Civil Rights movement in the US, or British Asian poets writing about dual identity, the following poets have articulated important aspects of ‘the race debate’ (or, perhaps, debates). As well as getting us to think, they have made us feel.

10 of the Best Poems about Resilience

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘Resilience’ means a certain toughness in one’s psychological and emotional outlook: an ability to pick oneself up when life throws us difficulties and carry on regardless. This can be easier said than done, but resilience can be regarded as the cousin, if not quite the sibling, of hope and determination.

The following poems are, for our money, some of the best poems about being resilient and trying to overcome whatever challenges life throws our way.

10 of the Best Fantasy Poems

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

Fantasy is at once a relatively recent and extremely ancient genre. Although it only became recognised as a distinct genre in the twentieth century thanks to writers like J. R. R. Tolkien and his followers, there’s a case for calling some of the oldest literature in the world – from the Epic of Gilgamesh to Homer’s Odyssey to the fairy tales we first encounter in early childhood – ‘fantasy literature’, because of their incorporation of supernatural elements, their emphasis on quests, and (in some cases) their delineation of the fight between good and evil.

11 of the Best Poems about Sadness

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

Sorrow and sadness are common themes for poetry, so choosing just eleven of the very best poems about sadness is going to be tricky. In the selection that follows, we’ve tried to include a range of poems from a variety of poets, moving from the heartfelt and moving to the lighter and more stoic.

But whether the mood is one of overwhelming grief and sadness or a regret to which the poet or speaker is more resigned, whether the poem is an expression of deep sorrow or an acknowledgment of the universality of suffering, all eleven of the following poems tell us something important about what it is to be sad – and they say it beautifully.

10 of the Best Poems about Teachers and Teaching

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

Teaching poetry can be a hugely rewarding experience, and it’s heartening to find that some of the biggest names in poetry have paid tribute to teachers, whether in heartfelt eulogies to the impact those teachers had on their students’ lives, or in comic tours de force that bring the memories of our schooldays come flooding back to us.

Below, we select and introduce ten of the greatest poems about teaching and teachers.