|
|
 |
|
The state with the prettiest name,
the state that floats in brackish water,
held together by mangrave roots...
– Elizabeth Bishop, from "Florida"
Living in south Florida is like living on another planet, just in terms of the physicality alone – the light, the moisture, the colors of the flowers and sky.
– Campbell McGrath |
|
|
|
|
Poet Laureate |
|
|
|
|
 |
Edmund Skellings
Appointed Florida's poet laureate for life in 1980, Edmund Skellings is the author of several collections of poetry, most recently Collected Poems 1958-1998. |
More about this laureateship >
|
|
|
|
|
Featured Poets |
|
|
|
|
 |
Donald Justice
Born in Miami, Florida, in 1925, Donald Justice was the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize and a Bollingen Prize. From 1982 until his retirement in 1992, he taught at the University of Florida, Gainesville. |
 |
Nathaniel Mackey
Poet and novelist Nathaniel Mackey was born in 1947 in Miami, Florida. His books of poetry include Splay Anthem, which won the 2006 National Book Award in Poetry. |
 |
Elizabeth Bishop
Born in 1911, Elizabeth Bishop settled in Key West, Florida in 1937. Her first book of verse, North and South, was published in 1946, filled with descriptive passages about the tropical landscape she briefly called home. |
|
Other Florida Poets
Denise Duhamel
James Weldon Johnson
Virgil Suarez
Geri Doran
Lola Haskins
William Logan
Peter Meinke
Michael Waters
Debora Greger
Jay Hopler
Teri Youmans Grimm
|
|
|
|
|
|
Literary journals & small presses |
|
|
|
|
Anhinga Press
Anhinga Press began in 1972 as an outgrowth of the activities of Apalachee Poetry Center, a non-profit organization promoting the reading and understanding of poetry by bringing artists and writers together. In 1976, founder and poet Van Brock sought to expand the scope of the press by publishing chapbooks of individual poets. From 1976 through 1981, Anhinga published eight chapbooks of local poets living and writing in Florida, including the work of David Kirby and Sam Harrison.
The Florida Review
The Florida Review is a literary journal published twice annually by the University of Central Florida featuring new fiction, poetry, memoir, and book reviews.
Kalliope
Kalliope, A Journal of Women's Literature & Art is published two times a year and sponsors readings, lectures and art shows by national and local artists. Kalliope publishes poetry, short fiction, interviews, reviews, and visual art by women. The journal is published by Florida Community College at Jacksonville.
Mudlark
Mudlark was founded in 1995 as an electronic journal of poetry & poetics. It publishes in three formats: "issues" of Mudlark are the electronic equivalent of print chapbooks; "posters" are the electronic equivalent of print broadsides; and "flash" poems are poems that have news in them, poems that feel like current events.
The Tampa Review
The mission of Tampa Review is to invigorate contemporary literary and visual arts. Each issue features contemporary literature from Florida and the world, emphasizing its connections to the Tampa Bay region in particular. The editors strive to produce a physically beautiful magazine that presents words in meaningful aesthetic relationship with world-class visual art.
The University Press of Florida
Established in 1945, the University Press of Florida ranks among the most productive publishing houses in the Association of American University Presses (AAUP). With more than 865 titles currently in print, 90 titles in production and over 190 additional titles under contract, the Press has been an important element in enhancing the scholarly reputation and worldwide visibility of the State University System.
|
|
|
|
|
Readings Series, Conferences, & Literary Festivals |
|
|
|
|
Key West Literary Seminar
For over twenty years, the Key West Literary Seminar has been dedicated to the investigation and celebration
of the written word and to the support of American writers. The Seminar strives to preserve literary heritage by promoting dialogue among writers, scholars, and readers at its annual January seminar and through readings, writing workshops and literary walking tours
throughout the year.
Kalliope and The First Coast Writers' Festival
The festival brings together authors and editors from across the country for intense workshops and seminars that focus on professional development.
Palm Beach Poetry Festival
Poets gather annually in the heart of downtown Delray Beach to offer workshops, panel discussions, craft talks, and readings, many of which are open to the public. Palm Beach Poetry Festival Workshops offer participants extraordinary opportunities to improve their skills and generate new work. Workshop admission is by application with sample poems.
