Art Works Blog

Nikky Finney

Jill Essbaum. Photo by Alvin Peng

Notable Quotable: Jill Essbaum on the poet and the poem

July 8, 2013
“[T]he poet doesn’t define the poems. The poems define the poet.” --- Jill Alexander Essbaum Learn more about poet Jill Essbaum and other NEA Literature Fellows in the NEA Writers' Corner . Like poetry? Then you might like our Art Talks with poets Ken Chen , Srikanth Reddy and...
"Take a Poem" by flickr user pedrosimoes7

Happy National Poetry Month!

April 2, 2013
Well, it's officially April. Not only does this mark the start of National Poetry Month, but it's also time to begin our countdown to the Poetry Out Loud National Finals , which will take place April 29-30 in Washington, DC. To kick off the next few weeks of couplets and quatrains, we...

Art Talk with Nikky Finney

September 14, 2012
Nikky Finney. Photo courtesy of Ms. Finney "The role of the artist in the community is to not see herself as something special---set off to the side---but rather someone integral, like the carpenter, the electrician, the school teacher, the nurse...." ---Nikky Finney In a 2011 interview...