A Passion For Poetry

After decades out of print, Passion—one of June Jordan’s most important collections—has returned to readers. Originally entitled, passion: new poems, 1977-1980, this volume holds key works including “Poem About My Rights,” “Poem About Police Violence,” “Free Flight,” and an essay by the poet, “For the Sake of the People’s Poetry: Walt Whitman and the Rest of Us.” June Jordan was a fierce advocate for the safety and humanity of women and Black people, and for the freedom of all people—and Barack Obama made a line from this book famous: “We are the ones we have been waiting for.” With love and humor, via lyrics and rants, she calls for nothing less than radical compassion. This new edition includes a foreword by Nicole Sealey.

A book of poetic essays written in English, Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet is full of religious inspirations. With the twelve illustrations drawn by the author himself, the book took more than eleven years to be formulated and perfected and is Gibran's best-known work. It represents the height of his literary career as he came to be noted as ‘the Bard of Washington Street.’ Captivating and vivified with feeling, The Prophet has been translated into forty languages throughout the world, and is considered the most widely read book of the twentieth century. Its first edition of 1300 copies sold out within a month.

Erratic Fire, Erratic Passion is a collection of found poems composed of the words of professional athletes. The content of post-game interviews and sports chatter is so often meaningless, if not insufferable, and yet there are athletes like Metta World Peace who transcend lame clichés and rote patter, who use language in surprising ways, who can be funny and shocking and insightful and alarmingly sincere — pure poetry. Muhammad Ali offered dazzling displays of lexical wizardry, and Allen Iverson’s infamous “practice” rant shifted the post-game press conference from the banal to the absurd. This book is a celebration of these rare and exceptional moments. Various poetic forms and line-breaks highlight — or, in the words of Deion Sanders, “deem to set a candor on” — the sophisticated, sublime, and surprising performances of language made by professional athletes.

"Poems of Passion" by Ella Wheeler Wilcox is an affirmative and emotionally charged collection that showcases the poetic prowess of the 19th-century American poet. Published during an era marked by changing social norms and burgeoning feminist ideals, Wilcox's work reflects her exploration of love, passion, and individual empowerment. In this collection, readers can expect a series of poems that likely delve into the complexities of human emotions, with a particular focus on themes of love, desire, and the pursuit of personal fulfillment. Wilcox's verses may convey a sense of optimism and self-empowerment, aligning with her reputation as a poet of positivity. The title, "Poems of Passion," suggests a compilation that brings together works centered around intense emotions and personal experiences. This anthology likely includes some of Wilcox's most celebrated and emotionally resonant poems, offering readers a window into the passionate and introspective nature of her writing.

A PASSION FOR POETRY Why poetry? Why has this ancient craft existed throughout time, continuing even into our fast-paced age of moderncy and technology? Perhaps two reasons: 1) The human condition still demands we ask who we are, what we are and why we are; and 2) space is limited in this form of writing requiring the poet reduce his thoughts into a quick-read format. Puns, pundits, quotes, poetry and prose capsulate 90% of everything the human race believes to be important and true Poets are avatars who define the nature and meaning of our roles. They reduce the fabric of our existence to the simplest ingredients of mind, soul, bones, sinew and desire. It is the forum that speaks to all, reaches all, touches all, teaches all, questions all, answers all.