South Florida Writer's Conference
A three-day conference held in Miami that features public readings, workshops, author book signings, chat sessions, consultations, panel discussions, individual manuscript evaluations, and staged play readings. Contact the South Florida Writers Conference at PO Box 570415, Miami, Florida, 33257-0415, (305) 275-8666 or (305) 233-8680.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Florida Poetfan |
|
|
|
|
Alberto Meza and his students
Miami Dade College
Miami, Florida
I have made a commitment to bring Neruda's imagery in the classroom. In fact, my students have worked on Veinte poemas de amor y una cancion desesperada (Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair) in woodcuts and etchings.
View the complete entry >
Hear selections from an interview with this Poetfan. |
|
|
|
|
Poetic History |
|
|
|
|
Homes of Elizabeth Bishop and Others: Key West, FL
Long before the overseas highway connected it to the mainland and cruise ships made it a regular port of call, Key West was a tropical frontier town. Read more >
A. R. Ammons in Florida
As David Lehman writes in a profile of the poet, "The trash heap [Ammons] saw off the I-95 in Florida that led him to write Garbage put him in mind of 'a sort of secularized sacred rite,' he says. 'The smoke was the incense, the garbageman was the priest, the garbage heap was the church.' He also wanted a 'subject that was as inexhaustible as a landfill.' And the garbage mound endeared itself to him for a third reason: he liked its geometry. Read more > |
|
|
|
|
Visitors from Florida Enjoy ... |
|
|
|
|
Most Popular Poems
1. Do not go gentle into that good night
by Dylan Thomas
Do not go gentle into that good night...
2. The Weary Blues
by Langston Hughes
Droning a drowsy syncopated tune...
3. The Negro Speaks of Rivers
by Langston Hughes
I've known rivers...
4. We Real Cool
by Gwendolyn Brooks
We real cool. We...
5. One Art
by Elizabeth Bishop
The art of losing isn't hard to master...
6. Sick
by Shel Silverstein
"I cannot go to school today"...
7. The Road Not Taken
by Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood...
8. I, Too, Sing America
by Langston Hughes
I, too, sing America...
9. How Do I Love Thee?
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...
10. Dream Variations
by Langston Hughes
To fling my arms wide...
(Popularity based on Poets.org traffic data.)
|
|
|
|
|
Poems about Florida |
|
|
|
|
Nomad Exquisite
by Wallace Stevens
As the immense dew of Florida...
The Philosopher in Florida
by C. Dale Young
Midsummer lies on this town...
Self-Portrait as Miranda
by Geri Doran
My story begins at sea, in the bitter liquid...
Florida
by Elizabeth Bishop
The state with the prettiest name...
Florida in January
by William Logan
The cold of winter is somehow colder here...
Insect Life of Florida
by Lynda Hull
In those days I thought their endless thrum... |
|
|
|
|
Writing Programs |
|
|
|
|
Florida International University
Located in Miami, Florida International University offers an MFA degree in poetry, with faculty including Campbell McGrath and Denise Duhamel. Its visiting and permanent faculty and alumni have included award winning poets such as Maxine Kumin, Paul Zimmer and Richard Blanco. The program is also associated with the national literary magazine Gulf
Stream.
University of Florida
One of the oldest writing programs, the Department of English offers a two-year program in fiction or poetry leading to the master of fine arts degree. Past faculty includes James Dickey, Richard Eberhardt, Donald Justice, and Maxine Kumin; current faculty members include William Logan, Debora Greger, and Michael Hofmann.
University of Miami MFA Program
The Department of English offers a two-year program in fiction or poetry leading to the master of fine arts degree, providing distinguished visiting writers, a regular reading series, and the literary journal Mangrove.
|
|
|
|
|
Literary organizations & centers |
|
|
|
|
Sarasota Poetry Theatre-Soulspeak
Combines spoken word poetry, chanting and singing in a multi-voiced musical form; the music for MANY VOICES is an eclectic blend of alternative, new age, and ambient music.
West Florida Literary Federation
The WFLF is an umbrella organization for many western Florida literary organizations. They publish an anthology, The Emerald Coast Review, and
provide information about many events including readings, conferences, and workshops.
|
|
|
|
|
Larger Type | Home | Help | Contact Us | Privacy Policy