This poem may explain why the slogan “Make America Great Again” was aimed at white people.

My friend Becky tagged me on this one, as she was wondering whether the sign creators “realize they have paraphrased Langston Hughes? Do you think they know who Langston Hughes is?”

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Later note: I originally titled this “GOP paraphrases Langston Hughes, probably by accident” but my friend Justin pointed out that the organization who did it is actually Mad Dog PAC, “which is definitely not GOP,”so I changed it.

But he adds “But that poem pretty much explains why “‘Make America Great Again’ as a slogan was aimed at white people.”

GOP Begins “Impeachment” Strategy To Energize Base – News and Guts – 4/8/18

Langston Hughes – Let America Be America Again

Let America be America again.
Let it be the dream it used to be.
Let it be the pioneer on the plain
Seeking a home where he himself is free.

(America never was America to me.)

Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed—
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above.

(It never was America to me.)
-
Read rest of poem 

“For all the fun with his buffoonery, Trump’s language still holds power”

 “…like his fellow wordsmith Shakespeare, Trump has produced a remarkable burst of something like poetry. There is Hart Seely’s Bard of the Deal, a 2015 book of poetry compiled from interviews, speeches, and tweets; at least two different collections called Make Poetry Great Again (one in Norwegian); and the forthcoming Bigly: Donald Trump in Verse by Cheers writer Rob Long. He has also inspired others to verse: A Hundred Limericks for a Hundred Days of Trump, Trumpetry, and the self-published Shit My President Says Poetry.

“The latest collection of Trumpian verse is The Beautiful Poetry of Donald Trump, by McSweeney’s writer Rob Sears. Consider:

I am the best¹

I predicted Apple’s stock would fall²

I will build a great, great wall³

I build buildings that are 94 stories tall⁴

My hands – are they small?⁵

He gets verse: the poetry of Donald Trump: The US president’s almost primal language is a source of widespread amusement and horror. But some have begun exploring its aesthetic power – Sian Cane – Guardian – 9/1/17

“Not only are #Resistance poets against this president, but clearly they are against good poetry, too.”

“Not only are #Resistance poets against this president, but clearly they are against good poetry, too. The empty theatricality of so much of this protest writing comes from the fact that these authors have confused emotional intensity with the craft of verse. They only talk to one another as well. The poems don’t impress anyone but those who share the indignant passions.

“Poets need to get out more. If they want to overcome the emotionalism, they will do something genuinely inventive: attend a pro-Trump rally, talk to the people there, and write about them as if they were decent human beings.”

Mark Bauerlein and Garrick Davis – Poets and politics: Poets against Trump seem to be against good poetry, too – Washington Times – January 10, 2018

Erasing Trump

The Trump-Era Boom in Erasure Poetry: How a poetic form gained new political purpose online in 2017. – Rachel Stone – The New Republic – October 23, 2017

“In these poems there is a desire to re-examine the institutions and narratives that shape Americans’ lives, from government bureaucracy to new media. The poems’ authors reassert power over language that has typically been used to determine who does and does not belong. And while poets have been reassigning meaning to texts in this way for at least a century, erasure has gained new energy at a moment when the country is deeply polarized—when official documents may hold radically different consequences and meanings for different people.”

Winners of the latest NY Times Trump Poetry Contest

Trump Is Inspirational … for Poetry –   Nicholas Kristof – New York Times – October 21, 2017

“My readers have the best words, as Donald Trump might say. Evidence for that comes from the caliber of the 2,750 poems submitted to my Trump poetry contest. With the help of the Poetry Society of America, I’ve picked my winners, and here they are, offering us a mix of humor, bite and hope.”

Hooray to Eminem, one of our “literary greats” (?)

Eminem Lashes Out at Trump With Freestyle Rap Video

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The full lyrics to Eminem’s Trump-bashing freestyle ‘The Storm’

Why am I posting this news on a poetry blog? See

Just how good is he? Never mind the misogyny and homophobia, Eminem is a brilliant poet. As the controversial rapper heads for Britain, Giles Foden explains why he belongs in the pantheon of literary greats – The Guardian – 2/5/01

 “…just how good are Eminem’s lyrics? Is all the fuss about him justified, or is it a case of hype over substance? In fact, a brief examination of Stan reveals it to have all the depth and texture of the greatest examples of English verse. To use the singer’s own language, it’s as ‘fat’ as Robert Browning – and it is with the Victorian master of sly irony that Eminem’s true ‘underground’ work is done”

Dailies 9/28: talking about money, stopping in a town to eat toast, your own palm, talking to an unborn son after the election, everyone has a house

Tracy K. Smith – The Good Life

–

When some people talk about money
They speak as if it were a mysterious lover
Who went out to buy milk and never
Came back, and it makes me nostalgic

–

Read rest of poem 

 

Christine Gosnay – It’s The Real Thing 

Underneath a sycamore tree I am sitting on a bench
dedicated by plaque to the memory of Ben Morgan, who
“Hated this park, and Everyone in it.”

–

Read rest of poem 

Tarfia Faizullah – Your Own Palm

O, my daughter, once I was a poor boy

folding peppers into my sarong

to walk three miles to sell, but what

can you tell me of sorrow,

–

Read rest of poem 

Michelle Brittan Rosado – Poem to My Unborn Son the Morning after the Election

Since November began, the painters have been here
stirring their mixtures, preparing for the days ahead, laying down

–

the dark canvas around the grass perimeter outside.
First they papered the windows, so that in here when I wake

–

Read rest of poem 

~~~TRIBRACH~~~

Poetry Diary: Spending day cleaning my house. Found this poem…a good one to read for perspective, esp. after all of the recent devastation in Puerto Rico and other places. devastated by hurricanes. 

Kate Gale – Everyone Has a House

–

What I like about your country

she tells me is the toilets

I wouldn’t mind bringing one home

but it wouldn’t do much good

–

Read rest of poem 

 

ENTER THE NY TIMES TRUMP POETRY CONTEST

Nicholas Kristof held a Trump Poetry Contest at the New York Times earlier this year that lead to the publication of Resistance, Rebellion, Life: 50 Poems Now. 

He’s now teaming up with the Poetry Society of America to run a 2nd Trump Poetry Contest.

Announcing a Trump Poetry Contest – Nicholas Kristof – New York Times – 9/15/17

“No entry can be more than 22 lines. They can rhyme or not and can be haiku or sonnets or limericks or any other form — just no epics.

“One caution: The Times can’t publish vulgarities and profanities. The poems must be your work, and your submission means that you agree to let me publish them or excerpt them in The Times. Also, I’d like to make clear that whatever my politics, I welcome poems that defend President Trump or target the press. If you think we in the media are being unfair to a great president, rise to his defense in verse.”

“I plan to keep the contest open until Oct. 8, but don’t procrastinate. Each person can enter up to three poems. To enter, email your poems to contest@poetrysociety.org.”

What type of poem would Trump like to see on the Statue of Liberty?

Huddled masses? Losers!Trump v the Statue of Liberty: A senior Trump advisor, Stephen Miller, sparked a furor last week when he dismissed the famous poem at the base of the Statue of Liberty. In response, we asked 21 poets: what type of poem would Trump like to see at the statue? – The Guardian

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Melissa Studdard – I Lift My Lamp

Salt-licked and split down the middle, divided by what I am
and what they think I can be: Woman with an ocean
in my breast, a nation in my sea. You’ve no idea the boats
I hold–the bitter jokes and hypocrisies. Body of lamplight, body
of shoreline, I welcome your risings and arrivals without degree.
Still. Bring your wretched, your poor, your disillusioned to me.

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Read more!!!!!