So, let’s put aside those old poets with only black and white pictures of them and find out some new talents of our generation!
1. Morgan Parker
If you think Beyoncé is inspirational, try Morgan Parker who draws on her feelings through Yoncé’s voice. In fact, she has an entire book of poems called ‘There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyoncé’, on top of her prize-winning collection, ‘Other People’s Comfort Keeps Me Up At Night.
Source: Youtube
2. Amber Tamblyn
Yes, Amber from the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, who also happens to be a legit poet. Her third poetry book, Dark Sparkler, was released in 2015 and discussed about actresses whose lives were lost in their prime, including Marilyn Monroe and Sharon Tate.
Source: Youtube
3. Tracy K. Smith
Life On Mars, Smith’s third poetry book consist of the mishmash of science fiction and reality, and also the universe and the universal ideas. Smith won a Pulitzer Prize in 2012.
Source: Youtube
4. Richard Blanco
Does this name sounds familiar? Well that’s because he was the first immigrant, the first Latino, the first openly gay person, and also the youngest person to read at President’s Obama’s second inauguration. But he’s also an amazing poet that everyone needs to check out.
Source: Youtube
5. Patricia Lockwood
Lockwood is a fan-favorite jokester on Twitter, so she’s pretty famous. She’s also the author of 2 poetry books. Her writing are rather sexual and silly, familiar and subversive; it will never fail to captivate.
Source: Youtube
6. Sherman Alexie
Love Stephen Colbert? Well, this is the guy who can out-funny Colbert. Alexie uses his strong sense of humour to take on topics such as the challenges faced in the country today by Native Americans who grow up on reservations to technology and so many more. He’s also the author of the Blasphemy stories and Face, whilst also a winner of the 2010 PEN/Faulkner Award, 2007 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, the 2001 PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story, and a Special Citation for the 1994 PEN/Hemingway Award for Best First Fiction. Alexie also wrote and co-produced Smoke Signals which won both the Audience Award and the Filmmakers Trophy at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival.
Source: Youtube
7. Tina Chang
This #girlboss was also the first woman to be named poet laureate of Brooklyn and held that position since 2010. On top of teaching poetry at the Sarah Lawrence College, Chang also helps develop public interests through crafting murals and educational outreach programs.
Source: Youtube
8. Meghan O’Rourke
If you study creative writing, you know you have questions about your career options all the time. O’Rourke is the perfect person to answer all those questions like an expert. She started off as one of the youngest editors at The New Yorker and went on to become a poetry editor for The Paris Review. Today, she’s a culture critic for the Slate.
Source: Youtube
